Today's Business Headlines

Labor IR law ‘works well’ – The Fin

The legal academic who will help oversee a review of the industrial relations system believes the balance of power in workplaces is shifting in favour of corporations, and the Fair Work Act “generally works well”.

Reserve eyes rate cuts on Europe fears – The West

The Reserve Bank is increasingly worried that the European economy will collapse on the back of its sovereign debt woes, leaving open the door to deeper interest rate cuts early next year.

Telstra reshuffle as Fegan departs – The Aus

Telstra chief executive David Thodey has been forced to reshuffle his executive deck after the telco’s head of strategy Paul Fegan unexpectedly quit yesterday. 

Elders focuses on paying down debt, not dividends – The Aus

Elders’ long-suffering shareholders and owners of hybrid shares will have to wait at least another year before seeing any signs of a dividend after the company declared yesterday at its annual meeting that paying down debt was a priority. 

The West:

Pg6 – Boat sellers are reporting some of the toughest business conditions in the past 30 years as a combination of surplus boats and cheap imports from the US flood the WA market.

The Reserve Bank is increasingly worried that the European economy will collapse on the back of its sovereign debt woes, leaving open the door to deeper interest rate cuts early next year.

Pg13- Industry pressure is growing on Environment Minister Bill Marmion to deal with two contentious projects seen as key indicators of the Barnett Government’s attitude to resource projects other than iron ore and gas.

Pg17 – Tobacco giant Phillip Morris has become the latest cigarette manufacturer to file a High Court challenge against the Federal Government’s plain packaging laws.

Pg26 – Commerce minister Simon O’Brien has savaged United Voice State secretary Dave Kelly’s attempt to win pay rises for some of WA’s lowest paid workers, saying the union boss was trying on a “party trick for publicity”.

Pg28 – Up to one million tonnes of waste from construction and demolition sites could be used to build roads as part of efforts to boost WA’s poor recycling record.

Pg51- The prudential regulator has told the nation’s insurers that crucial stress testing of balance sheets has fallen short in recent years in the face of a rising number of natural disasters.

Perth’s depressed and unpredictable property development market has claimed another high-profile victim, with financiers appointing receivers to a luxury mixed-use tower in the heart of the city.

Pg52- Elders is on its way to a “much improved” performance this year, with profit for the first two months tracking in line with the company’s full-year forecasts, an upbeat chairman John Ballard has told shareholders.

The Chinese miner poised to take control of Wesfarmers’ WA coal business is in talks to create what could be Australia’s biggest independent coal miner – the latest in a string of multibillion-dollar deals in the sector.

Pg53- The federal government is going after directors of failed companies who, having avoided liability for workers’ entitlements and other debts, restart the business under a similar name.

WA’s new Small Business Commissioner is a former State manager for Australia Post who cut his teeth in the manufacturing sector during the tariff wars of the 1980s.

Pg56 – Economic turmoil in overseas markets and upbeat growth forecasts for WA have triggered a record level of office sales for the year, with buildings valued at $880 million changing hands.

The $50million renovation of 157 St Georges Terrace is underway, with leasing deals already signed for half the floors in the landmark CBD office tower.

Pg57 – A scramble for defensive stocks spared the Australian sharemarket steeper losses yesterday after the Reserve Bank minutes revealed the December rate cut was a close call amid mounting concern over the Eurozone credit crisis.

Investors wiped out another 13 per cent of Billabong’s market capitalisation yesterday, sending the stock to a new low as investors digested the implications of Monday’s shock earnings downgrade.

The Fin:

Pg1- The legal academic who will help oversee a review of the industrial relations system believes the balance of power in workplaces is shifting in favour of corporations, and the Fair Work Act “generally works well”.

The former chairman of Macarthur Coal has criticised high costs and red tape for the disappearance of Australia’s mid cap coal sector, and predicted increased foreign takeovers as China’s Yancoal works on an $8 billion merger with Glocester Coal.

Woodside Petroleum’s commitment to the contentious James Price Point site on Western Australia’s Kimberley coast for its massive Browse liquefied natural gas project has been questioned as estimates for building the plant soar to $US 40 billion ($40.2 billion).

Pg3 – Australia Post has extended trading hours, rented extra depots and sent head office staff down to dispatch to help cope with a 13 per cent surge in parcel volumes due to the online shopping boom.

Pg4- Australian winemakers have called on supermarkets to end a discounting campaign that threatens to undermine the status of many wine brands.

Pg5 – Warnings from the Reserve Bank of Australia that the global economy is set to slow nextyear have fuelled speculation official interest rates will have to be cut below the level reached during the global financial crisis.

Pg6 – A political deadlock looks likely on changes to the Gillard government’s workplace regime and industry doubts about whether the review of the laws will lead to substantial change.

Pg9 – Santos has sought to stave off the growing threat of a moratorium on the coal seam gas industry in NSW, citing the $15.2 billion boom in its project in the Gunnedah Basin would bring to the state’s struggling economy.

