Board seat push ended Chinalco deal; China slump hits recovery hopes; Major GRD investors warm to $105m AMEC bid; Gatto brokered Cape Lambert peace; Minmetals closes OZ deal
Board seat push ended Chinalco deal
Chinalco's investment in Rio Tinto was derailed because Rio Tinto refused to allow Chinalco a director on its board. SMH
China slump hits recovery hopes
The slump in world trade continued with China reporting a 26.4 per cent fall in exports. The Aust
Major GRD investors warm to $105m AMEC bid
Two years after rejecting a $530m bid from Transfield, some big GRD investors have welcomed an opportunistic bid by the UK's AMEC. The West
Gatto brokered Cape Lambert peace
Mick Shemesian's decision to sell out of Cape Lambert was brokered by Mick Gatto, described as a Melbourne underworld figure, who arranged a peace deal with major shareholders of the Tony Sage-run company.The Wes
Minmetals closes OZ deal
China Minmetals $US1.39 billion deal with OZ Minerals has been approved by shareholders.The Aust
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
Page 3: The Chinese Government could impose "trade sanctions" on BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto if they combined their iron ore businesses without first gaining permission from competition authorities in Beijing, a Chinese official has warned.
Page 4: The industrial watchdog has been accused of being out of touch after granting WA's lowest-paid workers a pay rise of less than the rate of annual average inflation.
Businesses are slashing staff working hours in a bid to keep them employed, putting a lid on the jobless rate in the face of the global recession.
Page 6: The State Government's rush tp appoint former Howard government adviser Peter Conran to the head of the Premier's Department compromised the Public Sector Commission's capacity to uphold the integrity of the selection process, a parliamentary inquiry has found.
Page 7: Former Liberal senator Chris Ellison will provide a report to the State Government as part of his role to develop a conservation strategy for the Kimberley despite repeated claims by Premier Colin Barnett that the job was only to chair public forums.
Business: Some of GRD's biggest shareholders have indicated they may be willing to accept an "opportunistic" $105 million takeover bid from UK contractor AMEC, less than two years after the Perth engineering and waste management company rejected a $530 million offer from Transfield Services.
Melbourne underworld figure Mick Gatto has emerged as the peacemaker between Tony Sage's Cape Lambert Iron Ore and major shareholders, billionaire Roman Abramovich and British-based Mick Shemesian.
Capacity constraints at Geraldton port could delay start-up times for emerging Mid West iron ore miners.
Fortescue Metals Group shares have jumped to an eight-month high, coinciding with the Andrew Forrest-led miner holding a board meeting in Beijing and China's steel industry looking for iron ore suppliers to rival the proposed BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Pilbara merger.
Energy giant Chevron does not expect to deliver its full quota of gas to local industry from its massive Gorgon project until 2021- up to nine years later than initially required - raising doubts about the State Government's commitment to the domestic gas reservation policy.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
Page 1: The Australian Taxation Office will target executives and directors this tax time after recent audits and data-matching uncovered $40 million in undeclared income from employee share schemes and bonuses last year.
More than 125,000 full-time jobs have been lost in the past 10 months as employers hit by falling demand and weak profits wind back work hours, eating into household income and undermining consumption.
In the boom times it was the once-a-year meeting many employees looked forward to - the chance to put their case for a rise or a nice slice of the bonus pool. But in the downturn, with pay rises and bonuses largely off the table, the performance review has become a meeting to dread.
Page 3: The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is set to toughen disclosure requirements for unlisted managed investment schemes and property trusts in a bid to protect investors after recent collapses such as Timbercorp and Great Southern.
Page 4: Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard has warned the states they will be held liable for the costs to business if they fail to transfer remaining laws covering private sector employment to the commonwealth.
The federal government appears set to secure parliamentary approval for its offer to guarantee about $170 billion in state bonds, after the coalition chose to narrow its objections to a measure that has been broadly welcomed by the financial markets.
Page 7: Business wants further changes to the federal government's employee share proposals to reduce complexity and avoid problems for overseas workers.
Page 12: They were in the right place at the right time and more importantly, they had the right stuff. A new snapshot of the labour force in Western Australia in the three overheated years leading up to the economic slump shows nearly 150,000 people moved to the state during that period.
Page 15: Two Chinese-backed iron ore projects worth about $4 billion might be threatened by a decision by West Australian Premier Colin Barnett to restrict iron ore exports at Geraldton port.
