Today's Business Headlines

Miners reject anti-corruption reforms

Australian mining companies have warned that as much as $50 billion of investments in projects under proposed changes to Australia's anti-bribery and corruption laws. The Fin

Perth exporter halts shipment of live cattle

Perth-based cattle exporter International Livestock Exports has suspended shipments to an Indonesian abattoir after disturbing footage emerged this week of slaughter practices there, triggering an investigation by Australian authorities that could cost the company its export licence. The Fin

Judges misread email, Fortescue tells court

Three Federal Court judges misread an email written by the chairman of Fortescue Metals Group, Andrew Forrest, and therefore wrongly conceded he “well knew” that announcements about big construction contracts were misleading, the High Court heard yesterday. The West

WA heavyweights get behind push for arts funding

Rio Tinto Iron Ore boss Sam Walsh and businesswoman Janet Holmes a Court are spearheading an unprecedented business push for state and federal packages totalling hundreds of millions of dollars to bolster WA's cultural infrastructure and secure its over-stretched arts companies. The Fin

Probe of Barnett's office ordered

Public Sector Commissioner Mal Wauhchope has ordered an inquiry into whether any of Premier Colin Barnett's staff were involved in “inappropriate conduct” after an incident that led to a senior government media adviser being sacked in January. The West

THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: Public Sector Commissioner Mal Wauhchope has ordered an inquiry into whether any of Premier Colin Barnett's staff were involved in “inappropriate conduct” after an incident that led to a senior government media adviser being sacked in January.

Page 3: The speed limit on a busy stretch of Kwinana Freeway will be increased 10km/h part of a three month trial after calls for a higher limit.

The Department of Environment and Conservation is investigating after a giant crocodile was driven from Broome's Crocodile Park down the town's main street to his new home at a nearby wilderness park.

Page 4: A Perth livestock exporter has sent an investigator to Indonesia to check whether cattle shown being badly mistreated in new footage released by animal activist groups came from WA.

Residents near Alcoa's Wagerup, Pinjarra and Kwinana refineries have moved their Erin Brockovich-backed fight against the mining giant to a WA court after a US judge ruled the long-running dispute must be dealt with on home soil.

Page 7: Days after she crushed a Kevin Rudd comeback, Julia Gillard faces questions about her authority after a botched attempt to parachute former NSW premier Bob Carr into the plum foreign affairs job.

Page 10: One of Perth's biggest beachside developments in decades will transform City Beach from a low-key suburban beach to a tourist destination featuring restaurants, cafes and a modern surf club.

Page 14: Brendon Grylls has no intention of moving to the Pilbara despite being confident of snatching the Labor-held seat at the next election.

Business: Three Federal Court judges misread an email written by the chairman of Fortescue Metals Group, Andrew Forrest, and therefore wrongly conceded he “well knew” that announcements about big construction contracts were misleading, the High Court heard yesterday.

Companies are still failing to properly explain how they pay their executives, the corporate watchdog says.

Christopher Bonwick's Independence Group has written off more than a quarter of the $500 million it paid to acquire Jabiru Metals, owner of the Jaguar-Bentley zinc-copper operations, a year ago.

Kerry Stokes' Seven Group Holdings says its decision to quit vividwireless was driven by a preference to fund its thriving WesTrac machinery business rather than sink huge funds into creating a national broadband network.

Plenty of new jobs will be created in the mining sector over the next year, but much of the services sector will show net job losses as part of a broader economic restructuring, according to Bank of America Merril Lynch chief economist Saul Eslake.

The turmoil in WA's legal profession is set to continue over the next year, with competition for scarce legal talent likely to increase poaching between firms.

A shift towards higher-priced and bottled wine exports to China has given a glimmer of hope to beleaguered West Australian wine producers struggling to survive against a wave of cheap imported competition, shrinking markets and cutthroat retailing.

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:

Page 1: An anti-corruption unit inside the Iraq Oil Ministry is investigating whether a Leighton Holdings subsidiary paid bribes for information that allowed it to win $US1.3 billion ($1.2 billion) of tenders known as the Sea Line Project.

Australian mining companies have warned that as much as $50 billion of investments in projects under proposed changes to Australia's anti-bribery and corruption laws.

Former Reserve Bank of Australia board member Warwick McKibbin has predicted the carbon tax will push up prices more than Treasury forecasts as the opposition seized on threats that generators would seek to protect profits by lifting power costs.

