Housing to the rescue after boom – The Fin; Assets sell-off worth 'tens of billions' to WA – The West; Voelte muses over succession plan at Seven West – The Fin; Workers owed $11m for school projects – The West; Optimistic Atlas borrows $312m for expansion – The Aus
Housing to the rescue after boom
The federal Treasury is relying on a jump in the construction of houses, apartments and office buildings to keep the economy ticking over as iron ore, coal and other commodity export prices fall more sharply that it expected and investments in resource projects peak earlier than forecast. The Fin
Assets sell-off worth 'tens of billions' to WA
The state government should sell to the nation's superannuation funds most of Perth's electricity system, all ports and even convert major roads to tollways under a plan to slash debt and free-up cash for desperately-needed projects. The West
Voelte muses over succession plan at Seven West
Seven West Media chief executive Don Voelte has suggested his successor is likely to be one of his divisional heads, further fuelling speculation he may not be running Kerry Stokes's diversified media company for long. The Fin
Workers owed $11m for school projects
Dozens of construction industry subcontractors are owed at least $11 million as fraud allegations engulf a national building program managed in WA by the state government. The West
Optimistic Atlas borrows $312m for expansion
Atlas Iron has bucked the industry trend of bunkering down in difficult conditions, and will instead push ahead with expansion plans, securing a $US325 million ($312.7m) loan to hit its targets. The Aus
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 3: The WA Health Department is investigating how a bride and seven wedding guests – including the wife of the state's top health adviser – became ill at a reception at Fraser's restaurant in Kings Park.
Page 4: The state government should sell to the nation's superannuation funds most of Perth's electricity system, all ports and even convert major roads to tollways under a plan to slash debt and free-up cash for desperately-needed projects.
The federal Treasury has rejected claims the mining construction boom is about to end, pointing to signs that China's economic slowdown is about to turn.
Page 5: Dozens of construction industry subcontractors are owed at least $11 million as fraud allegations engulf a national building program managed in WA by the state government.
Page 6: WA business leaders could be forced to make greater use of fly-in, fly-out workers to retian their best talent.
Page 9: Gas supplier Alinta Energy had to review staffing arrangements after a woman hired through an employment agency was jailed for two years for using clients' credit card details to buy mobile phone credit.
Page 14: The Ten Network will shed 11 jobs from its WA newsroom and more than 100 nationally after its announcement of voluntary redundancies yesterday.
Page 16: Hundreds of insurance claims worth millions of dollars are lodged with the RAC every year by drivers who say they hit an animal.
Page 17: Woodside Petroleum has brushed off protester claims that scientists surveying dinosaur footprints at its proposed gas hub at James Price Point were going to destroy them.
Business: Atlas Iron has travelled where angels fear to tread, taking on debt to fund new projects for the first time in its history as its Pilbara rivals wind back their expansion plans.
The stunning start-up performance of Woodside Petroleum's $15 billion Pluto LNG project has prompted the company to upgrade its full-year production target for a second time in three months and given Michael Chaney's board the confidence to approve a dividend payout ratio of at least 50 per cent.
Creditors of Luke Saraceni's Westgem Holdings have sent the failed company into liquidation as Pitcher Partners administrator Bryan Hughes yesterday clashed repeatedly with representatives with the property developer's financiers.
Mount Gibson shares leapt 18 per cent yesterday after the company said it had laid off about a quarter of its workforce in an effort to rein in costs.
The “run-down” WA hotels once held by the collapsed Compass Hotel Group have been turned around under their new management, according to supermarket giant Woolworths.
Imdex managing director Bernie Ridgeway has accused institutional investors of misunderstanding his company and being too hasty in dumping its stock.
Millionaire mining contractors Ron Sayers and Peter Bartlett have asked the WA Supreme Court to throw out conspiracy charges after two alleged Sydney tax cheats walked free because of bungles by federal authorities.
An unidentified rival company has lobbed a premium-rich takeover proposal at WA information technology services group ASG.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Union-backed superannuation funds are supporting an ambitious privatisation plan that could lead to the sale of $200 billion of government owned logistics, energy and water assets.
Seven West Media chief executive Don Voelte has suggested his successor is likely to be one of his divisional heads, further fuelling speculation he may not be running Kerry Stokes's diversified media company for long.
