eBay steps up push against GST
The global CEO of eBay, Devin Wenig, has met Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and key cabinet ministers to argue against budget plans to apply the 10 per cent GST levy on all goods imported by consumers from online retailers such as eBay and Amazon. The Fin
Tradies’ ‘bank’ wary of money in apartments
A home lending company that is 30 per cent owned by KordaMentha and has just acquired a $240 million loan book from Members Equity Bank has all but banned lending for apartments among its customer base of tradesmen, small business operators and architects. The Fin
RBA chilled out despite growth slump looming
Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe is likely to take his predecessor’s lead and ‘‘chill out’’ on Tuesday, keeping rates on hold despite the possibility of a contraction in quarterly economic growth. The Fin
Political upheavals spell market volatility
Global financial markets are expected to remain volatile over the next year as investors come to terms with the geopolitical upheaval from the US presidential changeover, Brexit and China’s uncertain economic growth. The Aus
Labor, union clash on wages
Labor leader Mark McGowan is on a collision course with the public sector’s biggest union after adopting the Government’s hardline wages policy of inflation-only pay rises. The West
Grylls’ ore tax plan wins praise
A Left-leaning think tank has backed Brendon Grylls’ $5-atonne iron ore tax, producing a report that defends the policy as a “pragmatic alternative to a resource rent tax”. The West
Perth Stadium adds management muscle
The company which will run Perth Stadium has poached another key executive from Cricket Australia, yesterday adding its general manager for events and operations to its ranks. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Hong Kong’s Cheung Kong Infrastructure has turned its back on NSW’s privatisation process as a means to further its local expansion ambitions, instead launching a surprise takeover tilt for DUET Group with a hefty $7.3 billion price tag intended to deter rivals.
Page 3: Ecofibre, Australia’s largest medicinal cannabis grower which is backed by finance sector identities Barry Lambert and Chris Cuffe, has decided to stop production in Australia and move to Kentucky where it says the legal framework is much more favourable.
New research suggests the underpayment of superannuation entitlements reached $4.6 billion in 2013-14, a figure that includes $1 billion lost to employees who use salary sacrifice arrangements to try to boost their retirement savings.
Official estimates that will, for the first time, detail the loss of billions to corporate tax evasion and non-payment of the superannuation guarantee have been delayed while the Australian Tax Office refines its methodology and works on ‘‘explanatory material’’.
Page 4: Australia needs an independent authority to monitor the budget and politicians should stop using the size of government as a yardstick for fiscal health, the professional body for chartered accountants said.
Page 5: The global CEO of eBay, Devin Wenig, has met Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and key cabinet ministers to argue against budget plans to apply the 10 per cent GST levy on all goods imported by consumers from online retailers such as eBay and Amazon.
Page 6: Australia needs to urgently push ahead with road user charging to avoid fuel taxes being disrupted by electric cars and ride-sharing services such as Uber, the head of Arcadis’s Asia-Pacific business, Greg Steele, has warned.
Page 7: Veteran venture capitalist Bill Bartee has been tapped to run the $200 million CSIRO Innovation Fund, which was officially launched on Sunday by federal Innovation Minister Greg Hunt.
Australia’s Chinese residential property website ACProperty.com.au has joined forces with international property website Listglobally.com to start a new international housing site for Chinese buyers.
Page 10: Employers in the US stepped up hiring in November, adding 178,000 workers to payrolls, and the jobless rate unexpectedly tumbled 0.3 percentage points to a nine-year low of 4.6 per cent.
Page 13: A home lending company that is 30 per cent owned by KordaMentha and has just acquired a $240 million loan book from Members Equity Bank has all but banned lending for apartments among its customer base of tradesmen, small business operators and architects.
Page 15: Rio Tinto has suspended shipments to China from its copper-gold Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia due to problems at the border of the two countries that have been linked to Chinese anger at a visit to Mongolia by the Dalai Lama.
BHP Billiton could be a seller of coking coal as well as a buyer during the current turnover of the sector, with the company understood to be willing to entertain offers for the Gregory Crinum complex in Queensland’s Bowen Basin.
Size is proving no barrier to innovating as superannuation funds ramp up online functionality in an effort to recruit members against a backdrop of consolidation.
Page 16: Superannuation fund members should not be forced to take out life insurance but should be offered cover against death, accidents and illness on an optional basis, listed wealth manager ClearView says.
