Unions, employer groups may lose control of super fund boards
The stranglehold over superannuation fund boards by unions, employer groups and financial institutions could be broken or wound back under proposals being considered by Assistant Treasurer Arthur Sinodinos.
Equities edge higher on Germany, US data
Before the Bell | Investors are pushing share prices higher on news of a German political accord and more data pointing to a strengthening US economy ■ Dow up 0.1pc ■ SPI futures up 7 pts ■ $A at US90.72¢.
Rio miner Turquoise Hill faces corruption inquiry
Rio Tinto majority owned Turquoise Hill Resources could face investigations from US and Canada authorities in relation to alleged corruption and tax evasion by SouthGobi Resources.
Forget the grocery code, Metcash, IGA tell big chains
Grocery wholesaler Metcash has tapped former Coles senior executive Mick McMahon as a non-executive director, boosting its retail expertise ahead of next week’s profit results and strategic review update.
Leighton may struggle to recover all of the $1.1bn owed on claims
Leighton Holdings has been told it may struggle to recover all of the $1.1 billion it claims is owed to its Middle East joint venture, the Al Habtoor Leighton Group.
Online GST to be decided by March
Consumers should know by March on which overseas online goods they will be paying goods and services tax and by when.
Quadrant considers $500m-plus float of iSentia
Quadrant private equity is weighing a listing of its media information business iSentia in an initial public offering likely to top $500 million. iSentia’s potential IPO comes as its industry undergoes a rapid consolidation globally.
Hockey flags lifting Qantas foreign ownership limit
Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey has flagged either lifting the foreign ownership restrictions on Qantas, or providing the airline with government support, to even the playing field with rival Virgin Australia Holdings.
There’s still hope for Aussie resources
Investment strategists are pinning their hopes on diversified mining companies bouncing back next year despite uncertainty over China’s reforms to rebalance its economy away from investment-driven growth.
Re-think on cash pooling strategy
Since the GFC, many Australian corporate treasurers have moved their cash offshore. But the tax crackdowns on profit shifting is forcing a re-think of these strategies.
Super fund buys 27pc stake in Port of Brisbane
Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has become the latest superannuation fund to pay up for infrastructure, buying a 27 per cent stake in Port of Brisbane for more than $1 billion.
Silicon Valley parties like it’s 1999
These are fabulous times in Silicon Valley. Mere youths are turning down deals that would make them and their great-grandchildren wealthy beyond imagining. They are confident that even better deals await.
Equality in the boardroom starts on day 1, year 1
The ambitious targets proposed by the Male Champions for Change to address workplace gender imbalances are impressive. But they won’t achieve much for those girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Rio-controlled Turquoise Hill in the firing line
In paving the way for repayment of $US2.25 billion owed to Rio Tinto, Canada’s Turquoise Hill has confirmed itself a target of inquiry by a frightening collection of global regulators over a continuing anti-corruption inquiry in Mongolia.
Kiwi billionaire knows how to work US debt markets
Graeme Hart’s packaging firm Reynolds Group Holdings got a good reception this week, repricing a $2.41 billion ‘Term Loan B’ with the help of Credit Suisse.
Whiteley tapestry fails to make big splash
A tapestry based on artist Brett Whiteley’s imagery has sold for $112,240.
Activist investor Icahn sells stake in Grand Theft Auto
Carl Icahn has sold his stake in Take-Two Interactive Software, the games developer behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise, for $US203.5 million.
Profit more than triples at Flemington
The Victoria Racing Club has more than tripled its full-year net profit to $7.5 million, following a 5 per cent rise in revenue buoyed by its Tabcorp JV.
How headhunters are missing women right under their nose
If you have to hand-feed a recruitment company with female candidates for a role, you might wonder what on earth you are paying them for.
Freelancer impressive but overpriced
Trevor Sykes | The latest tech stock to capture the imagination of investors is off to a strong start but is unbackable at current prices.