The federal Treasury is relying on a jump in the construction of houses, apartments and office buildings to keep the economy ticking over as iron ore, coal and other commodity export prices fall more sharply that it expected and investments in resource projects peak earlier than forecast.
The corporate regulator is investigating whether a rogue electronic trade was behind a shock spike in blue-chip stocks yesterday morning after a major deal with investment bank Goldman Sachs failed just seconds before the opening of the market.
Page 5: The Australian International Motor Show has opened in Sydney with an upbeat prediction that the country's new car sales will hit a record high of almost 1.1 million in 2012.
Page 7: The Australian government plans to use its leadership of an Indian Ocean peak group and the Group of 20 leading economies over the next two years to form a closer diplomatic partnership with India.
Page 8: Painful new spending cuts to be unveiled next week are reviving tensions in the federal government over the revenue shortfall that will result from changes to the government's Minerals Resource Rent Tax.
Page 13: Ten Network chief executive James Warburton is under pressure to turn around the struggling free-to-air broadcaster after a weak result and serious problems with the sale of its outdoor advertising business.
Page 21: Former Woodside Petroleum boss Don Voelte has questioned why the company overlooked a host of former senior managers for the top job at the energy producer, resulting in an exodus of talent since his departure last year.
Page 22: A resurgence by the resources sector helped the Australian sharemarket climb to a fresh 15-month high after months of lagging behind the performance of the benchmark index.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Detained boat people could expect to spend at least five years on Nauru under a Coalition government, which would pursue a fundamental shift in asylum diplomacy, abandoning the quest for regional agreements in favour of practical deterrence measures.
Treasury will leave its budget-time economic forecasts largely unchanged in the forthcoming mid-year update, arguing that China will continue to lead regional economic growth.
Page 2: Centrelink is under severe strain as a result of state government program cuts, with people turning to the federal agency in droves, including their social workers, for problems previously dealt with by other local agencies.
Page 4: A glut of power generation and plunging demand are masking the impact the federal renewable energy target and green schemes are having on energy prices.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has praised Labor’s change of policy on uranium exports as the pathway was opened to begin negotiations on a formal safeguards agreement.
One of the leading Australian business figures in China says ‘‘a fresh wave’’ of Chinese investment is being prepared, to be injected as soon as China’s leadership transition is completed.
A Pakistani importer has been forced to abandon his attempt to stop a further 10,000 Australian sheep being culled, claiming authorities tried to bulldoze his farm.
Page 6: Attorney-general Nicola Roxon has rejected Tony Abbott’s ‘‘slur’’ that she acted without impartiality in the Peter Slipper matter as concern builds within Labor’s ranks over her handling of the sexual harassment case.
Farmers in a prime agricultural region of the central Murray-Darling Basin have lashed South Farmers Premier Jay Weatherill for saying those flooded by extra environmental water are undeserving of compensation.
Page 8: High-profile union leader Paul Howes has dropped defamation action against the head of the small engineers union, Steve Purvinas, with the duo conceding their public spat was undermining the need to unite against ‘‘vicious attacks’’ by employers.
Business: Seven West Media chief executive Don Voelte has warned rival Nine Entertainment Co that its new US hedge fund owners will demand earnings of up to $500 million a year and a 25 per cent return on equity that could force spending cuts at the newly debt-free network.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission was last night looking into a short, sharp spike in the price of some shares at the opening of trade on the day when opening stock prices play a key role in calculating the close-out price of October index options.
China's economic growth continues to slow down faster than planned, touching its lowest mark for three years.
Mount Gibson has joined the list of Australian miners slashing jobs, with a quarter of its workforce to go in response to volatile market conditions.
Iron ore miner Gindalbie Metals has shipped the first commercial product from its $2.57 billion Karara project in Western Australia, a milestone three years after construction of the Chinese joint venture started.
Woodside has added more than $330 million to its 2012 revenue expectations thanks to a stellar start to production at its $15 billion Pluto liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia.
Atlas Iron has bucked the industry trend of bunkering down in difficult conditions, and will instead push ahead with expansion plans, securing a $US325 million ($312.7m) loan to hit its targets.
