Labor to beef up ACCC
Business will face tougher $10 million penalties from a beefed-up competition watchdog, under a Bill Shorten Labor government if elected on July 2. The Fin
Brexit to push taxes up, warns UK Chancellor
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has warned that leaving the European Union could spark a fiscal crisis, as ‘‘Remain’’ supporters battle to turn around a referendum campaign that’s slipping away from them. The Fin
InterOil AGM voting stirs deal worries
Oil Search and InterOil have been placed on high alert by voting at InterOil’s annual general meeting which some say suggests a risk to the $US2.2 billion-plus takeover deal between the two. The Fin
Pressure on lower grade iron ore miners as discount widens
A big drop in the iron ore price in the last month has been compounded by a sharp increase in the discount on lower grade iron ore sold by Fortescue Metals Group and Australia’s junior iron ore miners. The Fin
AMP Capital defends China investments
AMP Capital is urging investors to take a long-term view on the growth potential in Chinese shares as it fends off a push by international activist investor Lim Advisors, supported by local stalwart Geoff Wilson, to shut down its China Growth Fund. The Fin
Surplus delays risk budget’s AAA rating
Standard & Poor’s, the most powerful credit ratings agency, has fired a fresh warning shot to both major political parties that the budget must be brought back into surplus as forecast or they risk losing the coveted AAA rating. The Aus
Labor will build Perth Metronet: Shorten
Bill Shorten says he will have a mandate to build WA Labor’s Metronet train service if he wins the election, as he cautioned the Barnett Government against signing contracts to build the Perth Freight Link. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Wrap-Around Page 1: Urgently needed transport projects are being abandoned or being built to a sub-optimal standard because Australia lacks a coherent national infrastructure strategy, experts said.
Page 3: New stamp duty and land tax surcharges imposed on foreign buyers of residential property in NSW, Victoria and Queensland will have far-reaching repercussions, according to Frasers Property Australia boss Rod Fehring.
Page 5: Business will face tougher $10 million penalties from a beefed-up competition watchdog, under a Bill Shorten Labor government if elected on July 2.
Page 6: The federal government chose a 10-year timeframe for dropping the company tax rate despite modelling showing economic benefits would flow from a cut made much sooner.
Page 9: Qantas is making a comeback in popularity among business graduates rising to third place, up from sixth in 2015, in the annual Universum survey of 11,000 students from 41 universities.
Page 11: Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has warned that leaving the European Union could spark a fiscal crisis, as ‘‘Remain’’ supporters battle to turn around a referendum campaign that’s slipping away from them.
Page 15: Oil Search and InterOil have been placed on high alert by voting at InterOil’s annual general meeting which some say suggests a risk to the $US2.2 billion-plus takeover deal between the two.
Page 17: Beston Global Foods is benefiting from the fallout of the Murray Goulburn mayhem in the dairy sector on two fronts, with disgruntled dairy farmers approaching Beston wanting to switch to supplying the company, which is also rebuilding a mozzarella cheese plant dismantled by Murray Goulburn.
A big drop in the iron ore price in the last month has been compounded by a sharp increase in the discount on lower grade iron ore sold by Fortescue Metals Group and Australia’s junior iron ore miners.
Page 18: BHP Billiton has revealed it has also put its stake in the Bass Strait oil fields up for sale, joining partner ExxonMobil in what is set to be a historic exit from Australia’s oldest offshore petroleum province.
Advertising contributes close to $40 billion to the Australian economy, helping to create and support close to 200,000 jobs.
Page 19: In an approach that distinguishes it from Apple in the contactless payment market, Samsung says banks are welcome to join its digital wallet and it doesn’t want any of their interchange fees or data.
AMP Capital is urging investors to take a long-term view on the growth potential in Chinese shares as it fends off a push by international activist investor Lim Advisors, supported by local stalwart Geoff Wilson, to shut down its China Growth Fund.
Page 20: OnMarket BookBuilds, a stockmarket listings and placements platform, has launched a petition to oppose the proposed changes to the ASX admissions rules on the grounds that private investors, including self-managed superannuation fund trustees, will be shut out of capital raisings.
Page 26: The S&P/ASX 200 index could retest the 5000-point level if negative momentum continues, according to an analysis of technical levels.
The Australian
Page 6: Voters are split on whether Malcolm Turnbull or Bill Shorten is the best leader to manage the contentious election issue of superannuation, with neither leader commanding the confidence of a majority.
Standard & Poor’s, the most powerful credit ratings agency, has fired a fresh warning shot to both major political parties that the budget must be brought back into surplus as forecast or they risk losing the coveted AAA rating.
Page 8: Labor has asked the Australian Electoral Commission to investigate alleged breaches of financial disclosure laws by Nick Xenophon over his fundraising arm that sold online products, including “Give Nick The Squeeze” balls and “Nick is fully sick” bags.
Page 19: James Packer’s Crown Resorts is banking on a major rerating of its Australian casino properties after announcing a multi-billion-dollar break-up of its gaming empire that will see the demerger of its offshore assets and a big lift in dividends to shareholders.
Page 21: A slowing of demand from Chinese buyers due to curbs on capital outflows from that country and a move by some states to increase stamp duty for foreign buyers are even bigger concerns than the glut of apartments, according to KordaMentha real estate partner Paul Mirams.
Page 23: Investment banks — particularly smaller boutique advisory houses — are being squeezed into the difficult position of needing to slice pay to align with softer deal flow while not losing key dealmakers in the process, according to a report.
Mike Hirst, chief executive of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, says putting his major rivals in the dock for a royal commission into the banking sector would be a waste of time, even if it gave his regional lender a competitive advantage over the big four.
Page 25: Uber Technologies is turning to the leveraged-loan market for the first time to raise as much as $US2 billion ($2.7bn), a sign of the popular ride-sharing network’s hunger for cash as it expands around the world.
The West Australian
Page 3: Widespread concerns that national literacy and numeracy tests place too much pressure on young children are unfounded, WA research suggests.
Page 10: Bill Shorten says he will have a mandate to build WA Labor’s Metronet train service if he wins the election, as he cautioned the Barnett Government against signing contracts to build the Perth Freight Link.
Page 11: Bill Shorten is demanding an investigation of a Liberal Partylinked software company’s transfers of more than $1 million to the party, labelling it a “scam”.
Page 16: A “brave and selfless” volunteer firefighter had a $1200 bonus slashed from his pay by employer Alcoa after taking a shift off work to battle a blaze at Lake Clifton.
Page 50: The maker of the Big Mac pulled a whopping $721 million in dividends from Australia last year but paid an equivalent income tax rate of just 16 per cent on a bumper 2015 profit.
Page 51: The Pilbara Ports Authority is pushing Utah Point iron ore exporters to lock in hard take-or-pay contracts over exports as the State Government readies the terminal for sale.