Today's Business Headlines

ASIC lays down the law on takeovers

The corporate regulator is warning listed companies and their advisors against misleading conduct during takeover negotiations and is threatening to take legal action if the Takeovers Panel does not. The Fin

Raine Square sale to excite Perth CBD investors

Receivers KordaMentha will take the $450 million Raine Square complex in Perth to market next month in one of the largest offers the city’s office market has ever seen. The Fin

Barnett backs oil ban near Ningaloo

Premier Colin Barnett has backed the Federal Government’s rear-guard action to stop Big Oil encroaching on Ningaloo Reef, despite the move creating confusion for existing producers in the area, including BHP Billiton and Apache Energy. The West

Big projects ordered to buy local

Resource and infrastructure giants will be told to spend more heavily with local manufacturing companies in a Gillard government plan due within weeks to aid struggling industries amid fears of a wave of further job layoffs. The Aus

Construction scales back for lean times

The building industry is cutting costs and shedding jobs amid predictions that construction in Australia faces permanent structural change caused by the strong local dollar and greater number of apartment developments. The Fin

Future Fund’s $300m play

WA’s Future Fund, which is forecast to hold $4.7 billion in assets by 2032 underpinned by the State’s vast mining royalties, has made its first investment – a $300 million splurge on cash and top-rated debt instruments such as government bonds. The West

 THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:

Page 3: Perth’s median house rent increased to $70 a week last year and is forecast to rocket this year as an extra 1500 people pour in to WA every week.

Premier Colin Barnett says people who expect him to give 100 per cent answers during soft FM radio interviews should “lighten up”.

Treasurer Troy Buswell said yesterday the Government was seriously looking at building multi-story carparks at train stations but did not reveal where, when or how much they would cost.

The State Government has moved to bolster its pre-election green credentials in WA’s north by setting aside almost half the Burrup Peninsula as a national park called Murujuga.

Page 18: Unions have intensified pressure on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to save manufacturing jobs after building materials giant Boral became the latest big company to shed workers.

Page 67: WA’s Future Fund, which is forecast to hold $4.7 billion in assets by 2032 underpinned by the State’s vast mining royalties, has made its first investment – a $300 million splurge on cash and top-rated debt instruments such as government bonds.

Heavy rainfall in the Wheatbelt this week is like money in the bank, according to WA’s biggest grain farmer.

Premier Colin Barnett has backed the Federal Government’s rear-guard action to stop Big Oil encroaching on Ningaloo Reef, despite the move creating confusion for existing producers in the area, including BHP Billiton and Apache Energy.

Sandalwood company TFS is hoping to rub it into its critics with the release of an acne treatment on US and Australian markets as early as next month.

Page 68: The newly-elected president of the WA division of Engineers Australia has called for FIFO-style job sharing on St Georges Terrace to help retain females in the profession.

Qantas will not change its order for 15 Boeing 787s despite two Japanese airliners grounding their fleets of the Dreamliner aircraft.

One of Perth’s most controversial towers, Raine Square, is expected to be offered for sale early this year – and with a price tag between $400 million and $500 million it would be Perth’s most expensive building site.

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:

Page 1: The building industry is cutting costs and shedding jobs amid predictions that construction in Australia faces permanent structural change caused by the strong local dollar and greater number of apartment developments.

The corporate regulator is warning listed companies and their advisors against misleading conduct during takeover negotiations and is threatening to take legal action if the Takeovers Panel does not.

Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson says he doesn’t endorse a hoax by a climate activist that temporarily wiped $314 million from the value of Whitehaven Coal.

Page 3: The Guardian will launch a digital edition in Australia in about two months.

Page 4: Consumers remain unmoved by last month’s Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate cut and signs of optimism in big economies overseas.

Australia’s influence in global affairs will diminish in coming decades if forecasts about the changing fortunes of national economies come true.

Page 5: The Coalition has accused the federal government of trying to cover up how much money the mining tax has raised saying Labor has been ready in the past to identify individual corporate taxpayers.

Page 7: National Party MPs said government support to develop Australia’s agricultural assets would be a better investment than subsidising foreign car makers, after General Motors and Toyota said they may seek additional taxpayer assistance.

Retired oil executive Jim Buckee has donated $2 million to support radio astronomy at his alma mater, the University of Western Australia.

Page 9: US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has dipped into federal workers’ pensions to pay the bills as Fitch Ratings warned of a likely US downgrade if the debt ceiling was not raised well in advance of Treasury’s coffers running dry.

