Smart trucks for Rio’s future mine
Seven Group-owned WesTrac says there will always be a place for truck drivers on mine sites but the future has well and truly arrived in terms of autonomous operations. The Fin
$1.6b hit: CIMIC accused of ‘shenanigans’
CIMIC has lost $1.6 billion of value in just two days after Hong Kong’s GMT Research claimed Australia’s biggest construction group had used ‘‘accounting shenanigans’’ to inflate pre-tax profits by $1 billion over the past two years. The Fin
Instagram taken off the menu
Social media “influencers” are holding Perth restaurants to ransom, with one cafe owner revealing she was accepting requests for free food from so-called celebrities because she was terrified of attracting negative publicity. The West
RBA sets jobless test for rate cut
The Reserve Bank of Australia has signalled that it could cut interest rates to new record lows if the jobless rate does not fall below its current 5 per cent, after it kept its 1.5 per cent cash rate on hold and trimmed its economic growth forecast. The Fin
Purplebricks pulls out as cheap online model fails
Cut-price online real estate agent Purplebricks is pulling out of Australia after entering the country just before the market moved into its steepest downturn since the global financial crisis. The Aus
Hancock sweetens Riversdale bid by $47m
Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has added another $47 million sweetener to its $600 million bid for coking coal prospect Riversdale Resources. The Fin
Palmer comes up empty in bid to keep count under wraps
Clive Palmer’s High Court bid to stop the Australian Electoral Commission from publishing the indicative two-candidate-preferred count until polls in Western Australia close has been unanimously dismissed. The Aus
Australian miners gain on further Vale woes
Brazil’s courts have delivered a fresh boost to Australian iron ore miners, with shares in ASX-listed producers jumping once again on news of Vale’s on-again, off-again reopening of a major mine. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The Reserve Bank of Australia has signalled that it could cut interest rates to new record lows if the jobless rate does not fall below its current 5 per cent, after it kept its 1.5 per cent cash rate on hold and trimmed its economic growth forecast.
Page 4: Retail sales and the country’s trade surplus exceeded economists’ expectations in March, with fresh signals on the economy coming just hours before the next RBA interest rate meeting, where a rate cut hangs in the balance.
Page 7: The Coalition will face an uphill battle to legislate its long-term tax cuts should it win the election, with the Senate crossbench either unsupportive of the cuts or demanding big spending favours in return.
Page 8: Labor has vowed to assert Australia’s right to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, declaring it is crucial to the national interest to keep the vital trade route open as China and other nations increasingly militarise the waterway.
Page 12: Anadarko Petroleum board has declared Occidental Petroleum’s sweetened $US38 billion ($54.4 billion) takeover ‘‘superior’’, giving Chevron four days to either boost its offer or walk away from the oil industry’s biggest deal in at least four years.
Page 13: The Hayne royal commission’s ban on hawking could undermine Suncorp’s ability to cross-sell its banking and insurance products, removing one of the key benefits of straddling both industries and strengthening the argument for spinning off the banking arm.
Coal power multi-millionaire Trevor St Baker has taken fresh aim at ‘‘overambitious, populist’’ climate policies, warning Australia will lose businesses and jobs if it pursues the rapid growth of wind and solar power without keeping enough dispatchable generation.
Page 15: The scale of short-term bonuses available for Caltex chief executive Julian Segal has driven the Australian Shareholders’ Association to advise it will vote against the fuels supplier’s remuneration report at Thursday’s annual shareholder meeting.
Seven Group-owned WesTrac says there will always be a place for truck drivers on mine sites but the future has well and truly arrived in terms of autonomous operations.
Page 18: CIMIC has lost $1.6 billion of value in just two days after Hong Kong’s GMT Research claimed Australia’s biggest construction group had used ‘‘accounting shenanigans’’ to inflate pre-tax profits by $1 billion over the past two years.
Page 19: Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has added another $47 million sweetener to its $600 million bid for coking coal prospect Riversdale Resources.
The Australian
Page 4: Clive Palmer’s High Court bid to stop the Australian Electoral Commission from publishing the indicative two-candidate-preferred count until polls in Western Australia close has been unanimously dismissed.
Page 6: Company tax deductions for international carbon credits purchased to meet Labor’s climate change ambitions could punch a $10 billion hole in the federal budget over the next 10 years due to the potential loss of tax revenue.
Page 10: The US plans to beef up its Arctic presence to keep Russia’s and China’s “aggressive behaviour” in check in the resource-rich region.
Page 19: The GrainCorp board is under pressure to deliver on its promise to unlock value for shareholders after Long-Term Asset Partners walked away from its $2.9 billion bid for the company, citing due diligence issues.
Page 21: Speeds on the National Broadband Network are getting better across Australia but homes on the fibre to the node (FTTN) footprint of the NBN are still most likely to suffer service issues, according to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission.
Brazil’s courts have delivered a fresh boost to Australian iron ore miners, with shares in ASX-listed producers jumping once again on news of Vale’s on-again, off-again reopening of a major mine.
Page 26: Cut-price online real estate agent Purplebricks is pulling out of Australia after entering the country just before the market moved into its steepest downturn since the global financial crisis.
The West Australian
Page 10: A 24-year-old Greens supporter who attempted to egg Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been slammed as “an idiot” as the major parties voiced concerns about the increasing nastiness of the election campaign.
One in five trade union members has a negatively geared property, meaning Labor’s proposed changes for the sector could affect their own heartland.
Page 16: Social media “influencers” are holding Perth restaurants to ransom, with one cafe owner revealing she was accepting requests for free food from so-called celebrities because she was terrified of attracting negative publicity.
Page 20: Taxi drivers protested outside State Parliament yesterday to warn the Government’s so-called “Uber tax” on fares is putting them out of business.
Page 24: Premier Mark McGowan yesterday committed $200,000 towards planning for a trial of “compulsory critical intervention” as part of an additional $42.5 million to fight the State’s meth scourge.
Business: Caterpillar has stolen a march on rival mining equipment supplier Komatsu, yesterday winning the right to provide plant for Rio Tinto’s Koodaideri iron ore mine in the Pilbara.
WAFarmers has called for a poll of all primary producers across the State to gauge support for a new combined WA farm lobby group.
The State Government has ruled out any change to the 7 per cent surcharge for foreign property buyers despite apartment developers complaining that the impost has smashed off-the-plan sales, putting new projects in jeopardy and damaging job creation.
Whitegoods retailer Winning has set its sights on more than doubling its WA sales to $100 million within five years.
The owner of the Northern Endeavour oil vessel has extended a contract for the vessel’s operator after receiving a direction from the offshore safety regulator.
