Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (www.afr.com)
--One of BHP Billiton's longest serving board members, David Jenkins, will stand down at the mining giant's annual general meeting later this year. Mr Jenkins, who joined the board in 2000 before the merger with Billiton, signalled his intention to resign at the company's recent board meeting in Melbourne. The announcement continues BHP's board renewal process, with current chairman Don Argus recently indicating he will step aside next year. Page 12.
--The board of coalminer Dioro Exploration has advised its shareholders not to accept Avoca Resource's bid to secure control of the company. Avoca, which has secured 24.4 percent of Dioro, made an offer of one share for every 2.3 Dioro shares earlier this month. Ramelius Resources made its own takeover bid for Dioro shortly after, offering two Ramelius shares for each Dioro share. Dioro is understood to be completing its due diligence on Ramelius in the coming days, after which it will respond to Ramelius's offer. Page 13.
--The directors of coalminer Felix Resources have agreed to a A$3.5 billion takeover by Yanzhou Coal, set to be the largest acquisition by a Chinese company in Australia's resources sector. Felix Resources managing director Brian Flannery said the board had accepted an A$18-a-share offer, which includes shares in a spin-off of the company's Lake Phillipson exploration project in South Australia. The takeover, which still needs approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board, will be subject to a shareholder vote in December. Page 12.
--More than 50 companies will deliver earnings results this week, as reporting season shifts into second gear. A number of energy and retail heavyweights will feature, including BlueScope Steel, Qanats Airways, Brambles, Wesfarmers and Rio Tinto.
Analysts say the earnings decline has so far been less severe than expected, with results about 5 percent higher on average than predicted. In the energy sector, Woodside Petroleum, Santos, AGL Energy and Origin Energy are all due to report this week. Page 14.
THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)
--Online car classified company Carsales.com.au is set to launch the largest sharemarket float since the global financial crisis. The initial public offer values Carsales at A$812 million with each share valued around A$3.50. The company has forecast earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of A$56.6 million for the 2009-10 year, an increase of A$43.7 million reported in 2008-09. It is expected that Carsales will forecast a net profit of A$37.1 million for the 2009-10 financial year. Page 23.
--Diversified financial services company Challenger Group has been successful in its court appeal over a A$2 million commission deal with Concept Equity. Challenger entered into an agreement back in 1997 to introduce Concept to potential 'merger and acquisition opportunities'. In 1999 Challenger introduced Associated Planner Group Ltd (APGL) to Concept, but no deals came of the introduction. Then in 2003 Challenger bought out APGL, which Concept disputed in court, believing it was owed commission on the acquisition. Page 23.
--Financial services company KPMG has reported that almost 'one third of the 27 (superannuation) funds it had surveyed had poor online security for member accounts.' The report found that the funds have improved online member services but are lagging behind other financial services providers. 'Our last survey was in 2005 and we expected to find significant improvements in the online functionality of funds. However in many respects we were disappointed,' KPMG partner Emery Feyzeny said. The ramifications for members are identity theft and online fraud.
Page 23.
--According to former institutional banking chief Steve Targett from Australia and New Zealand Bank (ANZ), the bank could have saved around A$200 million in settlement costs and its reputation if it had exited margin lending and stock broking firm Opes Prime in 2007. An internal recommendation suggested exiting Opes but 'the mandated direction was to stay in the business and, in fact, look at opportunities,' Mr Target said. ANZ and Mr Targett are in a legal battle over breach of contract and deceptive conduct. Page 25.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au)
--New South Wales pubs have declined in value by 45 percent in the past six months, with some hotels in receivership failing to sell at auction. More than 200 hotels state-wide are already in breach of their banking covenants, industry sources say. Pub prices are down because of the wider economic slump and the lack of available finance. The historic Alexandra Hotel in Leura, which has been in receivership for 18 months, is set to sell for A$2.3 million - 64 percent less than the previous sale price.
Page 21.
--The Australian newspaper publishing industry has rejected Amazon's portable Kindle e-reader as a platform to deliver digital content to subscribers. Media companies Fairfax Media and News Corporation have both rebuffed Amazon's device, and it is now unclear if Amazon will proceed with a launch in Australia. The decision paves the way for a two-way contest between Sony and Apple, which is rumoured to be releasing a 25 centimetre reader early next year. Page 22.
