In danger of digital irrelevance. Suncorp's smart phone banking application. Www.aspecthuntley.com.au/asxdata/20111214/pdf/01252826.pdf. Business. Dick Smith on outer at Woolworths. A bit of rosy spin for Harvey Norman. Woolworths pulls plug on Dick Smith. Sue Mitchell Total sales at Australia’s largest retailer rose 5.1 per cent to $15.12 billion in the three months ending December, in line with analysts’ forecasts.
Photo: Reuters Woolworths’ earnings will decline for the first time in 13 years after Australia’s biggest retailer decided to jettison the Dick Smith electronics chain as part of a longer-term plan to restore profit growth to 10 per cent. Woolworths’ new chief executive, Grant O’Brien, proved his preparedness to make unpalatable decisions to restore momentum to the company, announcing plans to close as many as 100 Dick Smith stores and look for buyers for the business it acquired 30 years ago. Woolworths will take a $300 million hit in the first half of 2012 to cover the cost of getting out of Dick Smith’s leases, write down the value of inventory, fixtures and fittings and goodwill, and fund redundancies.
It may be of interest to rivals such as Harvey Norman, overseas retailers such as Best Buy or private equity buyers. Coles outpaces Woolies, but misses forecasts. Coles leads food fight, for now. Wesfarmers’ Goyder vows to keep up price cuts. Gina Rinehart lines up Fairfax to expand media influence. Gina Rinehart is looking to take a strategic shareholding in Fairfax Media. Source: The Australian THE nation's richest person, iron ore billionaire Gina Rinehart, is seeking to expand her influence in the media by taking a strategic shareholding in Fairfax Media. Mrs Rinehart was last night attempting to secure an extra 9.9 per cent stake in the newspaper publisher through a $192 million raid launched after the sharemarket closed. Broker Morgan Stanley was offering to buy 235 million Fairfax shares at 81c each, 10.5 per cent above the media group's closing price of 74c.
Morgan Stanley acted for Mrs Rinehart when she bought about 4.9 per cent of Fairfax in late 2010 for $100m. Investors contacted by the broker last night said they were told Mrs Rinehart wanted to take a 15 per cent stake in Fairfax, which publishes a stable of newspapers including The Australian Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. She is expected to push for a board seat. Rinehart raid sparks media law row. James Chessell, Lisa Murray and Neil Shoebridge Communications Minister Stephen Conroy says stronger ownership laws are needed to prevent individuals exerting influence over media coverage, following Gina Rinehart’s successful $192 million raid on Fairfax Media. Australia’s richest person became Fairfax Media’s largest shareholder yesterday after upping her stake from 4.9 per cent to about 14.8 per cent, raising concerns that the mining magnate will seek to sway editorial content from the newspaper, digital media and radio group’s board.
Mrs Rinehart, who also owns 10 per cent of Ten Network Holdings, would not discuss her investment in Fairfax or confirm widespread speculation that she will ask to join the media company’s board. Late last night she was yet to have made contact with Fairfax chief executive Greg Hywood or chairman Roger Corbett, who is in the United States. “Clearly she is seeking to exert her influence but is she breaking the law by exerting an influence? The iron lady. Rinehart: from mines to media? Australia's wealthiest person, Gina Rinehart, is the focus of speculation after buying a further chunk of Fairfax Media, owner of this site. P 1, 2012 This article originally appeared in Good Weekend on January 21.
The Queen and Prince Philip were working their way around a garden party at Government House in Perth last October when the prince stopped to chat to a middle-aged woman in a broad-brimmed black hat. To his genial inquiry about why she was on the guest list, she replied that she was merely a loyal subject. He said he wanted to remember her as the 'neat, trim, capable and attractive young lady' she had been rather than 'the slothful, vindictive and devious baby elephant that you have become'. Prince Philip had just met Gina Rinehart, ranked by US business media company Forbes as the 19th most powerful woman in the world - 30 places ahead of Queen Elizabeth II. Markets. RBA keeps rate hike expectations low There was no jawboning to try and get the Australian dollar lower by the Reserve Bank in the minutes from their latest board meeting, but it’s also very clear they aren’t in any hurry to raise interest rates. 13 stocks to go big on Broker Morgans has put out a note on its “high conviction ideas”, including Brambles, Oil Search and Crown Resorts, that play what they see as the 10 major market themes in 2014.
Hot money returning to Aussie bonds: QIC The hot money is gushing back into Australia as large bets on China faltering are being unwound and foreign investors return in force to the local bond market, says a large local bond funds. IMF asks Greece to slash wages. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos (left) faces the task of convincing the country’s politicians to back further austerity measures, including possible wage cuts.
