World won't hurt growth, says Swan – The Fin; Fair Work win for employers – The Aus; Woodside kicks off $1bn Browse sale – The Aus; Diamonds are Gina Rinehart's new best friend – The Fin; CME tips state growth to double – The West
World won't hurt growth, says Swan
The latest cuts to the global growth outlook are already factored into the federal government's forecast of an economy growing at trend rates in 2012, according to Treasurer Wayne Swan, who argues business confidence is under threat from a debate too focused on downside risks. The Fin
Fair Work win for employers
Employers have won a breakthrough in their campaign to inject more flexibility into Labor’s workplace system, after Fair Work Australia approved a contentious deal allowing workers to opt out of a collective union agreement and on to individual employment contracts. The Aus
Woodside kicks off $1bn Browse sale
Woodside Petroleum has launched a $1 billion-plus auction of most of its 50 per cent stake in the huge Browse gas project in Western Australia, in a move that could kill off controversial plans to build a processing plant on the Kimberley coast. The Aus
Diamonds are Gina Rinehart's new best friend
Australia's iron ore and coal billionaire, Gina Rinehart, is extending her relentless march into the upper echelons of the world's rich, enlisting the help of Rio Tinto's former global head of exploration to advise on expanding her mining interests into diamonds, uranium and oil and gas. The Fin
CME tips state growth to double
A record $147 billion worth of WA resources projects in the pipeline is expected to help the state grow at nearly twice the rate of 2010-11 for the next two years. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 7: WA Aboriginal MP Ben Wyatt fears the “deplorable” conduct of protesters in Canberra yesterday will backfire by creating sympathy for Tony Abbot's “intolerant” comments.
Page 8: Opposition Leader Mark McGowan has accused Colin Barnett of hypocrisy over his stand on air conditioning in Perth homes after a government document revealed it would cost more than $1 million to keep the Premier's new offices cool.
Page 11: Despite Perth's heatwave, hundreds of thousands of people lined the Swan River foreshore last night to watch as fireworks and lightning lit the sky.
Business: Australian banks aggressively cut their exposure to Europe's troubled economies as the region's debt crisis intensified late last year, pulling more than a billion dollars in funds from Belgium, France and Spain.
A record $147 billion worth of WA resources projects in the pipeline is expected to help the state grow at nearly twice the rate of 2010-11 for the next two years.
The Australian dollar soared to a three-month high and gold leapt more than 3 per cent yesterday after the US Federal Reserve undermined its own currency by setting an explicit inflation target for the first time.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: The latest cuts to the global growth outlook are already factored into the federal government's forecast of an economy growing at trend rates in 2012, according to Treasurer Wayne Swan, who argues business confidence is under threat from a debate too focused on downside risks.
Australia's iron ore and coal billionaire, Gina Rinehart, is extending her relentless march into the upper echelons of the world's rich, enlisting the help of Rio Tinto's former global head of exploration to advise on expanding her mining interests into diamonds, uranium and oil and gas.
Page 3: Myer and David Jones are threatening to find new sources for stock or delete products from shelves unless global suppliers reduce prices to stem the flow of spending to cheaper online retailers.
Page 8: Outgoing Bankwest managing director Jon Sutton will move today to head off a Senate inquiry into the bank's actions after its 2008 acquisition by Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Page 9: Opposition Leader Tony Abbott yesterday insisted that he supported farmers' desire to protect their land after earlier saying that coal seam gas extraction was not as “devastating” to the countryside as open-cut mining.
Page 14: German Chancellor Angela Merkel appealed to business leaders at the World Economic Forum to give policymakers space to tackle the debt crisis, pledging that Europe will pull together and restore confidence.
Page 19: The US Federal Reserve's decision to extend its decreed period of super-low interest rates through to the end of 2014 could push the Australian dollar closer to the $US1.10 level in the short term as traders bank on a weaker greenback.
Page 36: It is growing increasingly hard for junior iron ore and coal companies to find workers, and this week Mount Gibson Iron, Atlas Iron and Whitehaven Coal cited labour availability as their biggest problems.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Employers have won a breakthrough in their campaign to inject more flexibility into Labor’s workplace system, after Fair Work Australia approved a contentious deal allowing workers to opt out of a collective union agreement and on to individual employment contracts.
Mainstream indigenous leaders have condemned activists from Canberra’s Aboriginal tent embassy who led an angry mob to besiege Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott in a nearby restaurant yesterday
Page 2: The International Monetary Fund has downgraded Australia’s growth outlook and warned the G20 group of leading nations to take policy action to brace for a possible global downturn.
Only one in three vehicles in the federal government’s fleet is manufactured in Australia.
Business: Woodside Petroleum has launched a $1 billion-plus auction of most of its 50 per cent stake in the huge Browse gas project in Western Australia, in a move that could kill off controversial plans to build a processing plant on the Kimberley coast.
The global economy is still suffering the aftershocks of the financial crisis, but sentiment is turning as European leaders finally recognise they risk a greater downturn if they don’t resolve debt issues, Rio Tinto chief Tom Albanese says.
Russia could start buying the Australian dollar as an international reserve currency as soon as next month, putting a rocket under the Australian currency.
Westpac could become the first Australian bank to move interest rates independently of the Reserve Bank, due to its heavy exposure to the domestic residential mortgage market.
The price war between supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles appears to have continued in the December quarter, as Bureau of Statistics data showed food price inflation slowed sharply.
US giant ConocoPhillips expects to kick off a drilling program at its Browse Basin joint venture project later this quarter, slightly missing a previous estimate by joint venture partner Karoon Gas.
Telstra is fighting a rearguard action against proposals that could see the competition watchdog set the prices and terms for rivals providing internet access over the telco’s copper telephone lines.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Distressed and visibly shaken, Prime Minister Julia Gillard was almost brought to the ground after being rushed through a crowd of angry Aboriginal tent embassy and Occupy protesters in Canberra.
Page 2: `Threat' is not the word the Prime Minister's personal protection detail wants to hear coming over their earpieces.
Page 3: It's the pretty momento from one off Australian politics' ugly moments : Julia Gillard's shoe.
Business: Sales by small businesses over the all-important Christmas were better than expected.
Sport: India's Virat Kohli slammed Australian fast bowler Ben Hilfenhaus for "unnecessary" sledging just moments before the 23-year-old made his maiden Test century.