Smartphone sales set to top one billion
Global smartphones sales are forecast to top one billion for the first time this year, although growth will moderate in the next few years.
Xero chases financial planners to fuel growth
The company dubbed the “Apple of accounting”, Xero, is aggressively chasing financial planners to move beyond $30 million revenue.
Why Joe should say no to ADM’s bid for GrainCorp
There’s more to the attempted takeover of GrainCorp than its impact on shareholders.
The counterintuitive approach to improving company culture
The conventional wisdom is that it takes years to change a company’s culture. However, some leading organisations are turning this theory on its head.
Aussie startup aims to shake up $20b temp recruitment market
It is currently used to outsource menial tasks like picking up dry cleaning and or basic house chores, but Australian technology start-up AirTasker is gearing up its army of 85,000 freelancers to take on the $20 billion sector.
National
Hockey offers states billions to sell off assets
States will receive billions of dollars in federal government tax incentives if they privatise assets to fast-track the construction of productivity-boosting infrastructure projects, under a deal reached between state and Commonwealth Treasurers.
- Unions, employer groups may lose control of super fund boards
- Online GST to be decided by March
- It’s official: Resources investment boom has peaked
- Hockey ups the ante on debt ceiling
- Timor-Leste to seek ATO co-operation on oil taxes
- Hockey flags lifting Qantas foreign ownership limit
- Infrastructure deal a green light for asset sales
- NBN execs ordered to attend Senate committee meeting
A bad tax that harms the poor
Not much attention was given to the Abbott government’s recent decision to implement Labor’s policy of a series of four 12.5 per cent annual increases in the tobacco tax, the first scheduled for December. But this attack on a minority warrants great scrutiny.
Opinion
Gonski model should go back to the chalkboard
Christopher Pyne is right. The Better Schools funding model is ‘incomprehensible’.
Making the pension system more effective could deliver big savings
Recent reports by the Grattan Institute and the Productivity Commission may have helped Australians understand a little more about the budgetary implications of an ageing population and some of the choices that we face.
Equality in the boardroom starts on day 1, year 1
The ambitious targets proposed by the Male Champions for Change to address workplace gender imbalances are impressive. But they won’t achieve much for those girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.
World
Italy's Berlusconi expelled from parliament
Italian senators voted to expel three-time former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi from parliament due to his criminal conviction for tax fraud, in a momentous round of voting.
- Bitcoin surpasses $US1000 for first time
- Court approves AMR, US Airways merger accord
- Timor-Leste to seek ATO co-operation on oil taxes
- US consumer sentiment rises in November
- Sinopec in talks to invest in Kitimat LNG project
- Geneva world trade talks collapse
- IMF shifts stance on bailouts
- Obama plans new rules on political spending
- Beijing slams Australia over air zone criticism
Scotland’s independence plans leave bondholders in the dark
Bondholders, who may own Scotland’s share of the UK’s £1.6 trillion debt, don’t know what terms to expect from an independent Scotland.
Business
Leighton may struggle to recover all of the $1.1bn owed on claims
Leighton Holdings has been told it may struggle to recover all of the $1.1 billion it claims is owed to its Middle East joint venture, the Al Habtoor Leighton Group.
- Tough day as Bis pulls $1bn float, Forge saved
- Super fund buys 27pc stake in Port of Brisbane
- Quadrant considers $500m-plus float of iSentia
- Fortescue’s good fortune revives M&A; talk
- ADM, growers in stalemate over $200m sweetener to support GrainCorp bid
- Wilson HTM gets second strike on pay, avoids spill
- Elders plans to raise up to $120m
Silicon Valley parties like it’s 1999
These are fabulous times in Silicon Valley. Mere youths are turning down deals that would make them and their great-grandchildren wealthy beyond imagining. They are confident that even better deals await.
Technology
Surviving Chairman Ma: Life in the shadow of China’s Alibaba
In a small research lab in Palo Alto, California, flanked by Hewlett-Packard and Stanford University, China’s largest electronics retailer is learning how to compete online in the face of the behemoth that is Alibaba.
