High stakes in iiNet piracy court battle; Broker demand puts Myer float on track; Telstra plan under fire; Job ads jump shortens chance of rate increase; Vmoto corners rest of China factory stake
High stakes in iiNet piracy court battle
Perth-based iiNet begins the fight f its life today as it takes on the might of Hollywood's movie studios, which have accused Australia's internet service provider of encouraging "rampant" copyright abuse for its commercial benefit. The Fin Review
Broker demand puts Myer float on track
Myer's private equity owners have hit back at widening market grumbling over the high valuation placed on the retailer's $3 billion float, announcing last night that demand for stock from the nation's brokers on behalf of their high-net worth clients exceeded more than $2 billion. The West
Telstra plan under fire
Australia's biggest listed investment company has slammed the Federal Government's plan to break up Telstra, saying it could undermine the nation's reputation as a safe place to invest. The Courier-Mail
Job ads jump shortens chance of rate increase
An interest rate rise today has become a live chance, with financial markets tipping the Reserve Bank could become the first central bank in the world to begin tightening monetary policy. The Australian
Vmoto corners rest of China factory stake
Australian scooter manufacturer and distributor Vmoto has consolidated its position in China after snapping up the remaining stake in its joint venture manufacturing facility in Nanjing. The Fin Review
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 3: Elizabeth Blackburn last night became the first Australian woman to win the Nobel Prize for medicine, reaching a landmark for the nation's women scientists.
Page 9: Taxpayers are set to fork out millions of dollars on a massive advertising blitz as part of a bid by the federal government to stem the flood of boat people from Sri Lanka.
Page 10: Interest rates will be higher for the next four years, a Reserve Bank board member has predicted, because of the success of the government's $42 billion stimulus package.
Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull's bid to strike a compromise climate change pact with Labor is floundering after key senators from the Liberal party's moderate and conservative wings urged no deal be struck before the United Nations' Copenhagen talks in December.
Page 13: WA's public housing wait list would be personalised to suit the needs of every applicant and rent would be overhauled as part of the state government's plan to tackle the housing affordability crisis.
Page 14: Alan Carpenter gave a commitment to Labor powerbroker Joe Bullock that he would stay in Parliament at least until the 2017 state election just two weeks before he announced his retirement from politics, the union boss said yesterday.
Page 17: Small businesses in the Pilbara claim they are being pushed out of the market by soaring land prices as property owners try to cash in on the $43 billion Gorgon gas project.
The WA fishing industry is reeling after revelations members will not receive compensation similar to a policy in Queensland if proposed marine parks inhibit their economic viability.
Page 18: The Fremantle division of the Liberal Party has called for a reduction in the amount of public housing in the port city.
Business: Myer's private equity owners have hit back at widening market grumbling over the high valuation placed on the retailer's $3 billion float, announcing last night that demand for stock from the nation's brokers on behalf of their high-net worth clients exceeded more than $2 billion.
Uranium explorer Greenland Minerals and Energy's 2007-08 loss has been dramatically revised after a blowout to reflect the issue of options to a corporate adviser, Gravner.
Australasian Resources is in funding talks with Chinese, Korean and Middle Eastern investors over its flagship Balmoral South iron ore project and hopes to strike a deal by early next year after WA's environmental watchdog yesterday gave the $2.7 billion project the green light.
Timbercorp almond growers are set to return to court today, claiming the $128 million sale of Timbercorp's almond plantations to Olam International leaves them with nothing and crushes their rights.
Telstra's second-biggest shareholder has launched a campaign among its investors to send letters and complaints to federal politicians arguing that proposed regulatory changes in the telecommunications sector will hurt Telstra shares.
There is light at the end of the tunnel for AWB on the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal after the grains group secured another legal victory in the US.
Financial stocks pulled the sharemarket into the red yesterday, ahead of today's Reserve Bank board meeting with string job market data increasing the likelihood of an interest rate rise.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Boards of publicly listed companies are bracing for a backlash from shareholders during this year's annual general meeting season over a spate of dilutionary capital raisings that favoured large institutional investors and the granting of executive pay rises despite lower profits.
Perth-based iiNet begins the fight f its life today as it takes on the might of Hollywood's movie studios, which have accused Australia's internet service provider of encouraging "rampant" copyright abuse for its commercial benefit.
Demand for workers has risen for a second consecutive month in a sign that conditions in the labour market are turning, further increasing the likelihood that the Reserve Bank of Australia will begin raising interest rates when it meets today.
The Productivity Commission has supported the increasing concerns of farmers who believe the federal government risks wasting $3.1 billion on purchasing water rights with limited benefit for the environment.
Page 3: The federal opposition is exploring ways it can amend the Rudd government's emissions trading legislation to ensure the scheme is flexible enough to cope with an expected weak outcome from the Copenhagen climate change summit in December.
Page 7: GM Holden will export a locally made car to US police departments in a deal that could restore its export markets and deliver a boost to the hard-pressed Australian automotive industry.
Page 12: The International Monetary Fund has taken on an even bigger global role as its 186 member nations endorsed a mandate from the Group of 20 to guide a lasting economic recovery.
Page 15: Australian scooter manufacturer and distributor Vmoto has consolidated its position in China after snapping up the remaining stake in its joint venture manufacturing facility in Nanjing.
Xstrata's Mick Davis could find himself under pressure to up the stakes in orer to secure a takeover of Anglo American.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Liberal Party support has slumped back to the level it was at early in Brendan Nelson's embattled leadership, as Malcolm Turnbull loses economic credibility with the public and fights his own backbench over an emissions trading scheme.
Page 3: GM Holden is hoping to revive its export program to the US with versions of its Caprice model customised for police departments.
Page 6: An overwhelming majority of voters - 75 per cent - believe the Rudd government's economic stimulus package will make them better off or leave them no worse off in the coming year, despite concerns about the level of national debt.
Job advertisements rebounded for the second consecutive month, prompting some economists to predict a rate rise today, but most expect the Reserve Bank will hold fire when it meets for its monthly board meeting.
Housing providers are becoming increasingly worried about a timing blowout in the delivery of the social housing component of the Rudd government's $42 billion stimulus package, with some still waiting for approvals meant to be finalised in August.
Business: An interest rate rise today has become a live chance, with financial markets tipping the Reserve Bank could become the first central bank in the world to begin tightening monetary policy.
The nation's largest listed investment company has joined the growing chorus of criticism directed at the federal government over its bid to strongarm Telstra into splitting itself in two to smooth the way for the national broadband network.
Australian company Greenland Minerals and Energy is sitting on arguably the world's biggest rare earths deposit, one that some say could go a long way to breaking China's monopoly in the growing sector.
Canada's Eldorado Gold has received Foreign Investment Review Board approval for its $1.9 billion all-scrip bid for Sino Gold, clearing the way for shareholders to vote on the deal next month.
State-owned oil giant PetroChina has become a major shareholder in Melbourne oil and gas producer Cue Energy Resources through its $US2.2 billion acquisition of Singapore Petroleum.
Department store group Myer's $2.3 billion initial public offering is off to a strong start, with retail stockbrokers putting their hands up for more stock than is available for sale.
Corporate deals in Australia and China are dominating investment banking in the Asia-Pacific region, with the two countries accounting for almost half of the transactions.
Shares in Vmoto rallied more than 7 per cent to 15 cents yesterday after the scooter distributor wrapped up control of Nanjing, owner of the Nanjing manufacturing plant in China.
Group of Seven finance chiefs have stopped short of signalling out the weaker US dollar for criticism and stuck to their mantra that "disorderly" swings in currencies threaten economic growth.
