Office towers could drop 15pc
Major city office towers could take another 10 to 15 per cent hit to their valuations, making them the weakest links in a commercial property sector that remains under pressure from higher interest rates, says Morgan Stanley’s Tim Church. The Fin
Big eight unite for super push
A new ‘‘big eight’’ of superannuation funds will dominate the $3.5 trillion retirement savings system by uniting under a soon-to-be announced policy and lobby group that will court both sides of politics. The Fin
Union seeks to make gig laws work offline
Unions will seek to extend Labor’s proposed minimum conditions for gig workers to independent contractors offline and want the government’s labour hire laws to apply to worksites without enterprise agreements. The Fin
Push for ‘inflation reduction act’
Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) risks cutting the lunch of Australia’s renewables industry, and $100 billion in new government spending is needed to keep the country competitive, according to environmentalists, investors and unions. The Fin
Mining service contractors ‘caught in IR reform war’
Mining service contractors such as cleaners, chefs and drivers could be caught up in Labor’s “radical workplace agenda”, cost- ing jobs and slowing production in the resources sector, big business has warned. The Aus
Home prices chew up more of average income
Climbing interest rates and stubbornly resilient home prices after the pandemic property boom have made homes more unaffordable than ever, research has revealed The Aus
Relationship cooking on gas
Australia has sought to reassure Japan at the highest levels it will remain a reliable supplier of gas into the future even while it transitions to exporting low-emissions resources. The West
Gold output down despite late comeback
Australia’s gold production recovered from a rain-dampened March quarter, but still recorded a year-on-year fall in fiscal 2022-23. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 6: The Western Australian tourism minister wants new Qantas boss Vanessa Hudson to sort out a long-running dispute with Perth Airport over when the airline’s flights will move to a new central terminal so that it can fly to more destinations and strengthen the state’s economy.
Page 6: Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles suggested Qatar Airways not fully utilising its current access to secondary Australian airports was partially responsible for the Albanese government’s decision to block more flights.
Page 9: Five hundred health professionals have demanded industry super fund HESTA publicly denounce Woodside’s sanctioning of the Trion oil field development and commit to a timeframe for divesting from the oil giant over greenwashing concerns.
Page 15: Anthony Albanese has warned senior European leaders Australia will not sign a free trade deal for the sake of it, as he pushed them for a resolution before the self-imposed deadline of Christmas.
Page 16: The US and EU have backed the development of a new ship and rail corridor connecting India to the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea in a challenge to China’s economic clout in the region.
Page 17: Britain’s world-leading offshore wind industry has suffered a major blow, after the government set its subsidy rate too low in the latest auction for licences – and failed to attract a single bidder.
Page 19: Fund manager Perpetual wants Origin Energy’s board and management to push suitors Brookfield and EIG Partners for a better deal than their agreed $18.7 billion price, recognising the target’s rapidly improved profitability and a growing consensus that Origin’s Eraring coal-fired power station will outlive its 2025 retirement date.
Page 19: Chevron will seek an enforced arbitration with unions at its two huge Western Australian LNG plants after tense negotiations collapsed, claiming weeks of escalating strikes pose a threat to the state’s gas supply.
Page 21: Fortescue’s global growth executive, Julie Shuttleworth, will meet the new leaders of Gabon ‘‘imminently’’ in the wake of last month’s military coup.
Page 22: ANZ has highlighted rising returns within its institutional bank as evidence of its turnaround, as well as the potential for higher earnings from its more focused strategy, which is prioritising payments and transaction banking services for large companies over lending to them.
Page 24: Worries about gas shortages on the east coast could resurface this week as producers publish forecasts for the volume of uncommitted gas they have available over the next two years, with expectations they will expose a potential scarcity of supply.
Page 26: Australia’s sharemarket is set for a subdued start while investors await another batch of key economic data both at home and offshore to help gauge whether central banks will have more work to do to keep inflation under control.
Page 37: Rising demand for data centres to support the surging use of artificial intelligence creates an opportunity for the power-hungry facilities to supply heat to neighbouring buildings and precincts – if Australia’s laws can be changed to allow moves already under way in Europe.
Page 42: But now those lucky enough to have a pad in the most sought-after tourist hotspots and megacities have their own issue with an ‘‘Airbnboom’’: a regulatory backlash against short-stay accommodation that makes spiralling housing costs worse.
Page 44: The Albanese government could turbocharge the energy transition by focusing on households and small business, not subsidies for hydrogen and battery materials, Saul Griffith says.
The Australian
Page 3: Western Australia’s Solicitor- General has lashed out at critics who condemn gender-based hiring of judges, arguing that a diverse bench is vital in establishing the public’s faith in the courts.
Page 4: The Nationals are escalating their war on wind and solar farms, demanding a moratorium on all large-scale renewable energy projects until they undergo “proper approval processes” by the federal government.
Page 7: Frustrated parents of semi-literate children are spending tens of thousands of dollars a year on remedial tutoring and speech pathology for children who are not taught to read properly at school.
Page 15: Qantas is desperately hoping for a win this week when the High Court rules on the legality of the airline’s outsourcing of almost 1700 ground services staff in late 2020.
Page 16: Male power continues its strong- hold in corporate Australia, a new report by proxy advisers Ownership Matters shows, with less than a handful of the top 300 companies being led by female CEOs and chairs.
Page 17: The Austalian Taxation Office has ramped up debt recovery, focusing on company directors using the ATO as a “low-interest loan facility”, as it seeks to collect billions of dollars accrued during the Covid pandemic.
Page 17: Share dividends have lost some of their shine as high interest rates and weaker profits prompt some shareholders to consider other investments.
Page 17: Canadian gold explorer Novo Resources will complete its dual listing on the Australian Securities Exchange on Monday after raising $7.5m from local investors to accelerate its exploration activities in the Pilbara.
Page 21: Xi Jinping has placed the Communist Party – and himself – in greater command of China’s economy over the past decade. Now his centralisation of power is delaying the country’s response to its worst economic slowdown in years.
The West Australian
Page 20: The average full-time Australian worker has been earning an extra $10 a day since Anthony Albanese became Prime Minister, a new analysis of Federal Government data reveals.
Page 39: Australians are collectively losing tens of millions of dollars a year due to a vicious loophole in the super system which is leaving people up to $50,000 worse off when they leave work, a finance expert has warned.
Page 39: The Westpac research found the number of Australians aged under 18 reporting scams has nearly quadrupled over the past year. Experts are particularly concerned about the growing number of “sextortion” scams.