The Clean Energy Council has rejected claims that the federal government’s new $10 billion fund to kick-start renewable projects could become an industry slush fund and discourage private sector investment in electricity generation.

Labor’s vow to cut red tape and create a “seamless national economy” has delivered just 4.5 per cent of its forecast gains as delays hamper reforms aimed at adding $3 billion to economic output.

Pg 15 – Investors are bracing for another round of profit downgrades in the discretionary retail sector as Christmas sales and margins fall short of budgets.

Billabong chief executive Derek O’Neill has come under pressure to simplify the business and raise fresh capital to save the ailing surf wear supplier and retailer.

Telstra’s plans to draft in a new generation of leaders have been dealt an embarrassing blow with the resignation of head of strategy Paul Fegan less than a year after he joined.

Pg17 – Australians could not hold onto their afternoon gains and dipped into the red after spending the day bouncing between break-even following the harsh sell-off on Monday.

Pg33 – Elders has dropped plans to sell its Futuris automotive parts business, and will hang on to the last piece of its failed industrial conglomerate ambitions, using it as an earnings cushion for its core rural services business.

Bionic ear manufacturer Cochlear has attributed a seal breach for the failure of its Nucleas 5 product, but says it does not know when the device will be back on the market.

Pg37 – The Reserve Bank of Australia says the European financial crisis has caused long-term funding markets to become dislocated but says banks should be able to continue to tap short-term offshore markets.

Pg38 – HSBC is pushing to win more project finance business in the Australian resources sector, where projects worth more than $230 billion are under development and access to capital is tightening.

The Aus:

Pg1- New Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten has declared arbitration of workplace disputes should be used ‘‘very sparingly’’, rejecting a key union demand ahead of the review of Labor’s Fair Work Act. 

Pg4- The world economy is likely to weaken next year and the Reserve Bank has warned of a crash in Europe that could generate serious shockwaves for Australia.

Pg5- Indigenous people see attending endless training courses as futile, as they already have ‘‘heaps of certificates’’, and job agencies funded by the Gillard government are doing the bare minimum to get Aborigines work. 

Pg15 - The Reserve Bank’s next interest rate cut will be directed by the European crisis and the potential damage to the Australian economy if the world were to plunge into a fresh recession because of the sovereign debt drama. 

Tesltra chief executive David Thodey has been forced to reshuffle his executive deck after the telco’s head of strategy Paul Fegan unexpectedly quit yesterday. 

Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, has thrown her weight behind Mongolia’s emerging coal industry, spending an estimated $3 million on positions in two companies exploring in the Asian nation.

The hole in the mid-tier coal sector created by Peabody Energy’s takeover of Macarthur Coal this year could soon be filled, as China’s Yanzhou Coal and Gloucester Coal explore multibillion-dollar merger talks while Whitehaven Resources and Aston Coal try to bed down their agreed $5 billion merger. 

Pg16- Elders’ long-suffering shareholders and owners of hybrid shares will have to wait at least another year before seeing any signs of a dividend after the company declared yesterday at its annual meeting that paying down debt was a priority. 

Pg17- Incitec Pivot chief executive James Fazzino offered an upbeat assessment of the company’s prospects yesterday and dismissed any investor concern that rival Orica was planning to enter the lucrative West Australian explosives market by acquiring a stake in the Burrup project.

Reducing red tape for businesses could boost the economy by $6 billion, according to a Productivity Commission discussion paper. 

Pg21- Australia’s key stock index ended slightly down yesterday, struggling to gain momentum as investors waited for news on the state of Europe’s debt crisis while digesting the release of minutes from the Reserve Bank’s last board meeting. 

Shares in surf and skiwear brand Billabong continued to fall yesterday, after a shock earnings downgrade on Monday. 

The Sydney Morning Herald

Page 1: The former immigration minister Philip Ruddock says an asylum deal could include the Malaysia solution if the country promises not to return refugees to countries of persecution.

Page 2: The people smugglers who organised the boat that sank off East Java could have earned $1 million from the voyage.

Page 3: Less people are defaulting on their mortgage payments, despite a backdrop of global financial uncertainty.

Business: The Reserve Bank has warned that 2012 will be a tough year for the global economy, and may lead to more rate cuts.

The Age

Page 1: Philip Ruddock pressures Tony Abbott to do a deal with the government over asylum seekers.

French doctor says he treated Kim Jong-Il in 2008 following a stroke. Bairnsdale Hospital in turmoil after senior doctor fired and another quits. Woman dies after a visit to Croydon abortion clinic.

Page 2: Little India traders in Dandenong to lobby Indian government for help over redevelopment plans during Baillieu visit. Victorian top health bureaucrat quits.

Business: Foreigners grab 30 per cent of Australia's apartment market.

Herald-Sun

Page 1: CFA knew about dangerous chemicals stored at their Fiskville training camp for 20 years, says secret report.

Page 2: Nauru would be on the agenda if bipartisan talks are held about border protection. AFP closes the net on people smugglers responsible for last weekend's killer sinking.

Business: Interest rates will fall twice early next year as RBA looks to insulate Australia against Europe debt crisis, say analysts.