Leading businessman Don Argus, who was drafted to fix Treasurer Wayne Swan's mining tax, has blasted Labor for its badly designed carbon tax and failure to include the goods and services tax in its reform agenda.

Page 3: Perth-based cattle exporter International Livestock Exports has suspended shipments to an Indonesian abattoir after disturbing footage emerged this week of slaughter practices there, triggering an investigation by Australian authorities that could cost the company its export licence.

Frank Lowy's decision to kick Clive Palmer's Gold Coast United soccer team out of the A-League yesterday prompted a rare putdown of one of Australia's most venerated businessmen.

Rio Tinto Iron Ore boss Sam Walsh and businesswoman Janet Holmes a Court are spearheading an unprecedented business push for state and federal packages totalling hundreds of millions of dollars to bolster WA's cultural infrastructure and secure its over-stretched arts companies.

Page 5: A framework agreement entered into by Fortescue Metals Group and three Chinese companies in 2004 to build and finance its railway, port and mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia could have been enforced even though it contained no consensus on cost, the High Court was told yesterday.

Page 29: Harvey Norman is culling its range of TVs and computers to clear floor space for better-selling products such as beds and vacuum cleaners in a bid to boost sales and earnings after its worst sales decline in 11 years.

Page 31: WesTrac chief executive Jim Walker has hosed down forecasts that the company's mining and earthmoving equipment business in China could soon surpass its Australian business in size.

WorleyParsons has flagged slowing growth due to skills shortages and higher commodity prices, which are increasing project costs and pressuring profit margins.

Page 34: Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Nev Power is on a mission to prove the iron ore miner's ability to meet its ambitious targets is being underestimated by the market.

Page 35: Leighton Holdings says its undersea cable from Perth to Singapore, valued at as much as $300 million, remains on track despite struggling to enlist major telcos as customers.

Page 36: Qantas Airways is set to claim its first major scalp since entering the lucrative fly in fly out market servicing remote mine sites, winning the Fortescue Metals Group charter contract from SkyWest Airlines.

Page 62: Residential property developers presented a cautious outlook for the Australian housing sector when they unveiled their half-year accounts during the past month.

THE AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: Former NSW premier Bob Carr has directly contradicted Julia Gillard’s denial that he was offered the post of foreign minister in her government this week.

Julia Gillard faces calls for a massive overhaul of government subsidy programs after the sudden decision to wind up a $320 million solar hot-water program left the industry reeling and sparked warnings that up to 7,200 jobs were in jeopardy.

Australian soccer has descended into a billionaires’ footbrawl between shopping centre king Frank Lowy and mining magnate Clive Palmer after the sport’s governing body booted Mr Palmer’s Gold Coast-based club out of the A-League.

Page 2: A group of leading scientists has called on independent Rob Oakeshott to abandon his bid to extend renewable energy subsidies to include electricity produced from burning native forests.

Page 3: The owner of an Indonesian abattoir at the centre of a new row over alleged cruelty in slaughtering cattle has insisted he and his workers were trying to follow the new standards set by Canberra.

A Seven Network journalist has been charged over a story that included the voice of Peter Falconio murderer Bradley John Murdoch.

Australia's biggest supermarket chain has urged its suppliers to dob in ‘‘bullying’’ staff, so it can stamp out any illegal or heavy-handed negotiating tactics.

Page 4: Billions of dollars in superannuation contributions could be thrown open to greater competition under changes canvassed yesterday to the way Labor’s workplace regulator chooses funds for workers.

Unions have launched a rare attack on the Gillard government’s superannuation regime, out of fears that draconian tax penalties are preventing blue-collar workers saving more for their retirement.

The nation’s compulsory superannuation pie grew by $137.4 billion or more than 11 per cent in 2010-11 to reach a record $1.34 trillion, although much of the increase came from contributions rather than fund performance in a year when shares climbed only 7 per cent.

Page 5: Australia could find it impossible to reach its economic potential in the booming Asian region because of ‘‘artificially high’’ minimum wages, a ‘‘fairly apathetic’’ business community and ‘‘fairly aimless’’ government policies, a high-level government advisory group warns.

Relentless anti-fishing campaigns have misled consumers about the good health of Australian fish stocks, a leading US marine scientist said yesterday.