The World Bank has cut its global growth forecast for this year as austerity measures, high unemployment and low business confidence weigh on economies in developed nations.

Page 11: China’s customs administration said every dollar of trade is documented, defending the quality of export data that analysts at UBS and ANZ said may fail to capture the true picture.

Page 15: The Macau-based casino joint venture between James Packer and Hong Kong billionaire Lawrence Ho is being investigated by Taiwanese authorities for allegedly illegally channelling gambling funds between Taiwan and Macau.

Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore expansion and the development of the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Mongolia may enter production more quickly than has been forecast, said Deutsche Bank analyst Paul Young.

Qantas and Emerites could begin jointly selling tickets and cooperating on pricing for flights this week, with the competition regulator expected to rule on interim authorisation of the mega-alliance between the two carriers.

Page 17: Commonwealth Bank of Australia has been linked to a bid for Rabobank’s Indonesian business as it weighs up possible acquisitions after its market capitalisation broke through the $100 billion mark.

Page 29: Receivers KordaMentha will take the $450 million Raine Square complex in Perth to market next month in one of the largest offers the city’s office market has ever seen.

Page 32: One of Western Australia’s most prominent property commentators says investors in the state’s resources-rich Pilbara region should get out now or risk major losses.

THE AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: Resource and infrastructure giants will be told to spend more heavily with local manufacturing companies in a Gillard government plan due within weeks to aid struggling industries amid fears of a wave of further job layoffs.

Page 2: Labor has fuelled new doubts over the effectiveness of its mining tax, with its latest legal advice being seen as proof that nobody has paid the tax in its first six months of operation.

Page 15: One of the world’s biggest agricultural traders, Netherlands-based Louis Dreyfus Commodities, has bought a 13 per cent stake in struggling Australian cotton processor, the Namoi Cotton Co-operative.

Page 16: Former Andrew Forrest lieutenant Julian Tapp continues to occupy Fortescue Metals Group’s seat on the board of the Port Hedland Port Authority, despite leaving the miner more than four months ago.

Page 19: Germany’s economy shrank at the end of last year as weaker global demand and recessions throughout southern Europe triggered a slide in business investment.

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:

Page 1: Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced she is examining ways to end gun violence on Sydney streets before being accused of "gross hypocrisy" by the NSW government. For three seconds, Ita Buttrose was named the 2013 Australian of the Year.

Page 2: Fracking is more likely to take place during coal seam gas drilling near Sydney than in many other gas fields around Australia, a new report says.

Page 3: Nearly 1200 jobs have been axed in as many days as some of Australia's best-known companies adjust to the weakening economy. Senior RailCorp executives warned that cuts would jeopardise the safety of the network a year before the state government announced the axing of 450 jobs.

World: (Washington) The White House and a loose coalition of activists are hoping to harness public disgust to force Congress to pass its first significant gun control legislation in almost 20 years.

Business: Boral has decided to axe as many as one in three back-office jobs.

Sport: Another year, another miserable Australian Open exit for Samantha Stosur

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:

Page 1: The Central Coast is a surprise candidate for a second Sydney airport.

Page 2: The teen accused of throwing the metal rod which pierced the skull of teenager Liam Knight was yesterday refused bail, while his lawyer said another teenager may have wrongly "fingered" him for the crime.

Page 3: The Ford versus Holden rivalry has ended with a whimper with Australian production doomed.

World: Internet freedom activist Aaron Swartz was "killed by the government", his father told mourners at his son's funeral in Chicago yesterday.

Business: Shares in building contractor Boral surged more than 10 per cent in the group's biggest rally in nearly four years after a major restructure was announced.

Sport: "I guess it was a bit of a choke", Sam Stosur said as she exited the Australian Open.

THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:

Page 1: A surge in the number of flu cases this summer has prompted doctors to urge all South Australians to get vaccinated.

Page 3: Troubled football star Liam Jurrah has been charged with drink driving after the P-plater blew a staggering 0.27 when he arrived at a house where police were in attendance on Monday.

World: After a punishing bombing campaign failed to half the advance of al-Qaeda-linked fighters, France has pledged to triple the size of its military force in Mali.

Business: Building products maker Boral will shed 700 jobs as part of a restructuring move to help weather the effects of a gloomy housing market.

Sport: Lance Armstrong's plan to use "celebrity confession" to save his sports career - and to avoid paying out an estimated $100 million in damages - will fail.