Forrest one of 20 suitors for Virgin
Iron ore billionaire Andrew Forrest is circling Virgin Australia as a potential bidder for the airline as administrators tell creditors, who are owed more than $6.8 billion, they plan to finalise a sale by June. The Fin
Rebounding WA warns against riling China
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan says the state’s economy is on track to regain its footing faster than the eastern states and has warned against inflaming tensions with China, WA’s biggest trading partner, which is underpinning a massive iron ore royalty windfall. The Fin
Twiggy’s big shopping list: Virgin and a lithium mine
Fortescue Metals, backed by mining billionaire Andrew Forrest, is said to be mulling a purchase of the Greenbushes lithium mine in Perth, thought to be worth between $3bn and $5bn. The Aus
ISPT rejects Hostplus’ redemption bid
Property investor trust ISPT has knocked back an attempt by Hostplus for a $1.5 billion redemption, as fellow industry fund Cbus Super piles pressure on the $16 billion trust to write down valuations. The Fin
Old foes unite in call for $10b housing fund
Former sparring partners the CFMEU and the Master Builders Australia are calling for the establishment of a $10 billion fund to build 30,000 new social housing units in a bid to ward off an expected investment slump caused by the coronavirus. The Fin
Massive threat looms for agricultural sector
Agriculture leaders have warned the rising tensions between the Australian and Chinese governments could do serious harm to the industry, arguing it is “absurd” to put the economy at risk. The West
Panoramic cuts staff pay after mine closure
Embattled nickel miner Panoramic Resources has been forced to slash salaries and hours across its workforce after shuttering its Savannah mine in the East Pilbara because of COVID-19. The West
Newcrest’s $1.1b raising is about growth
Newcrest Mining says its growth-focused $1.1 billion raising offers investors something ‘‘completely different’’ to the $50 billion worth of repair and rescue raisings launched by Australia’s struggling corporate sector over the past two months. The Fin
Ready for some retail therapy
Momentum is gathering for stores to reopen after more than a month in hibernation, with luxury retailers this week leading the way. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Iron ore billionaire Andrew Forrest is circling Virgin Australia as a potential bidder for the airline as administrators tell creditors, who are owed more than $6.8 billion, they plan to finalise a sale by June.
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan says the state’s economy is on track to regain its footing faster than the eastern states and has warned against inflaming tensions with China, WA’s biggest trading partner, which is underpinning a massive iron ore royalty windfall.
Page 3: Property investor trust ISPT has knocked back an attempt by Hostplus for a $1.5 billion redemption, as fellow industry fund Cbus Super piles pressure on the $16 billion trust to write down valuations.
Page 5: Former sparring partners the CFMEU and the Master Builders Australia are calling for the establishment of a $10 billion fund to build 30,000 new social housing units in a bid to ward off an expected investment slump caused by the coronavirus.
Page 6: The COVIDSafe app has won important support from tech developers, after the code was reverse-engineered by developers.
Page 8: Unions’ push for pandemic pay to compensate disability workers who risk exposure to the coronavirus will fail without the Morrison government’s support, employers say.
Page 10: Australian workers are among the most heavily taxed employees in the world’s leading economies, according to a new ranking of income tax set to add weight to calls for new tax reforms.
Page 14: Donald Trump has vowed that the crumbling US economy will rebound strongly in the final three months of the year after the COVID-19 virus shutdown triggered the fastest contraction since 2008.
Page 18: ANZ Bank chief executive Shayne Elliott says it could take up to five years for employment to fully recover from the COVID-19 devastation, as the bank considers providing more detail about its bearish forecasts for the economy’s return to health.
Page 20: Property experts have backed suggestions Crown’s new shareholder Blackstone could engineer a spin-off of the casino giant’s property assets, with one estimate valuing the portfolio at $5.6 billion.
Page 21: Newcrest Mining says its growth-focused $1.1 billion raising offers investors something ‘‘completely different’’ to the $50 billion worth of repair and rescue raisings launched by Australia’s struggling corporate sector over the past two months.
Page 22: The Singaporean government has rejected TPG Telecom’s bid to be one of the nation’s two 5G wholesale providers, in a blow to the Australian telco’s push to be Singapore’s fourth mobile network operator.
The Australian
Page 1: South Australia will be the first state to unshackle itself from onerous coronavirus restrictions, committing to a significant loosening of the lockdown within three weeks, well ahead of the more populous eastern states that remain beset by division over the reopening of schools, restaurants, and pubs, and when to allow amateur sport to resume.
Page 4: Cashflow payments worth more than $6bn have been given to hundreds of thousands of distressed small and medium businesses under the federal government’s COVID-19 stimulus package.
At outposts untouched by coronavirus, residents and struggling business owners are starting to ask if they need to persist with lockdowns and restrictions that have slowed the spread in hotspots.
Page 6: A press conference on a crucial child cancer treatment was dumped to prevent the rift between Health Minister Greg Hunt and billionaire miner Andrew Forrest sparking another wave of adverse publicity.
Page 14: Fortescue Metals, backed by mining billionaire Andrew Forrest, is said to be mulling a purchase of the Greenbushes lithium mine in Perth, thought to be worth between $3bn and $5bn.
As Oil Search shareholders prepare to log on for its virtual annual general meeting on Friday, some of the energy producer’s most experienced oil and gas workers have tapped out for the last time.
Page 15: Australia’s competition regulator has given the green light to eBay’s acquisition of Cox Automotive Media Solutions, which owns the Carsguide and Autotrader websites, amid rising competition from Facebook.
Page 20: Early signs of a potential coronavirus treatment fuelled a rally across the board yesterday, helping the local market to its best monthly gain on record.
The West Australian
Page 7: Momentum is gathering for stores to reopen after more than a month in hibernation, with luxury retailers this week leading the way.
A last-minute deal has been negotiated by the Minister for Local Government and the head of a long-running inquiry into the City of Perth to extend its reporting date by two months.
Page 8: There has been a large increase in high-range speeding in WA amid the COVID-19 restrictions, with a quarter of drivers admitting to taking more risks with fewer cars on the roads.
Indigenous families in remote communities are spending up to 93 per cent of their weekly income on food because of shockingly expensive prices that in some cases are more than five times higher than in major cities.
Selected TAB outlets will open for cash-only transactions from today.
Page 9: Mathias Cormann has cautioned his colleagues that Australia needs to take a “considered approach” to its relationship with China after Andrew Hastie launched an online petition calling for a “push back”.
The Health Department has bought just $1 million worth of personal protective equipment from Andrew Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation, which earlier this month vowed to spend up to $160 million on critical supplies and testing kits from China.
Page 11: An AFL hub would pump an estimated $10.3 million into Perth as the city suffers a coronavirus-induced economic downturn.
Page 14: Former WA chief justice Wayne Martin says allowing judge-alone trials in all criminal matters would improve transparency while neither delaying nor adding costs to the courts.
Business: Agriculture leaders have warned the rising tensions between the Australian and Chinese governments could do serious harm to the industry, arguing it is “absurd” to put the economy at risk.
China’s first official data for April suggests the economy has split into two tracks, with a domestic rebound undercut by weak overseas demand.
Embattled nickel miner Panoramic Resources has been forced to slash salaries and hours across its workforce after shuttering its Savannah mine in the East Pilbara because of COVID-19.
