Iron ore alert as China cuts steel output – The Fin; PM: Private schools will get more – The Aus; Blackrock raises Rio stake in London but sells Aussie stock – The Aus; Speculation, high hopes for Woodside well – The Fin; QBE shifts takeover sights from rival IAG – The West
Iron ore alert as China cuts steel output
Chinese steel mills have begun cutting production as record stockpiles continue to build, signalling further weakness for iron ore prices and a slowing growth in the world's biggest economy. The Fin
PM: Private schools will get more
Julia Gillard will today promise every independent school increased funding under Labor’s education reform blueprint as she moves to head off a revolt from the states amid growing concerns that as many as one i n three schools will be worse off under the plan. The Aus
Blackrock raises Rio stake in London but sells Aussie stock
Blackrock, the world’s biggest institutional owner of mining stocks, has boosted its holdings in Rio Tinto through about $300 million of net purchases over the past five months, but has reduced its stake in the dual-listed mining giant’s Australian-listed stock. The Aus
Speculation, high hopes for Woodside well
A blanket of silence around the results from Woodside Petroleum's latest exploration well in the Carnarvon Basin has sparked the speculation of a meaningful result that could advance the long-awaited expansion of the $15 billion Pluto liquefied natural gas project. The Fin
QBE shifts takeover sights from rival IAG
New QBE Insurance boss John Neal wants to boost the general insurer's exposure to the Australian market through acquisitions but has ruled out a renewed tilt at rival Insurance Australia Group. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Besieged Prime Minister Julia Gillard is preparing for an attack from within her party over her stunning reversal on offshore processing of asylum-seekers.
Page 5: West Australians litter and illegally dump junk more than anyone else into Australia, a survey has found ahead of a campaign targeting roadside litterbugs.
Page 7: The AFL could be the first major Australian sporting body to sell footage of matches directly to fans via high-speed broadband after its boss hinted that talks between the sport and NBN Co had started.
Page 8: Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has called on Julia Gillard to tell Parliament about the circumstances under which she left a Melbourne law firm in the early 1990s, warning there are “real issues” the Prime Minister must answer.
Page 9: Julia Gillard will today reveal that every independent in Australia will receive an increase in government funding regardless of its wealth.
WA's lucrative rock lobster fishing industry is bouncing back after big changes that threatened to destroy fishing towns along the west coast.
Business: New QBE Insurance boss John Neal wants to boost the general insurer's exposure to the Australian market through acquisitions but has ruled out a renewed tilt at rival Insurance Australia Group.
WA businesses using cloud computing for data storage will enjoy faster speeds thanks to a multi-million-dollar upgrade of local facilities.
Australia is tipped to figure prominently in takeover activity across the power utility sector over the next couple of years as investors eye renewable energy assets and the NSW privatisation.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Chinese steel mills have begun cutting production as record stockpiles continue to build, signalling further weakness for iron ore prices and a slowing growth in the world's biggest economy.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has refused to discuss the circumstances in which she quit as a partner with a national law firm and lashed a “scurrilous” campaign that has revived speculation about her role in alleged union corruption in 1995.
Alan Joyce is the latest CEO to forgo a bonus and pay rise as Qantas joins the growing list of Australian companies bowing to investor pressure on executive remuneration.
Page 5: Julia Gillard will today promise increased funding for every independent school as she begins the campaign to sell the government's response to David Gonski's education blueprint.
Senior diplomats and government policy advisers are concerned the intensifying political row over border protection is causing new damage to Australia's standing in the region.
Page 6: Federal bureaucrats are scrutinising tax concessions, including the diesel fuel rebate and interest rules, as a shortfall in the mining tax means savings need to be found to pay for the measures it supports.
Page 7: Prime Minister Julia Gillard has urged businesses to agree on ways to fund a cut in the corporate tax rate, after a fierce industry-wide backlash to options tabled by the federal government's business tax working group.
The federal government is holding talks with representatives of various states today to smooth out kinks in the draft law to overhaul the $43 billion charities sector.
Page 9: Domestic payments network eftpos has received backing form the Reserve Bank of Australia in its claims that Visa and Mastercard are engaging in potentially anti-competitive practices in their promotion of debit cards.
Page 10: BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and other extractive companies with shares trading in the US will this week learn whether they will need to report payments to host governments on a project by project basis, following a key ruling by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
BlueScope Steel faces a legally protected strike on Wednesday followed by possible further stoppages at its main Port Kembla steelworks later in the week.
Page 13: Leighton Holdings is believed to have lost a second senior executive, Leighton Welspun Contractors chief Russell Waugh, in the wake of an internal inquiry into corporate governance practice in its overseas operations.
Australian investors are urging the Takeovers Panel to prevent Chinese companies from placing conditions on bids that make them subject to getting approval from regulators within China.
Page 16: The fate of the proposed $US5.7 billion merger between Glencore and Xstrata could become clearer this week as a deadline looms for the Swiss commodities trader to raise its offer or risk another delay.
Page 17: A blanket of silence around the results from Woodside Petroleum's latest exploration well in the Carnarvon Basin has sparked the speculation of a meaningful result that could advance the long-awaited expansion of the $15 billion Pluto liquefied natural gas project.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Julia Gillard will today promise every independent school increased funding under Labor’s education reform blueprint as she moves to head off a revolt from the states amid growing concerns that as many as one i n three schools will be worse off under the plan.
