Today's Business Headlines

'Luddites' keep Perth in dark on retail trading
Is Western Australia poised to lead the national economic recovery thanks to its cutting-edge resources sector and record intake of overseas and interstate migrants? Or will Perth remain "stuck in the dark ages", and facing am exodus of talent and jobs, due to the "flat earthers" who want the shops in Perth to remain shut on weeknights and on Sundays? The Fin Review

Super review targets fund manager fees
The federal government's inquiry into the $1.1 trillion superannuation system will consider recommending changes to the way super funds benchmark their returns, which could slash fees paid to fund managers and discourage short-term strategies that disadvantage members. The Fin Review

Big Telstra holders blasted
The Labor Party has hit back at large shareholders who have cried foul over plans to dismember Telstra. The West

Manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers sentiment flags
The surging Australian dollar and the waning effect of the federal government's cash splash dented business confidence last month, with companies still wary about investing. Daily Telegraph

Rio unit soars on coal rebound
Rio Tinto coal subsidiary Coal & Allied has logged its best quarterly production in almost three years after a revival in coking coal demand that lapsed during the global downturn. The Australian

THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:

Page 4: Premier Colin Barnett conceded yesterday the prospect of extended weeknight shopping for the metropolitan area by Christmas appears over after he rejected Labor's offer of 7pm closing times.

As the owner of an IGA store, Greg Brindle seems far removed from the image associated with the independent grocery chain of a small business underdog.

Labor's decision to support the extension of weeknight shopping in the metropolitan area from 6pm to 7pm looks like a Clayton's offer cooked up to save face with an angry electorate.

Page 7: Operating theatres for elective surgery, outpatient clinics and day wards at Royal Perth Hospital may be shut for up to four weeks, twice as long as usual, over the Christmas holiday period as the public health sector struggles to rein in costs.

Perth's new children's hospital is facing further delays after the Health Department listed its new completion date as mid-2016 despite an election promise to have it built by 2014.

Page 9: Perth's property prices will climb 12 per cent over the next three years in a modest recovery, according to fresh figures.

A Bunbury block-making firm has been fined $100,000 after a teenage worker's leg was torn off by a machine he was not formally trained to use.

Page 10: The state's timber agency revealed yesterday it had been dealt a series of blows by the economic downturn, a gas explosion and bushfires, posting a $16 million loss in estimated revenue last financial year.

WA jarrah and marri furniture makers say they are struggling to survive while native timber is sold to overseas factories.

Page 11: Low and middle income earners could get major tax concessions to encourage them to put more money into superannuation under plans to boost retirement earnings of Australians.

Page 13: WA restaurant diners are among the worst tippers in Australia, with more than 40 per cent never leaving a tip, a national poll has revealed.

Page 16: Colin Barnett is the nation's highest paid premier and its second-best paid politician while leading a group of ministers who get bigger weekly pay cheques than Australia's Foreign and Defence Ministers.

Page 17: State and federal MPs have access to a wealth of special allowances that can almost double the base pay for even the most junior of backbenchers.

Business: The Labor Party has hit back at large shareholders who have cried foul over plans to dismember Telstra.

Two WA investors who became mates after pharmacy school have stumped up $44 million for the Holiday Inn City Centre in Hay Street in the first major hotel deal in the CBD for more than 18 months.

Iron ore heiress Gina Rinehart is only months from celebrating the opening of Hancock Prospecting's second Pilbara mine after reaching agreement to develop a manganese project.

The ranks of China's billionaires have surged from three to 130 in just five years, while the rest of the world wallows in economic crisis.

As Australia braces for another resources-driven boom, it needs to also prepare for the inevitable skills shortage that will accompany it.

Aquila Resources has set itself a four-year timetable to develop its proposed port at Anketell Point, west of Cape Lambert.

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:

Page 1: The federal government's inquiry into the $1.1 trillion superannuation system will consider recommending changes to the way super funds benchmark their returns, which could slash fees paid to fund managers and discourage short-term strategies that disadvantage members.

