WA iron ore forecasts may be revised
The Western Australian government will wait three months before reviewing its iron ore forecasts even though weak prices could cost it more than $1 billion in revenue. The Fin
CITIC push for last four lines
Any fears CITIC Pacific’s commitment to the Sino Iron project could be wavering amid its bitter legal dispute with landlord Clive Palmer have been put to rest after it launched into its construction program for the last four production lines at the massive project. The West
Rates jump
Rates in many Perth suburbs are rising at more than twice the inflation rate, with councils citing higher waste and utility costs. The West
DP World to lock out port workers
DP World plans to lock out employees at the Port of Fremantle from Thursday afternoon, raising fears of a nationwide strike at Australia’s busiest container terminals. The Fin
Axe looms over $8.5bn ship crisis
The Abbott government wants to sack its own naval shipbuilder and install British defence giant BAE Industries to rescue the nation’s largest defence project, the $8.5 billion construction of three air warfare destroyers. The Aus
Sims cool on ‘picking winners’
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims has asked to meet with Business Council of Australia president Catherine Livingstone to explain governments that “pick winners” from industry usually fail. The Fin
Graduates face worst job market in 20 years
Graduate employment is the worst since the 1992-93 recession, with only 71.3 per cent of bachelor degree graduates in work four months after completing their degree, according to a new report from Graduate Careers Australia. The Fin
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims has asked to meet with Business Council of Australia president Catherine Livingstone to explain governments that “pick winners” from industry usually fail.
Page 3: DP World plans to lock out employees at the Port of Fremantle from Thursday afternoon, raising fears of a nationwide strike at Australia’s busiest container terminals.
Page 4: Treasurer Joe Hockey is escalating the pressure on the Senate to help balance the budget after new figures reveal the mining tax made just $600,000 in the three months to the end of June, and $300 million for the last financial year.
Page 5: The consumer watchdog will take on the airlines and local councils amid signs some will resist passing back to consumers price hikes that resulted from the carbon tax.
Page 7: Graduate employment is the worst since the 1992-93 recession, with only 71.3 per cent of bachelor degree graduates in work four months after completing their degree, according to a new report from Graduate Careers Australia.
Page 9: The Western Australian government will wait three months before reviewing its iron ore forecasts even though weak prices could cost it more than $1 billion in revenue.
Page 17: Pressures on companies servicing the mining and energy sector are showing few signs of easing, with laboratory testing operator ALS flagging a sharp profit fall as it battles to boost cash flow following recent acquisitions.
Leighton Holdings has signalled plans to compete more aggressively with contractors like UGL and Transfield Services in managing infrastructure projects after they are built to create more sustainable profits.
Page 20: Vodafone Hutchison Australia will take on Telstra and SingTel Optus’s looming network advantage by switching its existing radio spectrum from 3G to 4G mobile services.
Page 28: The supply and demand forces that have worked against Australian house price affordability are showing signs of easing as growing migration, lower interest rates and increased construction activity threaten to stabilise asset values and rental income.
The Australian
Page 1: The Abbott government wants to sack its own naval shipbuilder and install British defence giant BAE Industries to rescue the nation’s largest defence project, the $8.5 billion construction of three air warfare destroyers.
Page 2: The impending merger of Aboriginal-controlled cattle stations in a joint venture with Chinese investors shows Western Australia’s far north pastoralists are finding ways to realise their enormous potential as exporters, according to the Shire of Derby-West Kimberley.
Page 5: Australians do their shopping and banking online — now there is a push to trial e-voting at the next federal election, and voters could be asked to bring their own devices.
Page 6: The National Broadband Network is set to slash a controversial usage charge as its examines ways of stimulating traffic on the taxpayer-funded project.
Page 19: Google Australia is ramping up its presence in the small-business sector after research firm Deloitte found one-third of small business owners not yet online in Australia are concerned about the complexity and the cost of setting up a presence on the internet.
Orica chairman Russell Caplan says the chemicals and mining services company received a “massive wake-up call’’ by being dragged through the courts following a series of chemical spills and safety breaches in NSW, but claims the firm’s integrity was never in question.
Page 20: Rex Minerals’ $US850 million ($904.4m) South Australian copper mine plan has been approved by the state government, boosting interest in the junior explorer.
The latest quarterly result from South America-focused gold miner Troy Resources has stood out from those of its peers for all the wrong reasons, with the stock getting hammered yesterday on the back of a disappointing production update.
Page 29: Papua New Guinea has the highest ratio in the world of academic salaries to gross domestic product, but still its universities are struggling to retain staff as other public sector jobs draw talent out of academe.
The West Australian
Page 1: Rates in many Perth suburbs are rising at more than twice the inflation rate, with councils citing higher waste and utility costs.
Page 6: Primary schools are the winners under the State Government’s new school funding model at the expense of secondary schools, which will have about $45 million taken out of their budgets in the next five years.
More than 200 education jobs may be under threat if Federal Government funding for extra kindergarten hours is withdrawn.
Page 10: People will get only about half of the claimed $550 fall in prices from the abolition of the carbon tax, the nation’s competition watchdog believes.
Page 14: The first stage of a project to boost Perth’s drinking water supplies with treated sewage will be twice as big as expected after claims the cost of developing it is lower than expected.
Business: Any fears CITIC Pacific’s commitment to the Sino Iron project could be wavering amid its bitter legal dispute with landlord Clive Palmer have been put to rest after it launched into its construction program for the last four production lines at the massive project.
An acrimonious spat that forced the closure of Griffin Coal for 10 days has been resolved after the mine’s Indian owner agreed to pay the contractor that runs it millions in unpaid debts.
The privately funded construction of a $570 million Pilbara power station by Canada’s TransAlta will go ahead after the State Government approved the project’s commercial arrangements.
Chinese takeover target Kresta Holdings is tipping a full-year loss of about $1.5 million.
Resolute Mining shareholders face a long wait to see a return on its acquisition of the Bibiani mine.
WA businesses are failing at twice the rate of the national average, according to new research by Dunn & Bradstreet.