Austal rides wave of Navy’s fight for more ships
Austal chief executive Andrew Bellamy believes the company will be building littoral combat ships for the US Navy for at least another 10 to 15 years. The West
Cormann contradicts Greens’ claims over petrol tax deal
The government has challenged claims by Greens leader Christine Milne that there was little point trying to negotiate a petrol tax deal, saying two months ago it made her an offer to uncouple the excise revenue from road funding and spend some proceeds from asset sales on public transport. The Fin
Wesfarmers sales rise 4pc
Wesfarmers’ decision to reinvest cost savings and petrol discounts into reducing grocery prices has paid off in spades, fuelling the strongest sales growth at Coles for 18 months and raising the bar for rival Woolworths. The Fin
NAB set to sell Clydesdale
National Australia Bank chief executive Andrew Thorburn has formalised plans to offload its troubled British operations and is exploring options for the underperforming wealth business as he strives to repair the group’s biggest fall in returns since 2009. The Aus
Pluton rejects island exit call
Struggling miner Pluton Resources is teetering on the edge of total disaster after its estranged business partner tried to remove the company as the manager of the jointly owned Cockatoo Island iron ore project. The West
A Citic setback for Palmer’s Mineralogy
Clive Palmer’s Mineralogy has suffered another legal setback in its ongoing battle with Chinese state-owned giant Citic. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The son of China’s most famous fugitive spent the five years before his father was placed under investigation for corruption setting up two Australian companies and buying a development site in Sydney’s Neutral Bay.
Aurizon has decided to expedite a board renewal process that will likely bring forward the retirement of long-standing chairman John Prescott.
Page 3: The Abbott government’s transformation of the public service continues with long-serving mandarin Ian Watt replaced as head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet by Howard-era staffer and diplomat Michael Thawley.
The government has challenged claims by Greens leader Christine Milne that there was little point trying to negotiate a petrol tax deal, saying two months ago it made her an offer to uncouple the excise revenue from road funding and spend some proceeds from asset sales on public transport.
Page 4: Brickworks managing director Lindsay Partridge said he has a conga-line of alternate energy projects for Environment Minister Greg Hunt’s department as he praised the passing of the first piece of the direct action policy.
Page 7: Australian made cigarettes Winnie Blues will be a thing of the past, after high costs forced British American Tobacco to end local manufacturing.
Page 13: National Australia Bank’s chief executive Andrew Thorburn has pledged to fend off an attack by rivals on its business lending book, which is pressuring margins as lax business confidence continues to stifle corporate credit growth.
Coca-Cola Amatil has sacrificed economic control of its Indonesian bottling business in return for a $570 million cash injection from major shareholder The Coca-Cola Co as part of a five-year plan aimed at restoring profit growth across the group as early as 2015.
Page 15: Wesfarmers’ decision to reinvest cost savings and petrol discounts into reducing grocery prices has paid off in spades, fuelling the strongest sales growth at Coles for 18 months and raising the bar for rival Woolworths.
Page 18: Shareholders in Australia’s second largest wealth manager Perpetual Ltd have been assured that after two years of cost-cutting and more than 700 job losses, moves into the global equities and self-managed super fund sectors mean the business is poised for growth.
Insurance Australia Group is targeting up to 20 per cent revenue growth in fiscal 2014-2015,as the company continues to consolidate one of the biggest acquisitions in its corporate history – the $1.85 billion Wesfarmers insurance buy.
The Australian
Page 1: Cabinet’s national security committee has found against Australia joining a new, China-dominated $50 billion Asian bank, accepting the argument put by Julie Bishop against involvement on strategic grounds over the position of Joe Hockey.
Clive Palmer went on a spending spree after siphoning $10 million of Chinese funds into a bank account he controlled, according to fresh documents lodged in the Queensland Supreme Court yesterday.
Page 2: Businessman and environmental activist Geoffrey Cousins has lashed the Business Council of Australia for backing the Coalition’s Direct Action climate change plan, declaring that it would be “thrown out’’ if presented to BCA members’ boards.
Page 4: Tony Abbott’s indigenous council has been advised to design a scheme of “subsidised employment” for Aboriginal offenders leaving prison to ensure they do not return to a life of crime.
Page 5: The Employment Department has accused baby boomers of “retiring’’ on the dole, as the number of over-50s on Newstart jumped 9 per cent in a year.
Page 6: The federal government has inflamed a dispute with the media over security laws that could jail journalists for revealing special intelligence operations as companies dismiss the idea that Attorney-General George Brandis could have the final say on prosecutions.
Agencies including the Australian Taxation Office, the Fair Work Commission and local councils will be stripped of their power to access phone and internet records without a warrant under the government’s draft data-retention law.
Page 19: National Australia Bank chief executive Andrew Thorburn has formalised plans to offload its troubled British operations and is exploring options for the underperforming wealth business as he strives to repair the group’s biggest fall in returns since 2009.
Origin Energy has rejected suggestions another cost blowout is looming at the $24.7 billion Australia Pacific LNG plant, despite construction progress remaining well behind the rate of spending.
Page 20: Clive Palmer’s Mineralogy has suffered another legal setback in its ongoing battle with Chinese state-owned giant Citic.
Page 21: Wesfarmers chief executive Richard Goyder has defended the reputation of Coles, saying the latest accusations of “unconscionable conduct” from the corporate watchdog have not affected supermarket sales.
Page 25: Mirvac does not expect any major impact on its business if prudential regulators move to rein in lending to investors, saying it was on track to settle a bumper 2200 lots this financial year.
The West Australian
Page 3: Labor senator Nova Peris says she is the victim of a blackmail attempt over a child access dispute and has rejected accusations she used taxpayers’ money to have an affair with athlete Ato Boldon.
Page 9: Colin Barnett has snuffed out speculation about his future by declaring he wants to stay and try to win a third consecutive election as Liberal leader.
Page 10: Diggers in Afghanistan will have their danger money cut after the Government declared their work there as no longer perilous.
Page 13: A school that looks after children from the day they are born is making dramatic differences to students’ lives, a report has found.
Page 17: Port Hedland’s Pier Hotel could have to close after its owner failed to have strict licensing conditions — under which three security guards monitored just three patrons on one Friday night — scrapped.
The Broad Arrow Tavern, which sits unpretentiously in red dirt some 38km from Kalgoorlie, has been stamped with a $420,000 price tag by owner Neil Cull, who has had the watering hole for nearly three decades.
Page 24: The Australian Taxation Office knows far more than you think, revealing it matched 650 million transactions by taxpayers last year on its way to half a million reviews and audits.
Business: Two plum WA corporate gigs could be up for grabs at the same time after Wesfarmers chairman Bob Every yesterday flagged his retirement from the company.
The competition regulator’s clampdown on fuel discounts has had a silver lining for Coles. The Wesfarmers-owned supermarket operator has used funds that would have gone into petrol station dockets to cut grocery prices.
Struggling miner Pluton Resources is teetering on the edge of total disaster after its estranged business partner tried to remove the company as the manager of the jointly owned Cockatoo Island iron ore project.
Austal chief executive Andrew Bellamy believes the company will be building littoral combat ships for the US Navy for at least another 10 to 15 years.
There are signs WA cattle numbers are on the way up as producers look to meet growing demand from processors and live exporters.
Lingering concerns of some Empire Oil & Gas investors over the fairness of a deal under which the company plans to buy its joint venture partner ERM Power out of the Perth Basin have sparked a second concession.