Page 17: Bain Capital is scouting the market for new deals from its recently opened Sydney office, but the firm remains mum on its exit intentions for accounting software maker MYOB and Retail Zoo, the owner of Boost Juice.
In Lazard Asset Management’s quest to find the world’s most reliable stock market investments ‘‘even the great Warren Buffett doesn’t make it’’.
Deutsche Bank will immediately cease debt sales services to some financial institutions and hedge funds as well as equity sales activities, the execution of equities trading orders and equity structuring activities for some clients, a spokesman said, citing an internal memo.
Page 20: Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe is likely to take his predecessor’s lead and ‘‘chill out’’ on Tuesday, keeping rates on hold despite the possibility of a contraction in quarterly economic growth.
The Australian
Page 1: The Turnbull government is ramping up efforts to claw back $4 billion believed to have been incorrectly paid to welfare recipients, issuing debt notices worth $4.5 million every day in a bid to rein in the ballooning welfare bill.
Greg Hunt has summoned the nation’s leading energy executives to Melbourne for crisis talks today on looming gas shortages that are causing spiralling prices and threaten manufacturing jobs.
Page 2: The Turnbull government will maintain its blanket ban on the introduction of an emissions trading scheme and has ruled out an increase to the renewable energy target ahead of its long-awaited review of its climate change policy next year.
Page 4: More than two million workers have been underpaid compulsory superannuation contributions, costing them about $3.6 billion in a year and sparking calls for an urgent federal government crackdown on unscrupulous employers.
Page 6: All university and college students should be required to pay a 15 per cent fee on their student loans to help cover the cost of borrowing to the government and make the system fairer across the board, according to a new report from the Grattan Institute.
Page 17: Global productivity guru Martin Baily has weighed into Australia’s fractious bank competition debate, suggesting moves to make the big four more competitive could lead to financial instability.
British pharmaceutical giant GSK’s Australia head, Anne Belcher, has called for long-term consistent government policy as she warns that globally, pressure from regulators and stakeholders is increasing.
With the pre-Christmas IPO pipeline looking more replete than Santa’s workshop, only one of the eclectic array of offerings can claim to have cod on its side.
Page 18: The Australian government is moving to close loopholes in patent laws that appear to allow foreign companies like multinational trading giant Cargill to own the natural DNA genome of cattle and other commercial livestock.
Soft drink bottler Coca-Cola Amatil says it remains committed to its business that produces craft beer Yenda under its Australian Beer Co joint venture despite chief executive Alison Watkins quietly resigning from the beer board eight weeks ago.
Page 20: Global financial markets are expected to remain volatile over the next year as investors come to terms with the geopolitical upheaval from the US presidential changeover, Brexit and China’s uncertain economic growth.
Australian expertise in infrastructure investment could provide more opportunities in the US with the election of the Trump administration, according to KPMG’s global head of infrastructure, James Stewart.
Page 21: The battle for the Investa Office Fund has taken a new twist with Cromwell Property Group revealed to have adopted a strategy that could have seen it either orchestrate a takeover of the landlord that owns $3.6 billion of office assets or exit entirely.
Interest rates will play a critical role next year in a housing market that has shown no signs of losing steam despite warnings from the Reserve Bank and a host of commentators, according to Brian White, chairman of real estate agency Ray White.
The West Australian
Page 1: Labor leader Mark McGowan is on a collision course with the public sector’s biggest union after adopting the Government’s hardline wages policy of inflation-only pay rises.
Page 3: The battle over the Beeliar wetlands resumes today when work on the Roe 8 highway extension begins despite continuing legal challenges.
Page 4: A Left-leaning think tank has backed Brendon Grylls’ $5-atonne iron ore tax, producing a report that defends the policy as a “pragmatic alternative to a resource rent tax”.
A “life-changing” Federal Government program that encourages unemployed people to start a business will be expanded to include opportunities for the underemployed.
Page 11: WA public health workers have accepted more than $3.7 million in gifts, hospitality, accommodation and travel over the past 12 months, parliamentary figures reveal.
Page 51: The company which will run Perth Stadium has poached another key executive from Cricket Australia, yesterday adding its general manager for events and operations to its ranks.
The Canning Vale businessman behind one of two wind-up actions against Diploma Group says he felt betrayed by the builder-developer.
A private consultant believes an undersea cable to export solar power from the North West to Indonesia is financially viable even with its likely $6 billion to $10 billion construction cost.