Rinehart steps up cattle spree
Gina Rinehart is finalising the purchase of four cattle stations covering more than one million hectares of WA as she continues one of the biggest spending sprees in the history of the industry. The West
Glencore plans next shot at Rio
Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg’s second attempt to force a merger with Rio Tinto will see him attack Sam Walsh over dwindling hopes of substantial capital returns, and try to win the support of Rio’s biggest shareholder, Chinese giant Chinalco, by promising to sell key assets Oyu Tolgoi and Simandou. The Fin
Soft landing for Medibank
Medibank Private’s long-time chief George Savvides has played down the prospect of driving growth through acquisitions, as the nation’s biggest private health insurer whipped a trading frenzy on its stock exchange debut. The Aus
PM may retreat on key policies
The federal government is poised to dump the $7 Medicare charge and water down its paid parental leave scheme as it seeks to clear itself of problems before Christmas and begin the new year on the front foot. The Fin
Seven clears ASIC hurdle on Nexus Energy takeover
Kerry Stokes’s Seven Group Holdings has overcome one major regulatory hurdle standing in the way of its ambitions to swallow up Nexus Energy, but another looms later this week that may yet derail the vexed $180 million deal. The Fin
Barnett put police on my case: Palmer
Clive Palmer has claimed WA Police have begun assessing dishonesty allegations levelled against him by estranged business partner CITIC Limited after pressure from Colin Barnett. The West
Business raises the case for workplace change
Individual employment agreements should be available to all workers, the role of the Fair Work Commission stripped back and the governance of industry superannuation funds strengthened under far-reaching workplace policy changes to be pushed at the upcoming Productivity Commission inquiry into the Fair Work Act. The Aus
Paladin stake ‘just the start’
Chinese private equity fund Hopu Investment is on the hunt for more Australian opportunities following its $80 million stake in the uranium producer Paladin. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The federal government is poised to dump the $7 Medicare charge and water down its paid parental leave scheme as it seeks to clear itself of problems before Christmas and begin the new year on the front foot.
A disappointing first day of trading in Medibank Private has cast a shadow over the pricing of future privatisations.
Page 3: Australians should focus on developing the high-end wealth-creating jobs of the future and shake off the temptation to regard the end of the resources boom with a “chronic pessimism” that threatens to become self-fulfilling, Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Philip Lowe said.
Page 8: Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has backed criticism from regional Coalition MPs of ABC managing director Mark Scott.
Page 11: Jacqui Lambie could be on the brink of a political victory: the federal government is not ruling out increasing a pay offer to Australian Defence Force personnel to curry favour with the independent Tasmanian senator.
Page 13: Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg’s second attempt to force a merger with Rio Tinto will see him attack Sam Walsh over dwindling hopes of substantial capital returns, and try to win the support of Rio’s biggest shareholder, Chinese giant Chinalco, by promising to sell key assets Oyu Tolgoi and Simandou.
The big four Australian banks could be forced to increase their capital buffers by up to $53 billion if the financial system inquiry takes aggressive measures to shore up the banking system, according to global credit rating agency Fitch Ratings.
Page 15: Australia’s mid-tier miners are doing their best to remain afloat in a tough operating environment but efforts to boost productivity are yet to make an impact on their bottom lines, with combined losses for the financial year up 60 per cent to $1.6 billion.
Page 18: Kerry Stokes’s Seven Group Holdings has overcome one major regulatory hurdle standing in the way of its ambitions to swallow up Nexus Energy, but another looms later this week that may yet derail the vexed $180 million deal.
Page 20: Toll Holdings will sell more than $100 million of assets in Australia and Asia to boost profits as it tries to make its logistics business more efficient.
Page 27: Speculation is mounting that mining and steel group Arrium may have to sell a stake in its mining consumables business to pay down debt.
Building developer and contractor Watpac has said the return of dividends for the first time since 2012 shows the company is “back to a point of being match-fit”, chief executive Martin Monro said.
The Australian
Page 1: Individual employment agreements should be available to all workers, the role of the Fair Work Commission stripped back and the governance of industry superannuation funds strengthened under far-reaching workplace policy changes to be pushed at the upcoming Productivity Commission inquiry into the Fair Work Act.
Page 2: The first wave of ABC redundancies is likely to hit in the week before Christmas, as the union confirmed it would begin its consultation process tomorrow.
Page 5: Defence Minister David Johnston has launched an extraordinary attack on the government’s own shipbuilder, ASC, saying he would not trust it to “build a canoe”.
Page 8: Joe Hockey has questioned why the nation is still debating gender equality, calling on everyone to work harder at changing Australia’s culture to ensure equal treatment of women.
Page 21: Medibank Private’s long-time chief George Savvides has played down the prospect of driving growth through acquisitions, as the nation’s biggest private health insurer whipped a trading frenzy on its stock exchange debut.
The firm that claims to be the world’s biggest market for online work says freelance workers globally are now earning more than $900 million per year on its platform, with spending by Australian businesses growing almost 20 per cent in the September quarter of this year.
Building materials giant Boral has told the Harper competition review that existing law and enforcement procedures are “inadequate” to ensure the detection and enforcement of secondary boycotts.
Page 22: BHP Billiton’s insistence that its progressive dividend is not under threat, and the first signs of stability in iron ore prices after the recent heavy sell-off, has not been enough to stop the share price of the world’s biggest miner from being whipped around by investors.
Coal giants Glencore and Peabody Energy plan to combine infrastructure from two of their NSW mines from mid-2017 to jointly operate an open-cut project in a move to lower costs in challenging market conditions.
Page 28: Property powerhouse AMP Capital has raised more than $1.3 billion worth of capital across three of its flagship property funds as it seeks to bolster its empire.
Global investment giant Blackstone has taken a $150 million stake in modular home community developer National Lifestyle Villages, with long-term plans to place the income stream into an investment trust.
Page 30: Chinese private equity fund Hopu Investment is on the hunt for more Australian opportunities following its $80 million stake in the uranium producer Paladin.
The West Australian
Page 1: Gina Rinehart is finalising the purchase of four cattle stations covering more than one million hectares of WA as she continues one of the biggest spending sprees in the history of the industry.
Page 3: The Department of Transport has been forced to recall more than 840 vehicles and call in the State’s corruption watchdog over shoddy mechanical inspections carried out at two authorised vehicle repairers.
Page 10: Tony Abbott is poised to drop plans for a $7 GP co-payment as well as contentious university reforms in a bid to reset his Government’s agenda and restore voters’ faith.
Page 14: Nationals leader Terry Redman has exercised a “captain’s pick” to replace Terry Waldron in Cabinet, with former party president Colin Holt and deputy speaker Wendy Duncan considered most likely to be promoted.
Page 16: Perth councils have been left “disappointed” and contemplating their next move after losing a Supreme Court challenge to local government reform.
Page 20: Clive Palmer has claimed WA Police have begun assessing dishonesty allegations levelled against him by estranged business partner CITIC Limited after pressure from Colin Barnett.
Business: Cracks have appeared at Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill iron ore project as a dispute emerges over one of its biggest construction contracts.
A Port Hedland-based Fortescue Metals Group executive has admitted there is a “drug problem” at its worksites just weeks after methamphetamine and $25,000 cash were allegedly found in a company-owned workers’ village.
Regional Development Minister Terry Redman has confirmed that Cabinet was kept in the dark over deals which led to the closure of rail lines covering 500km of the Wheatbelt.
