Morning headlines

Rio’s Oyu Tolgoi woes deepen

Mongolia has stepped up criticism of Rio Tinto over continuing delays to expansion of the pair’s $US11.5 billion ($12.3bn) Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine, revealing a big divide still stands in the way of the profitable second stage of the giant mine. The Aus

Oakajee backer branded dishonest

The Sydney entrepreneur behind a $6.5 billion plan to revive the Oakajee rail and port project in Western Australia was branded a “dishonest” businessman by a Federal Court judge over a “fraudulent” scheme involving fabricating credit card transactions though ANZ Bank. The Aus 

Woodside looks closer to home, Oil Search on radar

Woodside Petroleum’s trials in tying up a $US2.5 billion ($2.67billion) investment in Israel’s Leviathan gas venture have sparked the possibility it may be eyeing international expansion closer to home. And one target could be Oil Search. The Fin

Packer set for Las Vegas comeback

James Packer could be returning to the US casino market, with the billionaire’s Crown Resorts poised to enter the race for a $2 billion loss-making hotel and casino on the famous Las Vegas strip. The Fin 

WA ‘brand’ key to Sino Iron

The president of Chinese resources powerhouse CITIC believes magnetite iron ore like that processed at the Sino Iron project will become a strong brand in China. The West

Sandfire plays it cool on talk of Oz sale

Sandfire chief executive Karl Simich says he is not concerned about the potential for the sale by OZ Minerals of its 19.2 per cent stake in the copper gold producer. The Aus

P&N plea for frank talk on tax

P&N Bank is pushing for legal changes to allow the distribution of millions of dollars in franking credits accumulated by customer-owned banks. The West

The Australian

Page 1: Sweeping problems have emerged in a Rudd-era affordable housing program in Western Australia, with the two firms controlling half of the state’s allocated subsidies completing only a fraction of the promised dwellings.

In the hasty rollout of the program, two companies, Yaran and Questus, were contracted to build more than 3000 homes for the National Rental Affordability Scheme.

Page 5: Green groups are planning a barrage of US-style privately funded legal actions against Australia’s resource projects amid what they claim has been a federal government rollback of environmental protections.

Page 16: Japan’s trade deficit surged nearly 70 per cent to a record13.75 trillion ($143 billion) in the last fiscal year as exports failed to keep pace with surging costs for imported oil and gas.

Statistics from the Ministry of Finance released yesterday showed that the nation rang up a trade deficit of ¥1.45 trillion in March.

Page 17: One of Myer’s biggest shareholders has cut its shareholding in the company since the department store’s plans to merge with David Jones were blown out of the water this month by a takeover offer from South Africa’s Woolworths Holdings.

Page 17: American academics have provided powerful new evidence that Australia’s unusually high GST threshold for online purchases from foreign suppliers unfairly penalises local retailers.

Page 17: African Petroleum, an oil explorer founded by Frank Timis, has hatched a plan to move its stockmarket listing from Australia to Europe, four years after the controversial tycoon was barred from listing the company on the London market.

Page 18: Copper was off some 8 per cent last calendar year, averaging $US3.33 a pound. And it is down another 9.6 per cent since, to $US3.01 a pound, the weakness reflecting the growth in supply.

Page 21: Toyota is revving up efforts to unseat Nissan as China’s top Japanese carmaker, even as they both struggle to win back market share lost to rivals amid political tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.

Page 21: What is insider trading? A case pending before a US federal appeals court could help define a financial crime that has been in the spotlight for the past few years.

Page 23: Technology start-ups are poised to become Australia’s next “millionaire factories” judging by the number of people with newfound riches at software houses Atlassian and Freelancer.com.

Page 24: Amazon.com may have started life flogging books online but at the big end of town and in the tech start-up zone the cloud giant is better known for its Amazon Web Services outfit than for its online retail activities.

The Financial Review

Page 1: China plans to launch large energy projects this year, including nuclear power stations, to boost economic growth.

Page 3: Telecommunications companies are fighting to stop NBN Co getting regulations changed that could eventually lead to it selling internet access directly to individual Australians.

Page 5: Maverick MP Clive Palmer has declared the government’s Direct Action climate policy “dead” and said it will not get his party’s support in the Senate.

Page 7: The rapidly growing significant investment visa program is expected to bolster values of commercial real estate, but some experts fear it could dangerously inflate prices.

Page 11: Construction chiefs have slammed long breaks for building workers linking Easter and Anzac Day holidays as a “productivity black hole” that is driving up costs and lowering output.

Page 13: Padbury Mining’s $6.4 billion man, former hair clinic operator Roland Bleyer, claims to have been in negotiations with the government of Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou to lend the country billions of euros during its debt crisis.

Page 15: Australia’s largest ports operator, DP World , posted a larger bottom-line loss last year as rival Hutchison Ports prepares to bulk up its presence at key ports on the east coast.

Page 17: A spin off of Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining’s non-core Australian assets could go ahead regardless of whether the gold giants can push a mooted $US33 billion ($35.3 billion) merger over the line. That’s the view of fund managers and analysts, who argue a spin off would be an easy sell to Australian investors eager for a new entrant into a local gold market dominated by Newcrest Mining.

Page 17: Canadian pipeline giant Enbridge has emerged as a competitor to APA Group to build a $1.3 billion connection from the Northern Territory to the national gas grid.

Page 30: Barclays, one of the world’s biggest commodities traders, plans to exit large parts of its metals, agricultural and energy business in a move set to be announced this week.

The West Australian

Page 19: High demand for city infill sites has claimed the popular Northbridge Continental Food Markets, which will close its doors on Saturday to make way for new apartments.

Page 19: The Australian sharemarket is poised for low-volume trading today as investors wait for key reports after an extended Easter break.

Page 20: Counterfeiting wine is a big and lucrative business in China, with increasingly more sophisticated methods used to replicate famous brands.

Page 20: The backlash against high-frequency trading is gaining momentum, with Bank of America and the New York Stock Exchange among exchanges and traders being sued by the US city of Providence.