Roger Corbett has promised that the Fairfax Media board will "speak with a single voice" after directors unanimously elected him as chairman yesterday following the retirement of Ron Walker.

Page 3: Is Western Australia poised to lead the national economic recovery thanks to its cutting-edge resources sector and record intake of overseas and interstate migrants? Or will Perth remain "stuck in the dark ages", and facing am exodus of talent and jobs, due to the "flat earthers" who want the shops in Perth to remain shut on weeknights and on Sundays?

Business profits and sales have dropped in a sign that household spending is weakening as the focus of the federal government's stimulus program shifts from handouts to infrastructure investment, raising the prospect of softer growth in the second half of the year.

Page 5: The federal opposition admits its is yet to decide how it wants the economy's biggest polluting sector to be treated under emissions trading just days before it presents long-awaited amendments to the coalition party room.

Page 6: A register of reputable education recruitment agents will be launched later this month as the private education and training industry moves to weed out dodgy advisers here and overseas.

Page 10: Gas-fired power stations in Western Australia would be retrofitted to allow them to switch to diesel in the event of another Varanus Island-style gas supply crisis, under a plan released yesterday by a government-appointed committee.

Page 15: Telstra has signalled that it hopes to seal a commercial agreement with the Rudd government on the national broadband network by Christmas but has repeated calls for the Senate to delay a controversial shake-up of telecommunications laws until the talks are finished.

Page 16: Timbercorp liquidator KordaMentha has sold the failed group's olive groves to Boundary Bend Ltd for $59.5 million, in a deal that will offer equity participation to existing investor growers in the managed investment scheme company.

THE AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: A row has broken out between the federal and Queensland governments over restrictions on liquefied natural gas projects that threaten $40 billion in foreign investment and form a key plank of the Rudd government's emissions trading scheme.

Page 2: Tax breaks for low- and middle-income earners to encourage them to boost their superannuation savings have emerged as central to a federal government push to slash future aged-pension liabilities.

Page 4: Strong forward orders in the mining, manufacturing and construction industries have underpinned confidence that the pace of Australia's economic recovery will be maintained, and sparked predictions that interest rates will rise 0.5 per cent before Christmas.

Page 5: Storm Financial co-founder Emmanuel Cassimatis bumped up by half a million dollars the dividend paid to him and his wife from the beleaguered company's accounts, all the while knowing Storm owed the tax office $11 million.

Backing from famed US investor Warren Buffet and surging interest in green technologies have vaulted 43-year-old Wang Chuanfu, the founder of battery and electric carmaking group BYD, to the top of this year's China's Hurun rish list with an estimated fortune of $5.6 billion.

Business: Rio Tinto coal subsidiary Coal & Allied has logged its best quarterly production in almost three years after a revival in coking coal demand that lapsed during the global downturn.

Roger Corbett has been named the next chairman of Fairfax Media, as the group's fractured board presented a united front after months of infighting.

The greatest challenge Roger Corbett faces as chairman of Fairfax Media could be the role of chairman itself, leaving aside his lack of publishing experience.

Telstra has urged a Senate inquiry to delay debate on proposed changes to telecommunications laws until it has concluded its behind-closed-doors discussions with the government.

China, the world's biggest iron ore importer, would soon introduce new rules to regulate imports of the commodity and would seek a greater say in its pricing, the head of the country's chief iron ore price negotiator said yesterday.

Macquarie Media Group has warned that its American Consolidated Media unit, which published community newspapers in Texas and Oklahoma, is likely to breach two key loan covenants was weaker advertising markets squeeze earnings.

Australia's reverse mortgage market continues to grow despite the downturn as senior Australians seek an alternative to superannuation to provide a regular income stream in retirement.

The Australian Bankers Association has locked horns with Ross Garnaut over the eminent economist's claim that the Australian banking system was insolvent during the financial crisis.