Foreign buyers eye BHP's Ravensthorpe mine; Opposition bid to derail Telstra split; Japanese nod for $200m Kemerton silicon boost; Falling food and petrol prices put squeeze on Woolworths; Gillard's 'secret deal' for union
Foreign buyers eye BHP's Ravensthorpe mine
At least two Chinese groups are interested in buying BHP Billiton's defunct Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Western Australia, which was mothballed this year in a shock move that cost up to 1800 jobs. The Australian
Opposition bid to derail Telstra split
The Rudd government's bid to restructure Telstra faces possible defeat after the coalition vowed to oppose the changes and key independent senators criticised the plan for denying the company fair treatment. The Fin Review
Japanese nod for $200m Kemerton silicon boost
Japanese chemicals giant Shin-Etsu has pushed the button on a $200 million expansion of its Kemerton silicon plant, paving the way for the South West project to become one of the world's biggest producers of the key solar panel ingredient. The West
Falling food and petrol prices put squeeze on Woolworths
Falling food and petrol prices have put a squeeze on Woolworths' profit margin, leading it its slowest first-quarter sales growth in at least 15 years. Courier-Mail
Gillard's 'secret deal' for union
Julia Gillard has changed the rules for assessing workplace agreements on taxpayer-funded construction projects, provoking employer claims there will be a return to unproductive work practices throughout the building sector. The Australian
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Indonesia will be offered millions of dollars to intercept and house asylum seekers who attempt to make the journey to Australia under a new plan which echoes the Howard government's so-called Pacific solution.
Page 3: Labor called on Treasurer Troy Buswell to resign last night after it was revealed he falsely claimed $240 for a living away from home allowance.
Premier Colin Barnett was unapologetic about soaring electricity bills yesterday, saying despite evidence that households in working-class Willagee had been hit by 36 per cent rises over the past year more increases were on the way.
Page 4: Official interest rates may rise half a percentage point on Melbourne Cup day after Reserve Bank board minutes revealed fears that failing to lift rates would be "imprudent" and risk an inflation breakout.
Canning Vale was the most popular suburb for first-homebuyers in the three months to September 30, with 183 properties bought there as buyers scrambled to get in before government grants were reduced.
Page 7: Only one in 10 Perth motorists hit with a parking fine contests the infringement with their local council, but almost 50 per cent of those appeals are successful.
Page 9: Fifty cars will cut from the police fleet and traffic officers will drive family sedans instead of high-performance vehicles to meet the 10 per cent cuts demanded by the state government, Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan said yesterday.
Page 13: Premier Colin Barnett has dismissed a federal Liberal frontbencher's call for an emergency crew to board the stricken rig which has been spilling oil into the Timor Sea if the next bid to plug the leak fails.
Business: Japanese chemicals giant Shin-Etsu has pushed the button on a $200 million expansion of its Kemerton silicon plant, paving the way for the South West project to become one of the world's biggest producers of the key solar panel ingredient.
A sharp fall in food prices has driven Woolworths to its slowest first-quarter sales growth in at least 15 years, with declines in the cost of fruit, vegetables and meat set to keep pressure on margins in the year ahead.
Low-profile Swiss banker Germano Valle has emerged as the frontrunner to pick up collapsed miner Windimurra Vanadium.
Former Fremantle Dockers captain Peter Bell has been earmarked to lead a revamped property developer that is seeking investor approval for a $35 million sharemarket float.
Pressure is mounting on Treasurer Wayne Swan to start winding back the government guarantee that has underwritten debt raisings for banks, with the Reserve Bank board suggesting Australia has started to lag the world on ending the program.
Investors in Great Southern's now-defunct managed cattle schemes face a further wait to sue the company over its controversial Project Transform, with a Supreme Court judge warning proceeding with the $60 million lawsuit could be a waste of money.
Investors added $17 million to the value of Moly Mines yesterday, shrugging off concerns the group's proposed $US700 million debt and equity deal could be knocked back by the Foreign Investment Review Board.
The collapse of a Leonora-based drilling company has reinforced warnings by corporate undertakers of further failures, despite the economic and sharemarket recovery.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: The federal government has dismissed proposals to overhaul its $110 billion bank funding guarantee and has resolved instead to wait for banks to scale back the scheme as lending markets recover from the global financial crisis.
The Rudd government's bid to restructure Telstra faces possible defeat after the coalition vowed to oppose the changes and key independent senators criticised the plan for denying the company fair treatment.
The Reserve Bank of Australia appears intent on lifting interest rates above emergency levels after warning inflation pressures will build towards the end of next year as the recovery accelerates.
Page 5: The Rudd government will provide finance of up to $2 million and management expertise to help enterprises commercially develop good ideas, as it seeks to encourage innovation during the recovery from the global credit crunch.
Page 7: West Australian Premier Colin Barnett took a swipe at BHP Billiton yesterday as he revealed that at least two Chinese companies were among the bidders for the mining giant's mothballed Ravensthorpe laterite nickel project on the state's south coast.
