THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (www.afr.com)
Telecommunications group Optus claims that access prices for rival Telstra's copper phone network should be lowered following Telstra's deal with the Federal Government's National Broadband Network (NBN) Company. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will review access prices by the end of this year. Optus argues that the revenue Telstra receives from NBN Co for using and de-commissioning the copper network should be taken into account when setting access prices.
Page 14.
Wagering company Tabcorp yesterday said that the World Cup has helped the betting agency attract 20,000 new customers, with around A$200 million wagered on the event. The sales are estimated to have generated A$20 million in revenue for the company during the tournament. Tabcorp's Craig Nugent said the Spain versus Germany semi-final had attracted sales of A$9.5 million, a company record for any sports betting event. Page 15.
Businessman Tony Sage yesterday said that he would move to delist his mining companies International Petroleum Corporation and African Petroleum Corporation from the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) if it does not soon lift a trading halt on the companies. The ASX has refused to allow the companies to trade following two capital raisings involving controversial businessman Frank Timis, although an ASX appeals tribunal last month said the decision was 'infected by error and must be set aside.' Page 16.
Shares in companies established to profit from the introduction of an emissions trading scheme have failed to gain a boost from the recent ousting of prime minister Kevin Rudd in favour of Julia Gillard. Firms Carbon Conscious and CO2 Group, which have been created to generate carbon credits through forestry projects, have continued to trade at heavily discounted prices, with Carbon Conscious chief executive Peter Balsarini yesterday saying 'there's a complete policy vacuum.' Page 17.
THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)
Queensland mining entrepreneur Clive Palmer yesterday said that he intended to build a new coal loading port facility north of the existing facility at Abbott Point in north Queensland. Mr Palmer's Waratah Coal missed out on winning one of two new sites at the existing port that the state government has allocated as it prepares to privatise Abbott Point. Mr Palmer said his proposed facility would have capacity of up to 40 million tonnes a year. Page 21.
Following the spin-off of paint business DuluxGroup, explosives and chemicals group Orica says it will examine acquisition opportunities. Orica chief executive Graeme Liebelt yesterday said last week's demerger would allow Orica to focus on its mining-related businesses. Mr Liebelt said the value gained by Dulux from its new ability to 'focus on its market in consumer goods,' would outweigh the costs of the split.
Page 22.
Surfwear group Billabong International's A$91.4 million acquisition of Canadian sportswear retailer West 49 is in doubt following the emergence of a rival bid from sporting goods retailer Zumiez. Analysts say the potential failure of Billabong's deal may be a positive for the company, with Billabong set to receive a A$2.8 million break fee if the deal does not proceed. West 49 management are also thought to be resisting proposals to increase the proportion of Billabong products sold through the retailer. Page 22.
The wine division of beverages company Foster's Group has recorded growth for the first time in more than a year, according to new figures from ACNielsen. The value of wine sold by the company in Australia grew 0.1 percent in May compared to the same month last year, and compares with a 0.9 percent decline for the overall market. The recovering performance is not expected to halt a proposed structural split of the company into separate wine and beer divisions. Page 23.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au)
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is believed to be investigating attempts by the former chief executive of collapsed child care group ABC Learning, Eddy Groves, to protect his personal finances shortly before the company's failure. A public hearing into the collapse of the group has heard allegations that some creditors, including the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Mr Groves' former brother-in-law, received favourable treatment at the expense of other creditors. Page 1.
Travel agency Jetset Travelworld has missed its own deadline to provide shareholders with further details of its proposed merger with travel retailer Stella. Jetset announced the deal in May, but said detailed information on the agreement would be released in an explanatory memorandum and independent expert report due last week. The delay has raised concerns that the competition regulator may be closely scrutinising the deal.
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Property auctions in Sydney over the weekend recorded their worst clearance rate in 18 months, with just 49 percent of properties selling. Estate agents say the poor result is partly due to the high number of properties being put for sale, with the 2150 auction listings for July well above the month's average of 1130 over the past 20 years. However, increasing rates of pre-auction sales indicate that vendors are aware of the weakening market. Page 2.
Biotechnology company Viralytics recently completed a A$2.9 million options raising, increasing the group's total cash holdings to A$5.6 million. The company, backed by the University of Newcastle, will use the funds over the next three years to continue research into the use of viruses such as the common cold to kill a variety of cancers. The university's Professor Darren Shafren, whose work provides the basis for Viralytics' research, said 'viruses have had really bad press.' Page 2.
THE AGE (www.theage.com.au)
Airports in New Zealand have started a campaign against the proposed deal between airlines Virgin Blue and Air New Zealand on the route between Australia and New Zealand.
The airports are concerned that the tie-up would lead to fewer flights and higher prices, to the detriment of regional airports in particular. Regulators in both countries are expected to provide a decision on the proposal later this year. Page B3.
Plans by airline group Virgin Blue to relaunch the brand next month have been delayed due to continuing disputes over the use of the V and Virgin names. Ownership of the names is claimed by Richard Branson's Virgin Group, which has a 26 percent stake in Virgin Blue, and the dispute recently escalated with the public involvement of lawyers. However, both companies have played down the dispute and say an agreement will be reached in coming months. Page B3.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has approved a deal between Bendigo Bank and Suncorp Metway, allowing customers access to both banks' automatic teller machine (ATM) networks free of charge. Bendigo and Suncorp had argued that recent changes to regulations had provide an advantage to banks with larger ATM networks, and said the new deal would provide enhanced competition. Page B4.
Damian Smith, chief executive of financial comparison website RateCity, yesterday said interest rates on savings accounts are unlikely to grow further, after the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision last week to keep the official interest rate on hold for a second month. However, Mr Smith said competition among institutions for deposits is expected to keep rates at their current high levels. Page B4. --
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