Big banks put credit squeeze on small business; Woolworths in ACCC's sights over Danks; Leading stocks to give vital updates; FMG keeps pressure on for Pilbara consolidation; Jobs watchdog takes union to court for strike
Big banks put credit squeeze on small business
Small and medium-sized businesses are bearing the brunt of tighter credit, paying relatively higher interest rates and being shut out of obtaining working capital for new ventures despite the improving economic outlook. The Fin Review
Woolworths in ACCC's sights over Danks
The Danks hardware group will hold a board meeting later this week to discuss the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's reservations about its takeover by Woolworths, and a clash between the retail giant and the competition regulator's chief, Graeme Samuel, looks likely. Sydney Morning Herald
Leading stocks to give vital updates
Wesfarmers and supermarket arch rivals Woolworths are among a raft of companies which will update investors this week, providing important fresh indicators on the strength of Australia's economic recovery. The West
FMG keeps pressure on for Pilbara consolidation
Speculation about further consolidation in the Pilbara is back in the air, and it's not just United Minerals Corp shareholders who are interested. The West
Jobs watchdog takes union to court for strike
Unions are being targeted by the nation's workplace watchdog, with 20 investigations being conducted into allegations of unlawful industrial action by workers. The Australian
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull's rare moment of triumph - gaining party room approval for amendments to the Rudd government's emissions trading scheme - will be short-lived as colleagues prepare to vote down the legislation a second time.
Page 3: Crab fishermen have welcomed a decision by Fisheries Minister Norman Moore to reopen Cockburn Sound for commercial and recreational crabbing after a three-year ban.
Page 4: WA's importance to the national and global economy is set to accelerate despite the global recession and in the face of climbing interest rates, a key forecaster has predicted.
Page 5: Apple growers are angry at plans to allow Chinese imports, saying such a move would pose a significant bio-security risk and erode profitability of the state's apple industry.
Page 7: The company responsible for a major oil spill off the Kimberley coast says a fourth attempt to plug the leak will, take place on Thursday.
Business: Wesfarmers and supermarket arch rivals Woolworths are among a raft of companies which will update investors this week, providing important fresh indicators on the strength of Australia's economic recovery.
Eric Streitberg has regained management control of fledgling oil and gas minor Buru Energy less than six months after relinquishing the chairmanship of the company.
Babcock & Brown Infrastructure is warning investors they face being wiped out if they choose to reject the proposed $1.8 billion recapitalisation of the troubled company.
Speculation about further consolidation in the Pilbara is back in the air, and it's not just United Minerals Corp shareholders who are interested.
Homebuyers and others with big debts took two big gambles during the past year when the Reserve Bank of Australia cut rates to levels that might only be seen once in a lifetime. They didn't fix their mortgage rates and they didn't reduce their overall borrowing.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Small and medium-sized businesses are bearing the brunt of tighter credit, paying relatively higher interest rates and being shut out of obtaining working capital for new ventures despite the improving economic outlook.
Federal opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull has won coalition authority to push for changes to the federal government's emissions trading scheme that aim to increase assistance to power generators and heavy industry, while excluding farming from the regime altogether.
US oil major Chevron has made a significant gas discovery off the West Australian coast that will further underpin its massive $43 billion Gorgon liquefied natural gas project in the state.
Page 3: Big falls in household incomes, weakening demand for commodities and sluggish job creation will constrain the recovery as growth struggles to reach above-trend pace in the next four years, a leading economic forecaster has warned.
Page 4: Despite heightened concern about executive pay, only a handful of companies are expected to face majority no votes on their remuneration reports this year, bringing into question directors' worries about the proposed "two strikes" rule for boards.
Page 5: Banks engaged in complex offshore swap transactions are being scrutinised by the Australian Taxation Office because of concerns they are being used for tax avoidance.
PricewaterhouseCoopers insisted failed advisory firm Storm Financial pre-pay a $50,000 invoice when it discovered the extent of the company's financial troubles.
Page 12: US consumer sentiment remains fragile as high unemployment continues to overshadow signs of an economic recovery and the rallying sharemarket.
Page 14: China's largest banks have been ordered to clean up their books by increasing provisions for bad loans and improving capital adequacy coverage following an unprecedented lending spree in the past nine months.