Page 8: Litigation funders might be forced to register class actions with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, or obtain exemptions, in order to operate with the Corporations Act, after a court found funding arrangements amounted to managed investment schemes.
Page 10: More than $5 million of taxpayers' money has been spent so far on the botched clean-up of a massive oil spill in the Timor Sea.
Page 12: The Department of Finance and Deregulation is one of dozens of federal agencies to post losses last financial year, when the global financial crisis diminished the value of government assets.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: The Australian understands that in recent times only a single Collins-class boat has been available for operational duties but it is unclear whether this involves more than extended training missions.
The Reserve Bank is worried that even with rising interest rates over the next year, inflation may again escape its control as an Asian-driven resources boom gathers strength.
Julia Gillard has changed the rules for assessing workplace agreements on taxpayer-funded construction projects, provoking employer claims there will be a return to unproductive work practices throughout the building sector.
Page 2: Claims of slipshod maintenance of the army's Black Hawk helicopter fleet were covered up by Defence and led to the alleged unfair dismissal of two aircraft engineers responsible for raising safety concerns.
Page 3: C.Y. O'Connor's remarkable water pipeline from Perth to the West Australian Goldfields has been named a world engineering landmark -- 107 years after the brilliant engineer shot himself amid a barrage of criticism over the project.
Consumers are fighting back against bank scams, dodgy lottery wins, cheap erectile dysfunction sprays and other unwanted offers, lodging a record 3947 complaints about spam last financial year with regulator the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
Page 4: Student visas are being exploited to smuggle people into Australia via a network of unscrupulous migration and education agents, landlords and employers, the head of the nation's biggest overseas student recruitment agency said yesterday.
Kevin Rudd's proposed carbon emissions trading scheme appears to be inching closer to reality, with government sources last night reporting "the smell of a deal" with the opposition.
Page 6: The coalition faces a fresh split over new laws to force the break-up of Telstra, with Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce signalling he would vote in favour of it but the opposition saying it opposed the reforms.
The Reserve Bank is now more worried about inflation than the Rudd government's insistence on stimulating the economy to protect jobs.
Page 7: Choking back tears, Brian Burke acolyte and former West Australian minister Norm Marlborough said the corruption investigation into his dealings with the former premier had shattered his life.
The administration of more than $3 billion of government health and medical research grants is plagued by major shortcomings, including a lack of consistency in applying guidelines and potential conflicts of interest.
Page 8: Andrew Lindberg was appointed managing director of AWB to "further the prosperity and enhance the reputation of the group", but under his leadership, company executives agreed to bribes that came straight from the office of Saddam Hussein, a court has heard.
Page 9: Australian beef exports face devastation in the wake of a decision to relax restrictions on imports of food from countries hit by mad cow disease, the opposition claims.
Business: The Australian dollar burst through US93c yesterday, extending its stunning run towards parity with the greenback, as the Reserve Bank revealed that inflationary pressures had forced it to start raising interest rates.
Retail giant Woolworths has reported a slowdown in sales growth for the first quarter of the financial year, as an easing in food and fuel inflation flowed through to lower selling prices.
Pacific Brands, which is be-hind clothing and homeware labels such as Bonds, Berlei and Holeproof, is facing a possible loss of more than $40 million as a result of the surging Australian dollar.
James Packer's moves to sell non-core holdings and beef up his defences in Consolidated Media and Crown may be working strategically, but he has missed almost $200 million of sharemarket gains in the past two months.
BHP Billiton has declared force majeure on copper and uranium sales from the big Olympic Dam mine in South Australia, where damage from a plummeting ore skip in its main shaft is expected to reduce capacity to about 20 per cent for up to six months.
China wants to trade better prices for imported minerals for a promise to open its mining industry to overseas investors.
At least two Chinese groups are interested in buying BHP Billiton's defunct Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Western Australia, which was mothballed this year in a shock move that cost up to 1800 jobs.
Shares in Challenger Financial Services rallied strongly yesterday after the group revealed it had doubled quarterly annuities sales and forecast higher underlying cash earnings this year.
Institutional investors have raced to support Oil Search's $895 million capital raising to fund its share of the big Papua New Guinea liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, despite broker downgrades and fears one of the project's major offtake partners is trying to renegotiate contract terms.
Metal Storm says it has reached agreement with an overseas investor about an equity investment in the defence technology company.
Large US trade deficits with developing countries, although smaller than two years ago, remained a threat to the global economy, Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke said in a speech that called on policymakers in the US and Asia to address the issue.
Indian companies, long dependent on hand-me-down technology from developed nations, are becoming cutting-edge innovators as they target one of the world's last untapped markets: the poor.
Apple continued to power through the recession, posting a 47 per cent quarterly profit jump as consumers persisted in snapping up its iPhones and Macintosh computers.
This week, game players and enthusiasts from 40 countries will descend on Las Vegas to compete in the Monopoly world championship, held roughly every four years.
The Australian sharemarket closed firmly in positive territory yesterday after strong commodities prices drove gains among resource stocks.
The federal government wishes to have a discussion on adequacy in superannuation. Let's have one now.
