Banks win $70 billion reprieve – The Fin; Rebuffed suitor plans to sue – The West; Live trade port row flares – The West; Water Corp to cut commercial customers slack – The West; ASIC to investigate activist’s Whitehaven hoax – The Fin
Banks Win $70 billion reprieve
Australia’s banks have been given a $70 billion reprieve after tough new global regulations were wound back in a bid to stoke economic growth. The Fin
Rebuffed suitor plans to sue
An Indian contractor has said it plans to sue Macmahon Holdings for blocking its competing bid to buy the WA company’s construction business. The West
Live trade port row flares
A fresh war of words has broken out between the Greens and industry groups over a proposed live export facility in Kwinana, after a key Nationals MP called on the WA Government to speed up its development. The West
Water Corp to cut commercial customers slack
WA’s economic regulator has implored the Barnett Government to deliver commercial water customers a reprieve, saying average water bills for city businesses should be cut by almost 8 per cent from July. The West
ASIC to investigate activist’s Whitehaven hoax
An anti-coal activist responsible for a hoax that temporarily wiped more than $300 million from the value of Whitehaven Coal shares yesterday has defended his actions despite facing a potential penalty from the corporate regulator. The Fin
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: WA’s biggest taxi company will begin charging a $9 fee to encourage drivers to turn up for advance bookings on time.
Page 4: Labor leader Mark McGowan has challenged the Premier to three televised debates in the run up to the March election, accusing Colin Barnett of hiding behind a taxpayer funded propaganda campaign.
WA Labor has pointed to apparently conflicting undertakings over the Tier 3 Wheatbelt rail line by the Liberals and Nationals as evidence the conservative running mates cannot keep all their promises.
Page 10: Former Federal parliamentary speaker Peter Slipper faces fraud charges after and Australian Federal police investigation into his alleged misuse of taxpayer-funded taxi vouchers.
Page 11: Commercial fishermen and conservationists are alarmed at Commonwealth proposals to open up a large area of ocean bordering the Abrolhis Islands for oil and gas exploration.
Page 17: The Barnett Government will come under pressure to reduce rocketing water bills after the State’s economic watchdog said prices for the average city household should fall be $100 a year.
Page 26: A fresh war of words has broken out between the Greens and industry groups over a proposed live export facility in Kwinana, after a key Nationals MP called on the WA Government to speed up its development.
Austal believes it can win overseas orders for the patrol boats it is making for the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.
An Indian contractor has said it plans to sue Macmahon Holdings for blocking its competing bid to buy the WA company’s construction business.
Page 47: Seven months after David Jones received a hoax takeover offer that sent its shares soaring, the opposite fate has befallen Whitehaven Coal.
WA’s economic regulator has implored the Barnett Government to deliver commercial water customers a reprieve, saying average water bills for city businesses should be cut by almost 8 per cent from July.
Saab Australia’s local operations will close after the company was unable to find a buyer.
Euroz Securities executive chairman Peter Diamond has attributed its “solid” half-yearly result to a late rally in market sentiment, with the company’s fund management arms leading the way.
Page 49: Perth-based copper producer Tiger Resources has kicked off the year with some positive news for its shareholders, announcing a 6 per cent increase on last year’s production guidance at its 60 per cent owned Kipoi copper project.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Australia’s banks have been given a $70 billion reprieve after tough new global regulations were wound back in a bid to stoke economic growth.
Page 3: An anti-coal activist responsible for a hoax that temporarily wiped more than $300 million from the value of Whitehaven Coal shares yesterday has defended his actions despite facing a potential penalty from the corporate regulator.
Page 4: Surging iron ore prices are boosting national income and may finally be delivering mining tax revenue for the government.
Page 5: NSW could face its worst fire danger day on record today, with the risk for areas south of Sydney rated at “catastrophic” levels, Premier Barry O’Farrell warned yesterday.
Page 7: In a sign of rising investor confidence in renewable energy, five wind-powered or hydro-electric projects totalling more than $1.2 billion were completed in the year to October 2012 – compared with only two renewables projects, both wind powered and totalling $488 million, in the 12 months before, due apparently to difficulties with financing amid carbon uncertainty.
Page 11: Booksellers are bracing for a further contraction in the share of the market as customers who have been given electronic readers for Christmas opt to download reading material rather then buy it in hard copy.
A government review to cut the GST exemption for online imports values at less than $1000 – a proposal strongly advocated by traditional retailers – is not fazing website-based businesses.
Australian retailers need to rethink their store layouts if they want customers to spend money within their walls, says international retail design expert Ron Pompei.
Page 13: Panic buying is driving the price of iron ore well past $US150 a tonne.
Retailers have emerged from the busiest trading period of the year empty handed, with analysts reporting negligible sales growth on last year and no change to earnings expectations.
Page 15: Qantas Airways partner in China, China Eastern, is pushing for progress in lengthy talks between the two airlines to forge a deeper commercial relationship as the Asian carrier looks to increase flights and add new destinations in Australia.
