Today's Business Headlines

Unions return to Rio battlefield

Rio Tinto has agreed to resume bargaining with the Australian Workers Union after almost 20 years of hostilities, in a landmark victory for unions that has implications for non-unionised workplaces across the nation. The Aus

Homebuyer grants surge
A sharp jump in the number of First Home Owner Grants signals a revenue windfall for the next WA Government, says industry, with the number of grants at levels not seen since before the global financial crisis in 2008. The West

War games to protect Australia’s resource riches
War games will be stepped up in the Australia’s north and west to protect largely remote $380 billion oil, mining and gas assets that are vital to the economy. The Fin

Rio Tinto reviews troubled Mozambique coalmine
Rio Tinto has launched a broad review of its Mozambique coal business to look at future coal export transport options as well as the potential for joint ventures or asset sales, after last week’s shock billion write-down of the operations. The Fin

Talks to start on uranium for India
Australia and India will begin talks on a civil nuclear cooperation agreement in March, paving the way for a landmark deal that will allow the eventual sale of Australian uranium to the energy-hungry subcontinent. The Aus

 

THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: The WA Police Union has ignited law and order as an election issue by demanding both major parties commit to recruiting 800 extra officers over four years to keep pace with WA’s booming population.

Page 3: Teenagers will have to prove they can read, write and do basic maths before they graduate from high school under education reforms revealed yesterday.

Page 5: Two former racehorse owners are pursuing Perth Cup-winning trainer Shane Edwards after alleging they were duped into sending horses to race in Singapore on the promise of lucrative prize money, but later found they no longer owned the horses.

Ruth Tarvydas has won a stay of execution for her fashion empire after creditors, including her former King Street landlord, agreed to give her seven months to try to clear more than $1 million in debts.

Page 6: Children could have to be held in an adult jail for as long as six months while prison authorities deal with the clean-up from a riot at the State’s only juvenile detention centre, which left about 100 cells damaged and more than 70 detainees shifted to Hakea Prison.

Page 9: The WA Liberal Party has won a Supreme Court injunction against the City of Armadale that will allow it to display political signs on private property for the state election campaign in a ruling that could have big implications for political advertising Statewide.

Labor candidates hit out yesterday at the Liberal Party’s “lazy” and “cynical” use of automated cold calls but their State party director would not rule out using the technology.

Page 14: The rental crisis has been exacerbated by a surge in vacant properties, with nearly one in 10 WA homes sitting empty, according to the WA Housing Coalition.

Page 16: Another two people died on WA roads yesterday, taking the State’s 2012 road toll to 17 and prompting an RAC demand to make road safety a key issue at the March election.

Page 23: A sharp jump in the number of First Home Owner Grants signals a revenue windfall for the next WA Government, says industry, with the number of grants at levels not seen since before the global financial crisis in 2008.

Hills Holdings is scaling back a 10-year investment in healthcare with the sale of its WA maker of aged care and hospital equipment to a Sydney private equity group.

Perseus Mining has replaced long-serving chief executive Mark Calderwood with the company’s chief financial officer Jeff Quartermaine as it flagged further production issues at its Ghana gold operations.

Page 24: Administrators of Hastie Group have flagged recovery actions against directors amid claims the collapsed services conglomerate suffered from inadequate board control and a poorly implemented acquisition strategy.

Apartment sales at Karratha’s first high-rise tower have boosted developer Finbar Group’s first-half earnings forecast and put it on track to exceed the net profit of $28.3 million recorded last financial year.

Wesfarmers’ insurance boss Rob Scott has swapped the hard-hit division for a senior job at the heart of the group’s flagship supermarkets business.

Recycler Sims Metal Management has warned of possible fraud at two of its British electronic recycling sites, sparking a sharp fall in the company’s shares.

Page 25: Rio Tinto has finally called time on one of the State’s few examples of value-adding mineral processing, starting the process of breaking down its HIsmelt pig iron plant at Kwinana for shipment to China.

Minara Resources boss Peter Johnston says he has finally laid the ghosts of the company’s troubled past to bed, nearly 14 years after the first nickel was produced at its Murrin Murrin mine.

