WA surplus pumped up by iron ore
Booming iron ore prices driven by Chinese demand will swell Western Australia’s budget coffers by $2.3 billion over the next four years, pointing to a likely federal government windfall that would speed up budget repair and drive down record debt faster than anticipated. The Fin
Seven in pitch for pumped hydro
Kerry Stokes’s Seven Group is eyeing a push into renewable energy generation, pitching a $650m pumped hydro scheme to the West Australian government. The Aus
McGowan stands by hard border but health boss says it’s under review
WA is considering scrapping the requirement for other States to reach 28 days of no community spread before reopening its border and replacing the policy with a 14 or 21-day target. The West
Training plan for Woolies
Woolworths has unveiled a three-year, multimillion-dollar plan to upskill almost a third of its 200,000-strong workforce to prepare them for the changing face of the Australian retail sector. The West
Why Tim Fung thinks time is right for Airtasker float
Airtasker CEO Tim Fung says the business has been IPO-ready since May last year, but he believes now is the right time to list, as the platform is poised to help Australians earn a living during the economic fallout from COVID-19. The Fin
Job seekers gaming system: employer
Job seekers taking advantage of the welfare system and foreign workers restricted from rolling over their visas have created major difficulties for employers desperate to hire workers. The Fin
A Nifty deal for Cyprium
WA explorer Cyprium Metals looks set to clinch a deal to buy Metals X’s Nifty copper mine and surrounding exploration tenements after flagging a strategic acquisition and capital raising. The West
Farmers poised to cash in on net zero: Littleproud
Farmers are well placed to profit from a commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, thanks to the carbon farming and soil carbon initiatives that will be unveiled in the May budget, Agriculture Minister David Littleproud says. The Fin
Google threat lifts support for new code
Google’s threat to block Australians from using its search engine if the government passes a proposed media bargaining code has only increased voter support for the proposed change, new data suggests. The Fin
Miners at helm of recovery
Prominent Perth dealmakers are forecasting a strong pickup in mergers and acquisitions over the next 12 months, after the coronavirus crisis put the brakes on deals across the nation. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Booming iron ore prices driven by Chinese demand will swell Western Australia’s budget coffers by $2.3 billion over the next four years, pointing to a likely federal government windfall that would speed up budget repair and drive down record debt faster than anticipated.
Page 3: Job seekers taking advantage of the welfare system and foreign workers restricted from rolling over their visas have created major difficulties for employers desperate to hire workers.
Page 4: Farmers are well placed to profit from a commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, thanks to the carbon farming and soil carbon initiatives that will be unveiled in the May budget, Agriculture Minister David Littleproud says.
Page 11: American Express will use its trusted global brand to attempt to muscle in on small businesses lending in Australia, a move that could lure some customers away from the big banks and specialists such as Judo Bank and Prospa.
Airtasker CEO Tim Fung says the business has been IPO-ready since May last year, but he believes now is the right time to list, as the platform is poised to help Australians earn a living during the economic fallout from COVID-19.
Page 13: Amazon Australia’s sales have fallen well short of initial market forecasts but its expansion over the past three years has helped accelerate the shift to online shopping and forced local retailers to lift their game.
Page 14: Treasury Wine Estates said yesterday that work on any potential demerger of its Penfolds brand or on any other structural separation of brands or businesses still remains officially ‘‘paused’’.
Page 17: Google’s threat to block Australians from using its search engine if the government passes a proposed media bargaining code has only increased voter support for the proposed change, new data suggests.
The Australian
Page 1: ANZ has abandoned the world’s largest coal export port at Newcastle after refusing to keep funding the mega-facility under its new climate change policy that all but bans loans to the coal sector.
Page 2: The French company building the nation’s $90bn Attack-class submarines has hired one of the nation’s most exclusive political and public relations advisory firms to repair its damaged image in Australia.
The Australian defence department has been warned Xi Jinping’s administration is “highly likely” to attempt to take over Taiwan using “all means short of war” as early as 2024.
Page 5: The peak body for psychiatrists has been savaged by its own members for a “pitiful” clinical memorandum, including a “childish misrepresentation” of data, which lay behind the health regulator’s preliminary decision not to reclassify psychedelic medicines.
Page 7: Australia will not adjust its vaccine strategy despite evidence the AstraZeneca jab is not effective in preventing mild and moderate disease from the South African coronavirus variant, with the federal government confident it will still protect against severe disease.
Page 13: Mid-sized super funds were among the hardest hit by the $36bn COVID-linked early super release scheme, with some funds seeing more than 10 per cent of their assets fly out the door.
Page 15: McDonald’s Australia has cemented its position as one of the strongest operations for the global fast-food giant after it racked up its seventh consecutive year of comparative sales growth in 2020.
Page 16: Kerry Stokes’s Seven Group is eyeing a push into renewable energy generation, pitching a $650m pumped hydro scheme to the West Australian government.
The West Australian
Page 3: The first $25,000 rapid response grants from the The Lord Mayor’s Distress Relief Fund will be given to victims of the Wooroloo blaze — one of WA’s worst bushfire disasters — after more than $7 million was raised for those who lost their homes.
Page 4: Federal Industry Minister Karen Andrews increased the rent on her three-bedroom investment property on the outskirts of Kalgoorlie by 15.25 per cent in June during the pandemic and while the nation grappled with the highest unemployment rate in close to 30 years.
Page 5: WA is considering scrapping the requirement for other States to reach 28 days of no community spread before reopening its border and replacing the policy with a 14 or 21-day target.
Page 8: Australians have racked up more than $200 million in personal debt over the Christmas period, bucking the trend in recent months of a declining use of credit cards.
Page 9: Liberal leader Zak Kirkup said he would “fully support” a parliamentary inquiry into the health system at Bunbury after the shocking cases that have emerged from Bunbury hospitals in the past six months.
Business: China’s insatiable demand for WA’s iron ore is set to deliver a record-breaking $10.7 billion in mining royalties to the State Government this financial year.
Woolworths has unveiled a three-year, multimillion-dollar plan to upskill almost a third of its 200,000-strong workforce to prepare them for the changing face of the Australian retail sector.
Oil in London advanced above $US60 a barrel for the first time in more than a year as stockpiles tighten and the demand outlook improves amid the global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.
Prominent Perth dealmakers are forecasting a strong pickup in mergers and acquisitions over the next 12 months, after the coronavirus crisis put the brakes on deals across the nation.
Carnarvon pumpkin and melon growers watched whole crops being washed away by once-in-a-decade floods over the weekend, while banana plantations were relatively unscathed.
Aware Super will grow in coming years to be able to manage up to $300 billion, a drive that could see Australia’s second-largest pension fund open offices in Europe and the US in pursuit of more investments overseas.
WA explorer Cyprium Metals looks set to clinch a deal to buy Metals X’s Nifty copper mine and surrounding exploration tenements after flagging a strategic acquisition and capital raising.
Ora Banda Mining is celebrating the first gold pour at its refurbished Davyhurst project near Menzies.