Page 21: A forecast rebound in emerging markets and ongoing strength in the Australian dollar are sparking interest in global equities as US markets surge to a five-year high.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 2: Canberra has countered calls for a drastic intervention in the domestic gas market to guarantee energy supplies to a Rio Tinto aluminium refinery amid estimates it could cost $2 billion to rescue the Northern Territory facility.
Page 3: Concern over a shipment containing pregnant cattle sent to be slaughtered in Mauritius is set to deepen with new claims there were discrepancies in the numbers of deaths reported to authorities during the voyage from Australia.
Dairy farmers fatigued by the supermarket milk price war are finding fresh hope in Asia’s ascendant middle classes, whose Western tastes and paranoia about poisonous local produce are driving a new export boom.
Page 4: State government budgets are managing the unexpected weakness in the economy in the latter half of last year with only a small increase in their combined deficit.
Page 14: Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Sam Walsh has added his support to growing investor calls for the mining industry to provide greater transparency over its production costs.
Page 16: Lynas expects to have rare-earth products from its Malaysian refinery ready for sale within weeks.
Page 17: Junior stockbroking firm Euroz has cut the fixed pay of staff to lower costs for just the second time since it was founded in 2001, as soft equities turnover and deal-making takes its toll.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: NSW is expecting the worst fire danger it has ever faced, with "catastrophic" fire conditions forecast as temperatures surge past 40 degrees.
Page 2: A group of environmental campaigners devised a scheme to issue a hoax letter about ANZ funding Whitehaven Coal last week, a spokesman from the group says.
Page 3: A hire car used for a military exercise was returned with two fake bombs still in the glove box.
World: The New Year's Eve showdown in the US regarding the battle over the fiscal cliff may not be over, with a Republican senator saying any effect the program's paring back of services had would be the president's fault.
Business: ASIC will investigate a hoax press release which temporarily wiped more than $314 million off the value of Whitehaven Coal.
Sport: Tom Waterhouse has replaced the TAB as the new gambling partner of the NRL.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Known arsonists across NSW will be monitored by undercover police as the state's bushfire risk becomes "catastrophic".
Page 2: Sydney is bracing for the most dangerous fire conditions the city has seen, with firefighters on high alert.
Page 4: There could be more hot days ahead, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting more prolonged heatwaves in 2013 than in other years.
World: The father of a 23-year-old Indian medical student who died after being gang raped has agreed to release the woman's name.
Business: A global agreement to dilute and delay new banking regulations has boosted Australian banks.
Sport: Shane Warne's Twenty20 cricket playing future hangs in the balance amid his team's form slump and his fiery encounter with an opposing batsman.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Two hundred hospital workers face the axe as more beds and operating theatres to close because of budget cuts. Hoax wipes more than $300 million off the value of Nathan Tinkler's Whitehaven Coal on Monday. A 10-year-old design for a future railway line to Melbourne Airport is out-of-date as regional rail link is built on the reserved corridor of land. Peter Slipper to go back to court - this time for allegedly misusing travel entitlements.
Page 2: Prime Minister Julia Gillard warns Australians to expect more scorchers. Lives and homes threatened in Drik Drik by massive bushfire. A dome of heat over Australia has set new temperature records and creates dangerous fire conditions to last for days across large parts of the country.
Page 3: Consumers demanding super foods - food packed with nutrients - in their restaurant meals. Theatre company that has received more than $800,000 in federal government handouts since December 2010 goes bust. Workplaces get safer with deaths almost halving over the past decade. If you get your DNA analysed overseas you will have to share the results with your insurer and risk losing control of your most sensitive information. Military trainees leave fake bomb in Hertz rent-a-car after exercise.
World: Growing public pressure to force new Xi Jinping administration in China to bring in political and economic reform, says one of Mr Xi's old family friends.
Business: Whitehaven Coal looks at suing environmental activist whose hoax temporarily wiped more than $314 million off the value of the company.
Sport: Shane Warne may have played his last competitive game if the Melbourne Stars lose to Sydney Thunder on Tuesday night and miss the finals of the Big Bash League.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: Victorians could be priced out of justice with cost of applying to VCAT for a ruling on matters such as tenancy rights, planning disputes and small claims set to soar in March. Tasmania, NSW and Victoria on red alert as bushfires continue to threaten.
Page 2: Port Melbourne residents object to school children using their local park as an extra playground. Former Speaker Peter Slipper facing charges of misusing taxpayer-funded Cabcharge vouchers.
Page 3: Family cat alerts Lismore mum to a python wrapped around the arm of her sleeping infant daughter. Online retailers will reap an extra billion dollars as Australians continue to buy on the internet.
World: Claims that Indonesia's police anti-terror squad shoots to kill and is not interested in taking prisoners.
Business: Central bankers around the world agree to water down and delay new bank regulations.
Sport: Shane Warne's playing career depends on the Melbourne Stars regaining form and beating Sydney Thunder at the MCG tonight.