Business braces for wages battle; China manufacturers shrink again as global slowdown bites; Cape Lambert ready to pounce on assets; Resources exports will face tough year; Jobs plan to tackle next wave of crisis
Business braces for wages battle
More than 5,000 enterprise agreements are up for renegotiation this year as employers warn that overly generous pay increases will come at the cost of jobs, setting the scene for an increase in industrial disputes. The Fin Review
China manufacturers shrink again as global slowdown bites
China's manufacturing sector has shrunk for a third straight month as exports fall and companies run down inventories, while in Japan business confidence has plunged in the latest signs Asia is feeling the pinch from the global economic slowdown. The West
Cape Lambert ready to pounce on assets
The Cape Lambert Iron Ore board is poised to meet this week to consider a swag of potential acquisitions, including the assets of collapsed miner CopperCo and debt-laden OZ Minerals, as it prepares to strike an offtake deal over its flagship Sierra Leone project. The West
Resources exports will face tough year
Lucrative Australian exports such as iron ore face a tough year as flat-lining global growth and sluggish demand are set to topple resource prices from extravagant highs, analysts say. The Australian
Jobs plan to tackle next wave of crisis
Rudd government officials are working on options for a jobs package, including a revamp of the Job Network, to help counter the anticipated next wave of the global economic crisis - bosses laying off hundreds of thousands of workers in the first half of the year. The Australian
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 4: Colin Barnett has called for a review of federal payments to the states, saying the current funding model could slash WA's share of goods and services tax revenue to less than 6 per cent, despite WA having nearly 11 per cent of Australia's population.
Signs the global financial crisis will leave a lasting legacy on many people's finances have deepened with new figures revealing WA had the highest jump in personal bankruptcies of any state last year.
Business: China's manufacturing sector has shrunk for a third straight month as exports fall and companies run down inventories, while in Japan business confidence has plunged in the latest signs Asia is feeling the pinch from the global economic slowdown.
The Cape Lambert Iron Ore board is poised to meet this week to consider a swag of potential acquisitions, including the assets of collapsed miner CopperCo and debt-laden OZ Minerals, as it prepares to strike an offtake deal over its flagship Sierra Leone project.
A three-month struggle to squeeze shareholders for enough capital to bring its African gold project into production has finally ended for Resolute Mining, which will resume trading again today after pocketing $54.7 million - nearly $18 million short of its target.
Australian stocks are expected to track gains in overseas markets today in its first full week of trading for the year.
A difficult market environment is likely to spur greater merger and acquisition activity in 2009.
Private equity investors led by former Goldman Sachs executive Mnuchin and billionaire investor George Soros have agreed to buy collapsed lender IndyMac Bank and inject $US1.3 billion in a rare purchase of a failed financial institution by non-bank buyers.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: More than 5,000 enterprise agreements are up for renegotiation this year as employers warn that overly generous pay increases will come at the cost of jobs, setting the scene for an increase in industrial disputes.
Investors are hoping that the coming profit reporting season and the expected drop in corporate earnings do not dampen the optimism that the sharemarket can recover ground after its worst annual performance on record.
The number of Americans out of work is expected to soar to a 15-and-a-half-year high, deepening the US recession and supporting president-elect Barack Obama's call for a swift approval of massive spending to avoid double-digit unemployment.
Page 3: Government departments and agencies will be required to find another round of efficiency savings under federal government plans to fund part of its economic crisis measures from cost savings.
Page 5: Insolvencies and company administrations have jumped by about a third in the past year, but insolvency experts predict the real carnage will begin for a broad range of businesses early this year.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Rudd government officials are working on options for a jobs package, including a revamp of the Job Network, to help counter the anticipated next wave of the global economic crisis - bosses laying off hundreds of thousands of workers in the first half of the year.
Page 3: Small stores will be exempt from a mandatory unit pricing scheme to be announced by the Rudd government within weeks.
Business: A surge on Wall Street is likely to lift the Australian market on Monday.
Lucrative Australian exports such as iron ore face a tough year as flat-lining global growth and sluggish demand are set to topple resource prices from extravagant highs, analysts say.
