NUW in talks for super union
The National Union of Workers is in talks to form a new super union with the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and United Voice, potentially boosting union power in supply chains and the food and beverage industries. The Fin
Beijing tips firm steel demand for 2017
Australian iron ore miners can expect another year of strong prices, after China’s chief government forecaster said a predicted decline in steel demand would not happen in 2017. The Fin
KordaMentha gets $1m a week to run Arrium group
Instability in the electricity grid and concerns about the long-term fix needed for South Australia’s power infrastructure are complicating the sale process for Arrium’s Australian assets, as the big banks sign off on payments of $1 million per week for administrators KordaMentha to run the group. The Fin
Morrison on notice as debt soars
Credit ratings agencies are warning they will not accept forecasts they consider unrealistic in next week’s budget update, with one predicting weaker growth will push the combined level of federal and state debt about $50 billion higher this financial year. The Aus
Resources sector gains drive jobs ads
Job opportunities in the resources sector have increased for the fifth straight month in the latest sign of the momentum behind the commodities turnaround. The Aus
Brandis confirms split on Bell
George Brandis has confirmed he had a difference of opinion with Justin Gleeson over the WA Government’s attempted takeover of the Bell Group liquidation. The West
Grylls slams miners over tax
Brendon Grylls has accused the major mining lobbies of being “enemies of the WA economy” as the war of words over his proposed mining tax intensifies. The West
Programmed strikes pay deal
Programmed has struck a pay deal with offshore marine services workers in the North West that took more than three years to reach, with modest pay rises agreed that are well short of their union’s original demands. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Nick Xenophon has expressed concerns about cost blowouts and other potential problems with the $50 billion submarine contract after the federal government rejected his request to apply extra scrutiny to the mammoth project in his home state of South Australia.
Robin Bishop, one of the most powerful and connected investment bankers, says the ‘‘intensive’’ nature of the job convinced him it was time to retire at the age of just 45 years.
Page 2: Fairfax Media chief executive Greg Hywood accused the company’s main competitor, News Corp, of using its news outlets to attack rivals after The Australian claimed that Fairfax’s Domain real estate division used a pornographic website to inflate its audience figures.
Page 3: The competition watchdog has alleged that multinational paper product giant Kimberly-Clark Australia and its ASX-listed rival Pental misled consumers by describing a range of wipes as ‘‘flushable’’.
The National Union of Workers is in talks to form a new super union with the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and United Voice, potentially boosting union power in supply chains and the food and beverage industries.
Page 4: The Turnbull government is pushing ahead with plans to extend the powers of the corporate watchdog that will allow it to intervene or ban the sale of financial products that it believes are unsuitable for consumers.
Page 5: China-Australian businessman Huang Xiangmo, who has strong links to the Chinese embassy and paid a personal bill of Labor senator Sam Dastyari, has warned Australia will be ‘‘slaughtered’’ like a sheep if it does not build relations with Beijing in a post-Trump world.
Page 7: The government has proposed legislation that could see the creation of a levy on National Broadband Network rival superfast broadband providers to pay for unprofitable regional areas.
Divorced mothers and fathers have almost two-thirds less superannuation than their married counterparts, with a report claiming it takes five years to recover financially from a marriage break-up.
Page 9: Robin Bishop was the banker you wanted in your boardroom when the CEO thought the deal would make his reputation, investors and press were clamouring for a close and billions were on the line.
Attorney-General George Brandis says he is ‘‘not at liberty’’ to say whether he is taking up a diplomatic or judicial role in the near future and denied that conflict over a High Court case was the cause of a breakdown of his relationship with former solicitor-general Justin Gleeson.
Page 10: Australian iron ore miners can expect another year of strong prices, after China’s chief government forecaster said a predicted decline in steel demand would not happen in 2017.
Page 11: US President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday (AEDT) the United States did not necessarily have to stick to its long-standing position that Taiwan was part of ‘‘one China’’, questioning nearly four decades of policy in a move likely to antagonise Beijing.
Page 13: Incoming Murray Goulburn chief executive Ari Mervis will turn to the dairy processor’s 2200 farmer suppliers to help craft a new strategy to restore the co-operative’s fortunes.
Page 15: Instability in the electricity grid and concerns about the long-term fix needed for South Australia’s power infrastructure are complicating the sale process for Arrium’s Australian assets, as the big banks sign off on payments of $1 million per week for administrators KordaMentha to run the group.
Gas pipeline major APA Group has taken its first firm step into solar power, signing a 12-year electricity sales contract to underpin a $50 million project in Western Australia and shrugging off concerns among analysts about lower returns from renewables projects.
DUET Group has left the door open for a potential higher takeover offer, granting Cheung Kong Infrastructure access to its accounts so it can firm up its $7.3 billion cash bid, but on a nonexclusive basis.