Photo: AFP Compiled by Ben Woodhead The International Monetary Fund has asked financially stricken Greece to take a razor to its minimum wage as negotiators leaders raised hopes that talks for private sector debt relief would conclude this week. Greece is in talks with private creditors to have them take losses on their bondholdings and with its international bailout rescuers to receive new loans. “In the coming days, the agreements must be completed,” government spokesman Pantelis Kapsis said on Wednesday. Debt inspectors from the European Commission, European Central Bank and the IMF, known as the troika, are in Athens for talks on a second €130 billion bailout package. “It’s a matter of days,” Thomsen was quoted as saying by the Athens daily Kathimerini.
Greece and Ireland also witnessed a further contraction. AP, Reuters. Good news and bad on the rebound. Before the Bell - Upbeat global data bolsters equities, $A. Nomura posts surprise ¥17.8bn profit. Markets Today. World. Fed logs $US84bn in profit on bond holdings The Federal Reserve logged $US84 billion in net profit last year on its massive portfolio of assets, and average income will probably remain higher than before the financial crisis for another decade. Near zero chance of finding ferry survivors Authorities in South Korea say there is almost zero chance that any of the almost 300 mostly schoolchildren still missing after a ferry sank on its way to a holiday island will be found alive.
US jobless claims, factory data bolster outlook New applications for unemployment benefits held near their pre-recession levels last week and factory activity in the Mid-Atlantic region accelerated in April, painting a bright picture of the economy. Morgan Stanley profit rises on fixed-income gains Morgan Stanley’s efforts to re-establish itself as a Wall Street powerhouse since the financial crisis gained some ground, when the bank reported that first-quarter earnings rose 18 per cent from a year earlier. China gets back to business big time. Shanghai to be world’s yuan centre by 2015. Europe in the 99-cent bin. Sarkozy announces French financial transaction tax.
30 January 2012Last updated at 00:33 Nicolas Sarkozy: ''What we want is to provoke a shock and to set an example'' French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced plans to introduce a tax on financial transactions. The 0.1% levy will be introduced in August regardless of whether other European countries follow suit. The tax is part of a package of measures set out by the president to promote growth and create jobs. Mr Sarkozy faces a presidential election in April, but is currently trailing in the opinion polls behind his Socialist rival, Francois Hollande.
In an interview with French television, Mr Sarkozy said he hoped the tax would push other countries to take action. "What we want to do is create a shockwave and set an example that there is absolutely no reason why those who helped bring about the crisis shouldn't pay to restore the finances," he said. "We hope the tax will generate one billion euros ($1.3bn, £0.8bn) of new income and and thus cut our budget deficit.
" Competitiveness. ANZ funding approach. Banks face ratings downgrade on funding. Dual listing or a straight IPO: try Asian bourses. NAB weighs up UK options AFR 2012/01/30. RBS wins local support, for now. Super funds will fight to preserve tax concessions. Banks’ stand on term deposits. Demand for advisers plunges. Is your super costing you more than your mobile phone? | News.com.au Money Stuff Blog. Industry funds trump retail. THE battle between retail and industry superannuation funds is heating up, with new analysis showing industry funds have delivered better returns on average over 14 years. For the Industry Super Network, which represents the larger industry funds, such analysis is crucial to its ability to compete effectively with large retail funds, especially those owned by the banks, in the new superannuation environment.
Some of the bigger retail funds are now pushing hard into low-fee and more transparent super products as they respond to the government's determination to introduce MySuper: the new, simpler and standardised basic super model for all default superannuation. Combined with outlawing commission payments for new clients, this is certain to lead to much greater consolidation in the industry. Stand-alone corporate funds have also been increasingly outsourcing their superannuation plans for their employees. ResourcesDaily. CSG lobby targets new NSW premier The oil and gas industry lobby group is set to press new NSW Premier Mike Baird on the need to proceed with the development of the coal seam gas sector, which it says has “gone backwards” in recent years. Woodside buoyed by higher prices for Pluto LNG Updated | Woodside Petroleum has started to reap the benefits of a jump in prices for LNG from its $15 billion Pluto project in Western Australia, recording a 16 per cent gain in March quarter revenues.
WA project drives CITIC to $39bn deal China's CITIC Pacific has agreed to buy the main unit of its parent, CITIC Group, for $39 billion, giving it a much-needed financial boost after it miscalculated the huge cost of the Sino Iron mine in Western Australia. Genesis Energy surges on trading debut New Zealand electricity retailer Genesis Energy has enjoyed a buoyant start to life as a publicly listed company, with its shares surging as much as 17.7 per cent when they started trading on Thursday. Mining projects surge defies pressures. Resources to set growth pace for Brisbane in 2012. Glencore in $74bn talks with Xstrata. Luke Forrestal, Michael Smith and Nabila Ahmed Commodities trader Glencore is in merger talks with mining giant Xstrata to create an $US80 billion ($74.6 billion) combined mining and trading house in a deal that would transform the global resources industry. London-based Xstrata, which owns coal, nickel, copper and zinc mines in Australia, confirmed last night it had been approached by Glencore about a “share merger of equals” and the two were still in talks.