Page 6: The $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation is ‘‘likely to be a complete waste of money’’ and have no impact on Australia’s carbon emissions, according to a new research paper from the Centre for Independent Studies.

Business: The battle for Echo Entertainment was thrown into confusion last night when Crown said it was not a substantial shareholder, despite last week claiming ‘‘an interest’’ in 10 per cent of the company.

Heavy equipment powered a strong underlying result for Kerry Stokes’s Seven Group Holdings in the December half, but its headline profit was dragged down by a weak stockmarket valuation of the diversified company’s media investment.

Accounting giant KPMG has tightened its internal policies and controls governing the use of consultants and contractors after an independent review found its processes needed improvement.

Furniture and electrical chain Harvey Norman yesterday reported a 2.1 per cent fall in net profit for the fiscal first half, as executive chairman Gerry Harvey warned trading conditions were still deteriorating.

The impact of the federal government’s financial advice reforms has not been adequately assessed, according to a report tabled yesterday.

Australia's $120 billion electricity and gas industry is urging the government not to create a national energy savings scheme that saddles energy retailers with new obligations — a plank of Julia Gillard’s clean energy plans.

Engineering firm WorleyParsons has boosted first-half profit by 18 per cent due to the strength of the global resources and energy sectors, but the group warned that its margins are being squeezed by rising costs and project delays.

Despite warnings of tough times ahead for the steel sector, Rio Tinto’s Simandou iron ore joint venture with Aluminium Corporation of China (Chalco) in Guinea has achieved solid progress, according to Rio’s iron ore chief executive Sam Walsh.

Fortescue Metals Group entered into three binding contracts with Chinese companies to build a port and railway in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, the High Court has heard.

Australia's biggest companies have showed only a marginal improvement in their reporting of executive pay despite repeated warnings from ASIC.

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:

Page 1: Thousands of Australians could be taken off cholesterol-lowering medications because of diabetes and dementia risks.

Page 2: A carbon tax will see household energy bills more closely linked to world oil prices.

Page 3: The federal government should make a national apology to mothers forced to give up their babies for adoption, a Senate committee has recommended.

World: Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has narrowly won Michigan and seen off a challenge from Rick Santorum.

Business: Harvey Norman chairman Gerry Harvey has warned of more job losses in 2012 unless consumers embrace shopping again.

Sport: Football Federation Australia faces a $1 million bill if it wants to keep Gold Coast United for the final four games of the season.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:

Page 1: Classes could start at 8am and finish at 1.15pm under a radical plan moved by a western Sydney school principal.

Page 2: Cruise ships are being forced to buy food interstate because trucks can't reach Sydney's docks.

Page 3: A top government pathologist has questioned crucial evidence that led the Court of Criminal Appeal to free convicted killer Jeffrey Gilham.

World: Mitt Romney is once again frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination.

Business: Harvey Norman will continue heavily discounting televisions and computers despite the damage to profits.

Sport: Nathan Tinkler, the billionaire owner of the Newcastle Knights, has boldly declared he wants nothing less than a top-four finish.

THE AGE:

Page 1: Billionaires fighting it out in A-League soccer as Frank Lowy sends off Clive Palmer's Gold Coast for bad-mouthing FFA.

New NGV director will have to make it cool again. Group of doctors opening "urgent care" clinics to rival emergency departments and GP clinics.

Auditor-General says Melbourne's public transport needs $3 billion annual injection to cope with growing demand.

Page 3: Lack of competition in transporting bodies for autopsy sees Coroners Court run $3 million over budget. Rare sea snake with unique raised scales might provide clues to evolution.

World: Mitt Romney scrapes home against Rick Santorum in Michigan.

Business: Gerry Harvey warns of more failed businesses and job losses unless Australian economy returns to growth.

Sport: Jonathan Brown could be back training with Lions again next week despite another facial surgery.

THE HERALD SUN:

Page 1: Anti-bullying campaign to be run along the same lines as road toll campaigns.

Page 2: Government to tighten laws to stop sex offenders being able to work with children. Cold Chisel to release their first album in 14 years and launch it with one-off concert at Festival Hall.

Page 3: The Circle hosts Yumi Stynes and George Negus cop abuse for denigrating VC winner Ben Roberts-Smith.

Business: New home sales collapse in Victoria.

Sport: AFL young guns Bryce Gibbs and Brett Deledio pledge loyalty to their clubs as they knock back multimillion-dollar GWS offers.