Mining sector set to come to the rescue of poor business investment
Australia’s mining sector is expected to do the heavy lifting in business investment over the next year as healthy commodity prices lock in spending plans and non-miners, such as Telstra and Wesfarmers, cut back. The Fin
Pandemic fears belt travel stocks
Listed travel and tourism businesses face deeper losses as the global travel industry reels from the escalating coronavirus crisis, which puts Australian shares close to erasing all of their gains this year. The Fin
Freo mayor nominates for Greens
Fremantle mayor Brad Pettitt wants to try his hand at State politics after nominating for the Greens. The West
Senator blasts EnergyAustralia boss on tax bill
EnergyAustralia boss Catherine Tanna has been labelled a ‘‘swindler’’ and a ‘‘corporate tax dodger’’, as a high profile Senate crossbencher called for her resignation from the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia. The Fin
Outbreak halts Chinese steel projects
In bad news for Australia’s multibillion iron ore export industry, steelmakers and analysts said furnaces and production lines were being closed as it was difficult to meet orders for March and April while transport movement around the country was being tightly controlled. The Fin
Nine to give sport, movies the chop
Movies and big sporting events are on the chopping block at Nine Entertainment, with chief executive Hugh Marks looking to slash $100m in costs at its free-to-air broadcast business as the advertising downturn hits profit. The Aus
Anger over call to axe regional tax breaks
Furious Nationals MPs have joined Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar in rejecting a Productivity Commission recommendation to abolish a tax concession worth up to $1173 for people living in remote Australia, after the advisory body found nearly half of those accessing the rebate live in coastal cities. The Aus
Private hospital sector ‘ready to share the load’
Private hospitals are offering to take over elective surgery cases from overstretched public hospitals in the event that there is widespread transmission of the coronavirus in Australia. The Aus
Speed bumped: Telstra admits defeat on NBN’s fastest plan
Telstra has stopped offering the highest speeds available on the NBN over large portions of the $51bn network, saying that most connections are unable to deliver download speeds of 100 megabits per second. The Aus
Developer Peet feels heat
Shareholders accounting for at least 30 per cent of Peet are pressuring the $630 million residential developer to explore a sale of its business to address “a decade of underperformance”. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Listed travel and tourism businesses face deeper losses as the global travel industry reels from the escalating coronavirus crisis, which puts Australian shares close to erasing all of their gains this year.
Coronavirus anxiety is gripping Europe as the Italian outbreak jumps across borders and raises the prospect of a Continent-wide epidemic that will be difficult to control.
Page 3: John Setka’s construction faction in the CFMEU used misleading tactics to poach 219 rival manufacturing members, the Federal Court heard yesterday.
Page 4: Scott Morrison’s insistence that neither he nor his office influenced the distribution of grants under the $100 million ‘‘sports rorts" program has come under fresh scrutiny following revelations there were 136 emails on the subject between his office and that of then sports minister Bridget McKenzie.
EnergyAustralia boss Catherine Tanna has been labelled a ‘‘swindler’’ and a ‘‘corporate tax dodger’’, as a high profile Senate crossbencher called for her resignation from the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Page 6: Australia’s mining sector is expected to do the heavy lifting in business investment over the next year as healthy commodity prices lock in spending plans and non-miners, such as Telstra and Wesfarmers, cut back.
Page 10: The Morrison government will consider today whether to start easing the travel ban on Chinese students amid warnings by health authorities that the crisis will run for several months more, prompting fears of a recession.
Page 11: In bad news for Australia’s multibillion iron ore export industry, steelmakers and analysts said furnaces and production lines were being closed as it was difficult to meet orders for March and April while transport movement around the country was being tightly controlled.
Page 15: Rio Tinto says the movement of commodities through Chinese ports has ‘‘substantially normalised’’ in recent days and the company expects the Chinese government will respond to the coronavirus with a stimulus package that drives strong demand for commodities.
Woolworths expects to grow underlying profits in the June-half even though the bushfires, coronavirus and record high tobacco prices are crimping sales growth while wage costs are rising.
Page 17: Nine chief executive Hugh Marks says the company is making strong progress in diversifying and shifting its earnings to digital sources, but a worse than expected advertising market has led to a cut in its full-year guidance and a targeted $100 million in cost cuts in its free-to-air television business.
Page 21: Vodafone Hutchison Australia has revealed it lost 275,000 mobile customers in 2019, in a full year result that exposed the depth of the problems the company faced outside a merger with TPG Telecom.
The Australian
Page 1: Up to 1.5 million international visitors will be lost to Australia due to the coronavirus and bushfire crises, in a crippling blow to tourism as the disease — now threatening the Tokyo Olympics — forces Scott Morrison to prepare for “last resort” closures of schools and cancellations of football matches.
Page 4: Furious Nationals MPs have joined Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar in rejecting a Productivity Commission recommendation to abolish a tax concession worth up to $1173 for people living in remote Australia, after the advisory body found nearly half of those accessing the rebate live in coastal cities.
Page 6: Some GPs and specialists are moving people with intellectual disabilities into palliative care too quickly, without giving them the same treatment options as those without a disability, a palliative care expert has told the disability royal commission.
Page 8: The impact of the coronavirus on air travel is expected to be greater than the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 or the 2003 SARS epidemic, as more airlines slash flights in response to shrinking demand.
Private hospitals are offering to take over elective surgery cases from overstretched public hospitals in the event that there is widespread transmission of the coronavirus in Australia.
Page 19: Less than a year after Tigerair pilots won a 16 per cent pay rise from their employer Virgin Australia, many are now facing redundancy as the low-cost carrier’s fleet is to be almost halved.
Movies and big sporting events are on the chopping block at Nine Entertainment, with chief executive Hugh Marks looking to slash $100m in costs at its free-to-air broadcast business as the advertising downturn hits profit.
Page 20: Telstra has stopped offering the highest speeds available on the NBN over large portions of the $51bn network, saying that most connections are unable to deliver download speeds of 100 megabits per second.
The West Australian
Page 3: Nursing homes will be told to encourage residents and their families to discuss end-of-life plans amid growing fears of a major coronavirus outbreak that would result in the rationing of intensive care beds.
Page 7: Fly-in, fly-out workers catching dawn flights will not be able to use Perth’s $1.8 billion underground rail line to get to the airport — because the trains will not start early enough.
Page 12: Fremantle mayor Brad Pettitt wants to try his hand at State politics after nominating for the Greens.
Business: Virgin Australia is restructuring its fleet, cutting routes and downsizing its low-cost brand Tigerair to counter a possible earnings hit of $75 million on the back of the unprecedented bushfires and the coronavirus.
Shareholders accounting for at least 30 per cent of Peet are pressuring the $630 million residential developer to explore a sale of its business to address “a decade of underperformance”.
Wellard has warned welcome rains across northern Australia could weigh on demand for its vessels this year, because the resulting price rises for cattle could deter overseas buyers from chartering the carriers.
Woolworths has raised its estimate of staff underpayments to $315 million across a bigger number of employees than initially thought, with the final figure potentially even higher once a review into the nine-year scandal is complete.
Disney chief executive Bob Iger — who steered the company’s absorption of Star Wars, Pixar, Marvel and Fox’s entertainment businesses and the launch of a Netflix challenger — is stepping down immediately, the company said in a surprise announcement.