Despite a small drop in nickel production and an increase in costs, Western Areas managing director Dan Lougher said everything was running smoothly at the nickel miner’s WA operations.

Page 26: Barclays has moved swiftly to part company with a senior executive after investigators alleged that he shredded a highly critical analysis of the maverick culture and bullying at the bank’s one-time flagship Barclay’s Wealth business.

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:

Page 1: War games will be stepped up in the Australia’s north and west to protect largely remote $380 billion oil, mining and gas assets that are vital to the economy.

Rio Tinto has launched a broad review of its Mozambique coal business to look at future coal export transport options as well as the potential for joint ventures or asset sales, after last week’s shock billion write-down of the operations.

Optus consumer chief Kevin Russell has revealed the carrier may build more base stations and expand site-sharing arrangements with Vodafone if it decides not to take part in the forthcoming digital spectrum auctions.

Gas producers have hit back at criticism from their Australian commercial customers, arguing that higher gas prices are inevitable and necessary after 10 years of stable prices.

Investors in Sims Metal Management have called for the company’s chief executive, Dan Dienst, to be held accountable if an investigation into potentially fraudulent conduct in its UK operations uncovers a serious breach of corporate governance.

Page 3: More than 300 self-funded retirees are at risk of losing up to $27 million after investing in a high-risk Banksia Securities-type investment.

Page 4: Greens Leader Christine Milne says the government is trying to run away from the fact that the mining tax hasn’t raised any money, after Labor rejected a claim that Prime Minister Julia Gillard promised to provide a public monthly update of its revenue.

Page 5: A son of former NSW Labor minister Eddie Obeid is involved in the management of a lucrative waterfront development in Sydney in which the family appears, on paper, to have no financial interest, a corruption inquiry has heard.

Page 6: Defence spending will be constrained well into the future to reflect “the new fiscal reality’’ following the global financial crisis, a leaked draft defence white paper warns.

Page 7: Anti-coal activist Jonathan Moylan has retained a criminal lawyer to assist in his defence against the corporate regulator’s investigation into his fake ANZ Banking Group press release.

Page 8: The West Australian government has introduced Australia’s first minimum literacy and numeracy benchmark for school-leavers as it seeks to raise the standard of high school education.

A judge has blasted the federal government’s penalty for contributing too much to superannuation and compared it to France’s tax on the rich, after a director of the books chain Dymocks was hit with a $70,000 tax bill on an $89,000 overpayment.

Nearly 40 per cent of defined benefit superannuation schemes don’t have enough assets to cover their retirement obligations, a study by the securities regulator has found.

Page 9: Litigation funder IMF (Australia) and law firm Maurice Blackburn are confident they will be able to launch a class action against the Queensland government over the 2011 floods in the next few months.

Brown paper packages tied up with string available for pick-up at the local convenience store are tipped to be the next big thing in postal services for online shoppers.

Page 15: Australia’s largest infrastructure funds are preparing to battle the Future Fund for tightly held airport holdings in Melbourne and Perth, accusing the sovereign pension fund of reneging on assurances not to artificially inflate the asset values.

Nine Network Entertainment creditors have voted in favour of a $3.4 billion recapitalisation of the media company.

Page 16: Disappointing results from Beach Energy’s latest unconventional gas well have shone a spotlight on the fragile early stages of development of Australia’s shale gas sector, although producers and analysts are convinced of the industry’s long-term potential.

Lower interest rates will help prop up the sharemarket and offset mixed profit results as companies battle weak consumer and business confidence, Australian Foundation Investment Company general manager Geoff Driver has predicted.

Page 17: Investors and analysts have welcomed news that QBE Insurance Group is starting to implement its planned $200 million cost savings target.

Investors have urged National Australia Bank to grab any chance to offload its troubled UK business, even if it means wearing a substantial loss on the deal.

A 30 per cent increase in life insurance premiums sold through superannuation over the next few years will merely bring prices back to the level of five years ago, although such a hike will hit annual returns.