Leading gold producer Newcrest has closed the book on a miserable production performance in the (first) September quarter, preferring to point to the strong growth to come from the completion later this year of expansion projects at Lihir in Papua New Guinea and the Cadia Valley in NSW at a cost of $3.8 billion.
Sundance Resources is a step closer to finalising its protracted $1.37 billion deal with China’s Hanlong Group after a letter of support was finally received from the suitor’s bank.
International investors were starting to ask questions about the quality of the political debate in Australia, QR National chief executive Lance Hockridge said yesterday.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: The NSW government will consider backing James Packer's plans for a $1 billion hotel and casino at Barangaroo. Two train guards will be posted per door on the most crowded morning platform at Town Hall Station to marshal commuters from next month as part of a trial. Kevin Rudd's supporters say he is repositioning himself for another tilt at the leadership.
Page 2: The State Parole Authority has indicated it is likely to order the release of a man convicted over gang rapes in Sydney in 2000. Aussie Rosco McGlashan wants to set a world land-speed record in a rocket-powered car.
Page 3: International flights were diverted to help in the search for sailor Glenn Ey. Parents are outraged that the government has halved preschooling hours. The ALP has promoted only male MPs in the latest cabinet reshuffle.
World: The battle for women's votes helped shape the US presidential debate, with comments by Republican challenger Mitt Romney under the spotlight.
Business: China growth has slackened to its lowest rate since early 2009.
Sport: A connection between drug boss Tony Mokbel and champion jockey Jim Cassidy is under the spotlight.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: The Sri Lankan navy is still hunting for a fishing trawler that's been hijacked by Australia-bound asylum seekers.
Page 2: Votes have started to be cast at the UN on Australia's bid for the Security Council spot. Woolworths chairman James Strong has urged shareholders not to vote to impose restrictions on its hotel poker machines. Slumping commodity prices are likely to put pressure on the federal government's plans to run a budget surplus.
Page 3: Salvaging his nine-year marriage does not seem to be at the top of Russell Crowe's priority list. Assaults at Sydney clubs have dropped since venues toughened up dress code rules. Ten Network is set to cut about 100 jobs.
World: A Bangladeshi Brooklyn resident is facing charges of mass destruction after he tried to detonate a huge bomb in New York City.
Business: Ten's bad year got worse on Thursday when it announced a $12.9 million net loss for 2011-12.
Sport: Roosters chairman Nick Politis said he had to let Sonny Bill Williams play rugby in Japan or continue boxing in order to get him back in the NRL.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Fentanyl prescriptions have soared by more than 50 times in a decade, with a flourishing black market for the powerful painkiller being fuelled by cross-border doctor shopping. One of Australia's top racing officials is to meet NSW detectives in a bid to obtain law-enforcement information that details corrupt payments made by drug boss Tony Mokbel to champion jockey Jimmy Cassidy. Children are to be taught sex education from as young as seven, a Senate estimates hearing has been told.
Page 2: Pensioners sell deadly painkiller Fentanyl to addicts in a lucrative black market.
Page 3: A tribunal has ruled that children who opt out of special religious instruction classes in state primary schools are not being discriminated against under the Equal Opportunity Act.
World: The battle for women's votes helped shape the latest debate between US President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
Business: The Chinese economy may be set for recovery after GDP growth slowed to 7.4 per cent in the September quarter, its lowest rate since early 2009.
Sport: Hawthorn premiership player Clinton Young has quit the Hawks and will play for Collingwood next year.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: Armed asylum seekers seized a fishing boat off Sri Lanka and set sail for Australia in a bloody attack that saw at least one crewman's throat cut and sailors thrown overboard.
Page 2: The boyfriend of lord mayor hopeful Gary Singer has been handed just a fraction of the multimillion-dollar payout he had been seeking in an epic legal stoush with his former lover.
Page 3: He was pilloried as a liar by one judge in the morning, but by the afternoon Geoffrey Edelsten was being lauded by another as a pillar of the community.
World: The militia commander who led the deadly raid on the US mission in Benghazi is an Islamist and former political prisoner under the Gaddafi regime.
Business: Ten Network's annus horribilis will culminate in the battling broadcaster slashing 116 newsroom staff after its balance sheet tumbled into the red.
Sport: French rider Gerald Mosse has been told local rules apply after his call for a soft option in the Caulfield Cup.