Page 16: Brazilian miner Vale has further reduced the size of its Australian portfolio, selling the Carborough Downs coal mine and several other assets to a company linked to coal king Hans Mende in recent days.
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises stands to more than double its share of the $23 billion takeaway food market in nine years, but short-term expansion plans could come under pressure as higher wages dent franchisee margins.
Page 17: The chairman and chief executive of travel insurance group Cover-More insist shareholders are getting a good deal in a takeover that is priced below the issue price of the company’s 2013 ASX listing.
Virgin Super will deliver a substantial fee reduction to its 20,000 members following a takeover of the $540 million retirement scheme by Mercer, a global consulting and investment group.
Page 21: Innovation Minister Greg Hunt will bring major venture capital trade missions from China and the US to Australia next year as well as set up a new national innovation fund, as he claims victory in a push to broaden the appeal of the innovation agenda to mainstream Australia.
Page 23: Australian Securities and Investments Commission chairman Greg Medcraft has said its new artificial intelligence software will be targeted at rooting out fake news on social media, as concerns rise that it is already being used to manipulate the sharemarket.
A Brisbane-based company specialising in background music has signed a deal with global streaming giant Spotify, which it says could revolutionise the way music is consumed in public spaces.
The Australian
Page 1: Credit ratings agencies are warning they will not accept forecasts they consider unrealistic in next week’s budget update, with one predicting weaker growth will push the combined level of federal and state debt about $50 billion higher this financial year.
Harvey Norman chief executive Katie Page has entered the almost six-year battle between Hunter Valley thoroughbred breeders and the proposed Drayton South coalmine, calling on the NSW government to give certainty to the area’s $2.6 billion racehorse breeding industry.
Page 4: BAE Systems Australia, which last week won a five-year contract worth $70m to maintain the new Air Warfare Destroyers, will today announce the establishment of the Joint Open Innovation Network to support new university engineering scholarships, internships and undergraduate industry placements.
Page 19: Troubled aged-care provider Estia Health has handed the reins to corporate raider Gary Weiss in a bid to turn its fortunes around as it taps the market for $136.8 million to improve its liquidity.
Page 21: Andrew Maiden, chief executive of Australia’s subscription TV industry body, has complained to Communications Minister Mitch Fifield that Seven has exploited its “privileged” negotiating position as a free-to-air network to buy sport and then charge for it.
Former Billabong boss Matthew Perrin faked his ex-wife’s signature on mortgage documents to use the family home in a $13.5 million fraud, a court has been told.
The wunderkinds behind one-time high-flyer Atrum Coal have lost control of shares once worth more than $60 million after a loan secured against their stakes went sour.
Page 22: Investors are sweating on an imminent trading update from Bellamy’s that threatens to intensify the pressure on chief executive Laura McBain and chairman Rob Woolley, with a second profit downgrade expected to savage the share price and devastate market confidence in the group.
Job opportunities in the resources sector have increased for the fifth straight month in the latest sign of the momentum behind the commodities turnaround.
Ticketing giant Ticketmaster has done a run around rules banning it from charging excessive credit card processing fees, by stinging event promoters with a new ”infrastructure charge”.
Page 23: NAB has attempted to peel itself away from ANZ and Westpac in a rate-rigging lawsuit brought against all three banks by the corporate regulator.
Page 25: Exxon Mobil chief executive Rex Tillerson, the top choice for secretary of state in a Trump administration, faces bipartisan resistance in congress over ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The West Australian
Page 3: WA households could be hit with significant increases in their power bills after gas prices paid by electricity monopoly Synergy doubled.
Page 4: George Brandis has confirmed he had a difference of opinion with Justin Gleeson over the WA Government’s attempted takeover of the Bell Group liquidation.
Page 6: A wave of lenders are putting pressure on borrowers just weeks before Christmas by increasing their variable interest rates.
The Federal Government’s Budget bottom line is being hit by a sharp lift in rates that will leave taxpayers paying more interest on the nation’s growing mountain of debt.
Page 10: Brendon Grylls has accused the major mining lobbies of being “enemies of the WA economy” as the war of words over his proposed mining tax intensifies.
Page 47: Programmed has struck a pay deal with offshore marine services workers in the North West that took more than three years to reach, with modest pay rises agreed that are well short of their union’s original demands.
The Federal Court has put the kibosh on Kasbah Resources’ plans to merge with Canadian-listed Asian Mineral Resources, ordering the company pay the costs of rebel shareholders who opposed the deal.
Page 48: A bondholder of Emeco Holdings has caused some last-minute uncertainty about the mining equipment supplier’s acquisition of two private companies.
Independence Group is moving ahead of schedule at its $443 million Nova-Bollinger nickel-copper underground mine, shipping its first concentrate four years after the rich deposit was discovered by Mark Bennett’s Sirius Resources.
Page 49: WA debt management company Pioneer Credit has gone overseas for the first time, striking a deal across the Tasman.