Page 41: Lion Nathan chief executive Rob Murray has sought to assure suppliers and customers that the company will operate as an independent entity after its takeover by major shareholder and Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings is completed this week.
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is stepping up its campaign to charge for all of its media content and reduce its dependence on the advertising cycle, having decided to impose fees on cable companies that resell its US television broadcast channels.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Malcolm Turnbull has delayed a likely leadership showdown with the coalition's right wing by winning its approval to seek to amend Kevin Rudd's planned emissions trading scheme.
Page 2: A fourth attempt to plug the massive oil spill off the Kimberley coast will be made this week after the latest attempt failed, leaving environmentalists calling for urgent government intervention.
Page 3: Unions are being targeted by the nation's workplace watchdog, with 20 investigations being conducted into allegations of unlawful industrial action by workers.
Page 4: Higher inflation will force the Reserve Bank to put interest rates up by 1.75 per cent within two years, contributing to a less dramatic economic recovery than in previous downturns.
The Nationals have vowed to vote against an emissions trading scheme in the Senate despite the agreement to negotiate with Labor.
The coalition has passed a business wish-list of amendments to Kevin Rudd's emissions trading scheme that the government is extremely unlikely to agree to in its entirety, but which could form the basis for a deal.
Page 7: The system of competing insurance plans proposed to ensure the health system can cope with the looming spike of chronically ill retirees has come under attack, amid claims it would prove a disaster and relegate Medicare to a basic no-frills service.
The prospect of a spate of interest rate rises appears to have had little effect on weekend auction results.
The chief executive of News Digital Media, Richard Freudenstein, has described as laughable and bizarre ABC boss Mark Scott's condemnation of paid internet content.
Page 8: Former ALP senator and lobbyist Nick Bolkus has resigned as a director of collapsed aquaculture company Australian Bight Abalone, clearing the way for a new regime run by investors to take over the troubled business.
Business: In a case echoing the scandals of the 1980s, US federal authorities have exposed what they claim is the biggest insider-trading ring in a generation -- a conspiracy in which a hedge fund kingpin and executives at blue-chip firms including IBM and Intel allegedly connived to profit on Google and other big-name stocks.
The Australian Taxation Office has hit one of Australia's wealthiest people with a massive $242 million tax bill, following an extensive audit of their financial affairs.
Brambles' biggest management and operational overhaul in a decade has failed to win over the investment community amid fears of cost blowouts in the US operations and concerns that competitors will erode its dominance of the global pallet supplies.
Kirin's $3.5 billion takeover of Lion Nathan and forthcoming merger with National Foods is less about saving money than it is about the Japanese way of doing business, says Lion chief executive Rob Murray.
Listed airlines Qantas and Virgin Blue, struggling rag trader Pacific Brands and Coca-Cola Amatil have been rated among the biggest beneficiaries of the Australian dollar's strength -- but overall corporate losers far outweigh the winners.
The Australian sharemarket is tipped to open lower today after a disappointing lead from Wall Street on Friday.
No wonder Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens is talking about the Aussie dollar moving up through parity to $US1.10: the RBA's inflation focus is helping push it there.
A number of large vulture funds circling billions of dollars of distressed property could be shut down, as banks increasingly extend or modify loans for troubled borrowers rather than rushing to foreclose.
After dropping its pursuit of rival Anglo American, mining giant Xstrata will turn its focus towards projects it already has in the pipeline, rather than seek new acquisitions, according to its chief executive, Mick Davis.
Fortescue Metals Group has reported a net loss of $US18 million ($19.56m) for the September quarter after adjustments for foreign exchange and a note liability.
Negotiations between CIT Group, the troubled commercial lender, and a steering committee of bondholders and some aggrieved investors went down to the 11th hour before the company announced a series of amendments to a sweeping debt-exchange and a pre-packaged bankruptcy plan.
Bank of America released documents on Friday showing more about its decision-making during the Merrill Lynch takeover, while reporting a $US1 billion ($1.1bn) net loss that revealed continued exposure to bad loans and a weak US consumer.
Hong Kong's serial media and communications entrepreneur Richard Li is at it again. He is now planning to take on New York's billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg with a financial data and information business service that promises to be "the definitive provider of business intelligence on China".