Page 20: Cost-cutting is crucial if Australian liquefied natural gas producers are to retain any degree of competitiveness in the Asian market in light of the looming supply competition from North America, according to Deloitte’s national director for oil and gas.

The best-performing superannuation fund in 2012, the CFS FirstChoice Growth scheme, posted a 16 per cent gain, in the best year for retirement scheme members since 2009.

Page 21: Renewed optimism among investors might have lifted Wall Street to a five-year high, but strategists and fund managers say any shift out of traditional safe-haven assets will come in a trickle rather than a rush.

THE AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: Rio Tinto has agreed to resume bargaining with the Australian Workers Union after almost 20 years of hostilities, in a landmark victory for unions that has implications for non-unionised workplaces across the nation.

West Australian students will be the first in the nation to have to meet minimum numeracy and literacy requirements before they can graduate from high school, a move driven by concerns from tertiary institutions, training providers and employers that current standards were not good enough.

Page 2: Coal seam gas producers say growing calls for gas-reservation policies are the result of punts gone wrong by domestic users who failed to lock in long-term contracts because they thought prices would fall.

Australia and India will begin talks on a civil nuclear cooperation agreement in March, paving the way for a landmark deal that will allow the eventual sale of Australian uranium to the energy-hungry subcontinent.

Severe monsoons in waters north of Australia have blunted the influx of asylum-seeker boats, but the drop in arrivals has also raised hopes the offshore-processing regime and forced returns to Sri Lanka might be having an impact.

Page 3: Kevin Rudd has moved to reignite a police investigation into the leaking of an expletive-laden video of the former prime minister.

Brisbane-based property financier Wickham Securities has been placed in administration, leaving a cloud of uncertainty over $29 million worth of savings invested by about 300 self-funded retirees.

Page 4: The Northern Territory government has refused to rule out intervention in the gas market as it struggles to offset the billion-dollar risk associated with a plan to save Rio Tinto’s aluminium refinery in Arnhem Land.

Page 5: Coal industry players were outraged when former NSW energy minister Ian Macdonald made an ‘‘unprecedented’’ decision to restrict a batch of new mining licences to small-to-medium companies.

Labor minister Anthony Albanese has declared that a possible increase to unemployment benefits is under ‘‘consideration’’ in this year’s federal budget.

Page 7: Barack Obama faces big challenges in curbing federal budget deficits and pressing for new gun control laws after taking the oath to start his second term as US President.

Page 17: Rio Tinto plans to step up talks with Mozambique coal players including industry giants Anglo American and Vale after a review of its $3.9 billion Riversdale mining acquisition found the assets did not have as much coal as first thought and would not support its own rail infrastructure.

The matriarchs of family companies are having a greater say in controversial succession planning issues, challenging the traditional view that the business should be passed to the next generation, according to a landmark study partly funded by the federal government.

Page 18: Canada’s $120 billion Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is looking at stepping up its investments in Australia with a minimum project target of $250 million.

Page 19: Most of Australia’s superannuation accounts not only grew by a healthy 12.7 per cent in the 2012 calendar year, according to superannuation consultants, but they have picked up a further 1.5 per cent so far in January.

Oz Minerals has scooted off to a five-week high after the Melbourne-based group upgraded the resource estimate at its Carrapateena copper-gold deposit, confirming its potential as a long-term replacement for the group’s Prominent Hill mine, also in South Australia.

QBE Insurance Group has played down reports that it is about to cull 700 jobs from its local operations, but the company has reaffirmed plans to slash million ($190m) in annual operating costs from its balance sheet.

Page 23: South Africa’s stateowned electricity provider Eskom Holdings has withdrawn its official complaint to that country’s competition tribunal over the proposed merger of mining and commodities giants Glencore International and Xstrata.

Page 24: Blackrock, the world’s largest money manager, is interested in buying Australian dairy and grain handling stocks as it seeks to cash in on rising food demand in Asia, one of its senior money managers said yesterday.

THE HERALD SUN:

Page 1: The families of people killed by violent men on parole have called for a revamp of the system. Pressure off Licola residents after four days cut off by fire.

