PM warns on power sharing
Anthony Albanese has issued an eleventh-hour warning to undecided voters about the pitfalls of minority government, as Labor’s optimism about retaining its majority faces a late challenge from a 28-seat blitz by Peter Dutton in the final week of the election campaign. The Fin
James Hardie fury spurs ASX review
The ASX will reassess what shareholder approvals companies need for mergers, acquisitions and reverse takeovers after its decision to allow James Hardie to proceed with a $14 billion transaction without an investor vote led to a backlash from superannuation funds and asset managers. The Fin
Short sellers circle as uranium loses its glow
Companies exploring or mining uranium make up six of the 20-most-shorted stocks on the local bourse. The Fin
Auction clearance rate falls to four-month low
A looming federal election, the Anzac Day long weekend, market instability and cost of living pressures have dragged preliminary auction clearance rates to their lowest level since last year. The Fin
Reynolds in bid for ‘secret papers’
A cache of secret documents could reveal if a law firm acting for the Albanese government agreed to allow Brittany Higgins to extend the time limit for her mammoth compensation claim by a crucial extra day, against the wishes of former Liberal minister Linda Reynolds, for whom the firm also claimed to be acting. The Aus
Subsidy win for victims of lymphoma on home front
Australian patients with the most common form of lymphoma will for the first time have access to affordable, at-home treatment options due to the federal subsidisation of an injectable immunotherapy. The Aus
ALP’s capital gains ploy ‘will slug taxpayers $7bn a year’
Labor’s tax on unrealised capital gains will slug taxpayers for almost $7bn a year within 10 years, new numbers from the independent Parliamentary Budget Office show. The Aus
Dutton warns of ‘economic vandalism’
Peter Dutton has accused Anthony Albanese of “economic vandalism” and warned voters their groceries, energy bills, insurance costs and rents will surge next year, as the Coalition escalates its cost-of-living assault in the final weeks of the campaign. The Aus
Palmer’s Pilbara permit ‘secret’
Clive Palmer’s Mineralogy wants a new licence for something “secret” on mining tenements where the billionaire’s company has repeatedly failed to pay its dues. The West
Worx Group’s possible liquidation
The former boss of Worx Group says he deeply regrets the company’s collapse as creditors look set to send the equipment hire business to liquidation. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 8: Peak bodies for older Australians are demanding the major parties fess up about their plans for deeming rates once the current freeze expires not long after election day.
Page 8: A regional surgeon is sending a scare through the Liberal Party in Western Australia’s winegrowing heartland.
Page 11: Construction unions have for the first time secured a two-weeks-on, one-week-off roster for fly-in-fly-out workers in the Pilbara in a landmark deal they will push to extend to the rest of the resources industry.
Page 12: Herbert Smith Freehills is at an impasse with partners over the future of its remuneration structure, as its global chair faces a challenge for leadership of the firm ahead of its merger with American outfit Kramer Levin.
Page 23: Facebook struggled off a slow advertising market in Australia as revenues rose to $1.46 billion, the vast majority of which was funnelled out of the country as service fees paid to other parts of Meta’s global empire.
Page 25: Global container volumes will fall for only the third time in nearly five decades, according to respected maritime research firm Drewry, whose analysts say the Trump administration’s trade tariffs have caused more disruption to shipping businesses than the pandemic.
Page 25: The country’s major banks have drafted in Barrenjoey’s Capital Partners as they assess options for Armaguard, the ailing cash transport monopoly owned by trucking billionaire Lindsay Fox.
Page 27: Inflation will return to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s target for the first time in four years, and investors expect the central bank to cut interest rates in a bid to bolster confidence amid a volatile economic outlook.
The Australian
Page 6: Anthony Albanese has emerged as the big spender Bill Shorten was proposing to be at the 2019 election, the main difference being the former Labor leader outlined revenue measures to pay for his policies and had plans to run surpluses.
Page 7: Climate ministers would have the power to cancel coal and gas projects under a plan to be unveiled by Greens leader Adam Bandt in the last of his key demands for Labor to secure his support in a hung parliament.
Page 15: UK hedge fund Palliser Capital is ramping up its campaign for Rio Tinto to abandon its London listing, challenging the mining giant’s shareholders at Thursday’s annual general meeting to consider arch rival BHP’s performance in the three years since it ditched a dual-listed structure.
Page 17: Former Rex executive chairman Lim Kim Hai is continuing his trademark “iron-first” management style at fly-in, fly-out operator National Jet Express, declaring war on photocopying and costly suppliers to help tide the airline through the global trade war.
Page 18: Paladin Energy led a rally in uranium stocks after stronger-than-expected production figures at its flagship Langer Heinrich Mine in Namibia raised hopes of a sector rebound, with the Minerals Council of Australia and Coalition flying the flag for onshore producers.
The West Australian
Page 39: The past month has been a wild ride for investors. With global markets reacting sharply to Donald Trump’s tariff announcements, volatility has surged and many portfolios have taken a hit.
Page 39: Macquarie Bank has slashed its fixed rate offering ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s meeting on May 19-20 to decide the official cash rate.
Page 40: Younger Aussies want practical solutions to the housing market, believing policy announcements will just drive prices higher.
Page 41: A planned system outage and the suspension of most transactions is affecting more than one million members of industry superannuation fund giant HESTA.