- NBN execs ordered to attend Senate committee meeting
- HP chief ordered to defend securities class action
- Icahn sells out of Grand Theft Auto publisher
- In Silicon Valley ‘greed’ fuels bubble sentiment
- Tech firms grow hot, fast and furious
- Hellman & Friedman to buy Applied Systems for $US1.8B
- Xero chases financial planners to fuel growth
- Small software maker wins $US24.8M judgment vs Lockheed Martin
- HP quarterly revenue beats street, shares rally
Nokia Lumia 1520’s arrival has us up at night
Nokia’s first “phablet” the Lumia 1520, up there with the biggest phones to ever see the light of day, will be available in Australia in December for $899.
Markets
Equities edge higher on Germany, US data
Before the Bell | Investors are pushing share prices higher on news of a German political accord and more data pointing to a strengthening US economy ■ Dow up 0.1pc ■ SPI futures up 7 pts ■ $A at US90.72¢.
- Bitcoin surpasses $US1000 for first time
- European shares rise on US data, German deal
- Aluminium slides to lowest price in more than four years
- Hockey ups the ante on debt ceiling
- There’s still hope for Aussie resources
- Mining, energy stocks push ASX into the red
- Re-think on cash pooling strategy
- IMF shifts stance on bailouts
Treasuries market puts Fed anchor to the test
A floating anchor helps an angler occupy a good fishing spot without his boat being swept downstream. It is a strategy the Federal Reserve has embraced. The US central bank is stressing that it is in no hurry to raise overnight interest rates. By doing so, it hopes to limit the rise in long-term bond yields ahead of any decision to pare back its $85 billion-a-month of emergency bond purchases, dubbed quantitative easing.
Personal finance
Banks increase small deposit lending
Banks increased lending to home buyers with smaller deposits in the September quarter, underscoring the concern of regulators about risky lending as the mortgage market picks up speed, spurred on by record-low interest rates.
- Xero chases financial planners to fuel growth
- Tollroad collects $300m in bonds
- Brickworks avoids first strike as Perpetual votes against pay
- Sophisticated investor label may be flawed
- Botched IT project costs super funds millions
- Gold Coast set for apartment building boom
- Mitsubishi leads Japanese banks into Australian mortgage market
- OneVue joins 2014 float rush
- ASIC targets insider traders with new $44m surveillance system
PIMCO cautions against going long
Barely a week after the launch of Australia’s first 20-year government bond, the world’s biggest fixed income fund PIMCO says investors to avoid buying long-duration bonds.
Lifestyle
Diving for an elusive delicacy
Diving for abalone, it turns out, is not for the faint of heart. However, it can be fun and productive.
Indian wedding invitations now on tour itinerary
I was being fitted for a sherwani, the traditional Indian garment worn among Rajput aristocracy at Rajasthan weddings.
Luxuriate in the most relaxed of Kiwi lodges
Wharekauhau Lodge is a working sheep station but there’s no shortage of pampering on offer.
Summer food series 1: Jacques Reymond
Entertaining season is upon us and Melbourne chef has this three-course menu to offer.
Latest TV
RBA's Lowe pushes infrastructure, cool on dollar
The Reserve Bank deputy governor says it's time to shake the stigma of infrastructure debt. Phillip Lowe also told an international productivity conference that rising US business investment would temper the Aussie dollar.
Libs' broken promise irks states
The federal government has broken its promise on Gonski school funding, says political editor Laura Tingle. She tells chief political correspondent Phillip Coorey that, unlike the complex Indonesia situation, the clash with the states over Gonski is far less politically excusable.
Super fund cost blowout
Instead of buying an administration system off the shelf, the biggest industry superannuation funds tried to build one themselves. Columnist Tony Boyd says that was a costly disaster, but there's light at the end of the tunnel.
Street Talk
The float rush is expected to continue into next year, with investment and administration platform operator OneVue among those planning a public market listing.