Page 2: Homicide detectives probe the death of a foreign student in house fire.

Page 3: Zamel's fined $250,000 for duping customers with inflated discounts in sales advertisements. Orion passengers delighted at the rescue of stranded French yachtsman.

World: Troops capture five kidnappers and find bodies of 25 captives at Algerian gas plant.

Finance: QBE expected to offshore jobs with 700 workers set to be sacked.

Sport: AFL says it has built up five years of blood testing of its players that is equal to the profiling system in cycling.

THE AGE:

Page 1: Australia's offshore processing is under threat with PNG's opposition leader claiming asylum seekers are being held illegally on Manus Island under PNG's constitution. Canberra to instruct Labor MPs and candidates to get their election campaigns started ASAP. Afghan exodus tipped to increase with the withdrawal of foreign forces from the country next year. France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga progressing through Australian Open draw.

Page 2: Conman claimed he was a federal police officer and ASIO agent to get sex while in jail, a court has heard.

Page 3: Victoria's organ donation rate fell last year, partly due to a shortage of staff to retrieve organs and perform transplants. Baillieu government has plans to revitalise the F1 grand prix. Award-winning apartment complex in Melbourne's southeast is home to women on low incomes. Despite weaker house prices in past two years, Australia still has the most unaffordable housing in the world.

World: Barack Obama's second presidential term begins in a quiet ceremony in the White House's Blue Room at midday on Sunday where he swore the oath of office.

Finance: Housing not likely to fill the hole left when the mining industry comes off the boil with potential buyers worried by unemployment in 2013.

Sport: West Indian Marlon Samuels says he was shocked at the baiting of Shane Warne and the apathy of the Melbourne Stars when he was struck in the eye after top-edging a bouncer.

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:

Page 1: With Australia likely to remain the destination of choice among the wealthy, the number of Afghans seeking asylum will increase in the leadup to the withdrawal of foreign forces from the country next year, says a report by development consultancy STATT.

Page 2: Channel Seven host David Koch is standing by his comments that women should be discreet when breastfeeding in public, despite scores of protesters outside the Sunrise studio.

Page 3: The independent state MP for Sydney Alex Greenwich is calling for the NSW Auditor-General to be involved in assessing James Packer's proposal for a hotel and casino at Barangaroo to safeguard taxpayers' interests.

World: Barack Obama's second term has started in a quiet ceremony in the White House's Blue Room.

Business: Housing looks set for a subdued start to the year with builders dashing hopes that the sector will fill the hole left when the mining industry comes off the boil and with prospective home buyers cautious in the face of rising unemployment.

Sport: Shane Watson is set to miss this week's Sheffield Shield match for NSW as Cricket Australia take a conservative approach to the comeback of their Test vice-captain.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:

Page 1: Celebrity chef Manu Feildel has been caught driving through the streets of Sydney's eastern suburbs on a learner's licence with no L-plates or a supervising driver.

Page 2: Muslim rioter Omar Halaby, who smashed a police windscreen in September's violent protests, is receiving a $200-a-fortnight disability support pension.

Page 3: Ellen DeGeneres is set to go one better than former TV rival Oprah Winfrey's Australian adventure, by surprising two lucky Australian fans with a free trip back to see her US chat show.

World: President Barack Obama has embraced confrontation at the start of his 2nd term, making little effort to woo members of the opposition in Congress.

Sport: 2500 mourners have attended the funeral of NRL star Jon Mannah.

THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:

Page 1: Incoming Health Minister Jack Snelling is determined to to earn a reputation as an axeman but can't rule out health job cuts.

Page 3: The Adelaide Hills will come alive this week as quiet towns become a European-style backdrop for cyclists in the Santos Tour Down Under.

World: A day of festivities, parades and fancy dress balls marked the beginning of Barack Obama's second four-year term as America's first black president.

Finance: Hastie Group directors may have breached their duties as the engineering conglomerate collapsed under poor management, a report by administrator PPB Advisory says.

Sport: The AFL says it has built a bank of biological data on its players equal to the profiling system that has helped clean up cycling post-Lance Armstrong.