One of Australia’s most controversial union leaders, Dean Mighell, is under investigation over the sale of his union’s majority stake in a financial advisory company for allegedly a tenth of its value and with the loss of more than $500,000 in future revenue.
Julia Gillard has conceded asylum-seekers could be held on Nauru and Manus islands for years in a ‘‘tough policy’’ that has drawn criticism from the architect of the original Pacific Solution, Alexander Downer.
Page 2: Partners in law firms who undertake work for clients without opening a file are embarking on a course of action that could cause friction with their partners.
Page 3: Public hospitals are challenging the expectation they will treat foreign students and 457 visa-holders free of charge in a dispute the Gillard government fears will damage Australia’s reputation.
Page 4: Julia Gillard will seek to bed down plans for reopening asylum-seeker processing centres when she meets the leaders of Nauru and Papua New Guinea at the Pacific Islands Forum at Rarotonga in the Cook Islands next week.
Page 6: A coalition government elected next year could repeal the carbon tax without risking a multi-billion-dollar compensation bill, a prominent legal identity says.
Julia Gillard says her government will have to make ‘‘substantial savings’’ to fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme and ensure the budget surplus is not placed at risk.
Business: Global shopping centre giant Westfield Group is planning to shed up to 10 per cent of its workforce, joining a lengthening list of property companies to cut jobs and reduce costs.
Blackrock, the world’s biggest institutional owner of mining stocks, has boosted its holdings in Rio Tinto through about $300 million of net purchases over the past five months, but has reduced its stake in the dual-listed mining giant’s Australian-listed stock.
The deputy chairman of the corporate watchdog has called for a change in the culture of Australia’s brokers and investment banks to discourage insider trading.
A former partner in Intrepid Mines’ hijacked Indonesian copper-gold project is rallying shareholders for a class action against the board.
Bendigo Bank chief executive Mike Hirst has joined the growing call for Australia’s powerful $1.3 trillion superannuation industry to become a diversified funding source for the nation’s banks.
BHP Billiton head Marius Kloppers is expected to continue fuelling speculation about future growth projects being slowed when the world’s largest miner reports its annual results this week.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: The horseracing empire of mining magnate Nathan Tinkler is in financial crisis. All independent schools will get more funding, Prime Minister Julia Gillard will announce on Monday. The state's roads department says cycleways are having minimal impact on traffic congestion. The AFL could be the first sporting code to sell content direct to fans via broadband.
Page 2 and 3: advertisements.
Page 4: NSW Labor figures have admitted they can't win the City of Sydney council elections.
Page 5: Prime Minister Julia Gillard's former employer Slater & Gordon say they cleared her of wrongdoing in relation to an alleged union slush fund scandal 17 years ago. Research shows profits of the big four banks totals more than $1000 for each person in Australia.
World: Saif al-Islam, Muammar Gaddfi's son, faces the death penalty if found guilty of urging supporters to kill demonstrators.
Business: US fashion brand Hollister has confirmed it is planning an expansion into Australia.
Sport: Wallabies could drop Kurtley Beale and recall Quade Cooper for the next Bledisloe Cup Test on Saturday
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: A survey by the paper has found half of small businesses are already feeling the effects of the carbon tax. Police ramped up security around the Ecuadorian embassy as Julian Assange prepared to address the media.
Page 2 and 3: advertisements.
Page 4: Prime Minister Julia Gillard is facing new leadership tension stemming from an alleged 17-year-old union slush fund scandal involving her former boyfriend.
World: John Lennon's killer is up for parole for the seventh time this week.
Business: Buying bank shares has been a winning move for investors over the past 12 months.
Sport: Wayne Bennett says Manly can make it two NRL premierships in a row.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Prime Minister Julia Gillard will reveal on Monday that every independent school in Australia will receive an increase in government funding regardless of its wealth.
Page 4: The principal of Julia Gillard's alma mater, Unley High School, will present the prime minister with a large cardboard cut-out on Monday of a raised hand in support of action on school funding.
Page 5: Slater and Gordon, the law firm for which Julia Gillard worked in the 1990s, revealed on Sunday that an internal inquiry had found nothing against her over a scandal involving her former boyfriend, Bruce Wilson.
World: Syrian villagers are divided about the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Business: New QBE Insurance boss John Neal is looking to boost the general insurer's exposure to the Australian market through acquisitions, but has ruled out a renewed tilt at rival Insurance Australia Group.
Sport: Hawthorn skipper Luke Hodge said it wasn't the prettiest game, but Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson is confident Sunday's stuttering 10-goal win over Gold Coast has set his team up for a mouth-watering clash that should decide the minor premiership.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: Scores of Victorians have been on the dole for more than 20 years, sucking millions of dollars from taxpayers' pockets.
Page 4: Ecuador may consider appealing to the International Court of Justice in The Hague to force Britain to allow safe passage of Julian Assange to its shores.
Page 5: The Southern Star Wheel could be open as early as January, more than 1400 days since it was urgently closed.
World: John Lennon's killer, Mark Chapman, is up for parole for the seventh time and could face a hearing as early as Wednesday.
Business: Industry is spending 15 per cent less on maintenance than it did a decade ago, risking a blow-out in reconstruction costs in years to come, economic forecaster BIS Shrapnel warns.
Sport: Hawthorn is running out of games to get star Lance Franklin fit for the finals after he missed a sixth consecutive match when he was a late withdrawal against Gold Coast at the MCG.