A tie-up between Glencore, the world’s largest commodities trader, and Xstrata has been tipped for some time but Xstrata has previously indicated it would want a premium to get a deal away. Glencore has a 34 per cent stake in Xstrata. “There can be no certainty that any offer will be made,” Xstrata said in a statement. The combined group would challenge the dominance of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, although the two miners would still be bigger by market value.
Glencore has a long history in Australia. ‘Incredulity’ at broken Commerzbank pay pledge: banker. Don’t blame us for debt woes: hedge fund. Jonathan Shapiro Oaktree is on the hunt, not for bad businesses but over-indebted ones, says Howard Marks. Photo: Glen McCurtayne ‘We never had trouble raising money within the United States, but today we have to go to the Middle East, China and Australia,’ says John Angelo. Angelo, Gordon & Co The founder of one of the world’s biggest hedge funds has defended the role of distressed debt investors, saying they are an important part of the solution for troubled companies. Oaktree Capital chairman Howard Marks, who is pushing for control of one of Australia’s biggest media companies, Nine Entertainment Co, says the companies his fund invests in are usually restored to viability. “Our mantra is good company, bad balance sheet,” Marks, the founder of the Future Fund-backed Oaktree Capital, tells The Australian Financial Review from the hedge fund’s headquarters in Los Angeles.
“We invest in companies that are in trouble because they became overleveraged,” Marks says. Job losses gather pace as dollar soars - National News - National. Job cuts in the economy are gathering pace with major companies revealing plans to slash hundreds of jobs in sectors ranging from banking to defence and car manufacturing. Westpac is to slash 560 jobs, according to the Finance Sector Union, including sending 150 jobs offshore although the bank said with re-skilling and redeployment a total of 300 to 400 jobs may end up being lost.
In Bendigo defence firm Thales will axe about 50 staff after it missed out on a government contract to make the Bushmaster ute while Holden confirmed yesterday it would shed about 100 casual positions, with contractors also to lose work. Economists expect unemployment to rise after 2011 was the weakest year for the job market since the early 1990s recession. Advertisement Toyota and ANZ have announced cuts in recent weeks while the maker of Mortein and Dettol this week said it would shut its Australian manufacturing plant in Sydney at a cost of nearly 200 jobs. Ms Gillard yesterday dismissed the Toyota comments. 13,000 American Airlines staff face the axe: report. American Airlines said it needed to cut costs by 20 per cent to stay afloat, as it met with union representatives to detail a plan for layoffs that reports said would total 13,000 workers.
"All work groups will have total costs reduced by 20 per cent, including management," Tom Horton, chief executive of American parent AMR Corporation, said in a letter to employees on Wednesday. "While the savings from each work group will be achieved somewhat differently, each will experience the same percentage reduction. " Cuts of 13,000 workers, reported by several media outlets immediately following the management-union meeting, would amount to about 15 per cent of the company's workforce. According to the NBC television local affiliate in the Dallas-Forth Worth, Texas area, home base of AMR, the cuts include 1400 management and support staff, 400 pilots, 2300 flight attendants, 4600 maintenance workers and 4200 fleet service employees.
"Now it is time for American to move forward on a decisive path. Hands tied on Toyota job losses: govt. Aussie auto industry braces for job cuts - Business. Westpac to announce job cuts - Business. Updated Fri 3 Feb 2012, 9:56am AEDT The Finance Sector Union (FSU) claims that 560 jobs are set to go at Westpac Bank, with 150 of those roles going offshore. The union says the departments affected by the job cuts are technical services, administration, legal, retail and business banking and administration.
FSU national secretary Leon Carter says it is a disgrace. "These are the hardworking bank workers who are behind the scenes making sure that settlements occur and that people can buy and rent houses, and this is an organisation that continues to make a multi-billion-dollar annual profit," he said. Mr Carter says the bank has an obligation and capacity to retain all the jobs and keep them in Australia. He says sacked Westpac workers will struggle to find re-employment in the sector. "Times are tough out there and the only people who aren't doing it tough are big banks like Westpac that are making multi-billion-dollar annual profits," he said.
Redeployed 'Bright future' Big banks slash jobs, bristle over rates. Low paid win rises up to 41pc. Toyota demands IR reform. It’s a dream job – once the workers chip in. Shorten rings Toyota. Hailstorm rains on Ford sales. No shortage of openings for indigenous Australians. An extra 170,000 people call in sick after Australia Day. Fair Work Australia ruling - gender pay equity. Pay gap on union agenda. Coalition reaps $99m as ALP donations slip. Dentists find ‘black hole’ in Abbott plan. Desperate Labor MPs turning against Gillard.