--The managing director of the Bank of Queensland, David Liddy, will be called to give evidence to a parliamentary inquiry into collapsed financial services schemes. The Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, chaired by Labor MP Bernie Ripoll, will scrutinise high-profile failures such as Storm Financial and Opes Prime. Mr Ripoll said he was open to calling the chief of any organisation in front of a public hearing if he thought they would provide useful information.
Page 23.
THE AGE (www.theage.com.au)
--According to a report by Deutsche Bank some of Australia's leading banks, such as the Australian and New Zealand Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac Corporation, St George Bank, BankWest and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank have reduced the maximum borrowing limits for first home buyers. Deutsche found that (during November last year and April) St George had reduced their limit by A$55,000 to A$400,000 while its parent Westpac dropped it by A$33,000 from its A$479,000 limit. B1.
--Wool exporters claim that since the Federal Government is not providing export credit insurance, they are losing millions of dollars in earnings, as the demand for clothing has slumped.
Export contracts tend to be backed by credit insurance to protect exporters from customer default but due to the financial crisis lines of credit have dried up. Australia is losing market share to countries such as Canada, China and New Zealand who provide credit finance, said William Lempriere from wool exporter Lempriere. B2.
--According to analysis from think tank The Climate Institute, clean technology stocks are outperforming Australia's benchmark equity index. Clean investments have risen by 7.6 percent in the Standard & Poor's/ASX 200 over the last six months. B3.
--Insurance premiums for products such as house insurance to compulsory third party insurance have risen between 20 to 30 percent. In a report by the National Insurance Brokers Association a third of personal insurance products increased in premiums in order for insurers to replace cash reserves after years of weather and disaster related claims and investment losses. B3. --
Keywords: DIGEST AUSTRALIA BUSINESS (Sydney Newsroom +61-2 9373 1800; sydney.newsroom@reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (www.afr.com)
--One of BHP Billiton's longest serving board members, David Jenkins, will stand down at the mining giant's annual general meeting later this year. Mr Jenkins, who joined the board in 2000 before the merger with Billiton, signalled his intention to resign at the company's recent board meeting in Melbourne. The announcement continues BHP's board renewal process, with current chairman Don Argus recently indicating he will step aside next year. Page 12.
--The board of coalminer Dioro Exploration has advised its shareholders not to accept Avoca Resource's bid to secure control of the company. Avoca, which has secured 24.4 percent of Dioro, made an offer of one share for every 2.3 Dioro shares earlier this month. Ramelius Resources made its own takeover bid for Dioro shortly after, offering two Ramelius shares for each Dioro share. Dioro is understood to be completing its due diligence on Ramelius in the coming days, after which it will respond to Ramelius's offer. Page 13.
--The directors of coalminer Felix Resources have agreed to a A$3.5 billion takeover by Yanzhou Coal, set to be the largest acquisition by a Chinese company in Australia's resources sector. Felix Resources managing director Brian Flannery said the board had accepted an A$18-a-share offer, which includes shares in a spin-off of the company's Lake Phillipson exploration project in South Australia. The takeover, which still needs approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board, will be subject to a shareholder vote in December. Page 12.
--More than 50 companies will deliver earnings results this week, as reporting season shifts into second gear. A number of energy and retail heavyweights will feature, including BlueScope Steel, Qanats Airways, Brambles, Wesfarmers and Rio Tinto.
Analysts say the earnings decline has so far been less severe than expected, with results about 5 percent higher on average than predicted. In the energy sector, Woodside Petroleum, Santos, AGL Energy and Origin Energy are all due to report this week. Page 14.
THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)
--Online car classified company Carsales.com.au is set to launch the largest sharemarket float since the global financial crisis. The initial public offer values Carsales at A$812 million with each share valued around A$3.50. The company has forecast earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of A$56.6 million for the 2009-10 year, an increase of A$43.7 million reported in 2008-09. It is expected that Carsales will forecast a net profit of A$37.1 million for the 2009-10 financial year. Page 23.
--Diversified financial services company Challenger Group has been successful in its court appeal over a A$2 million commission deal with Concept Equity. Challenger entered into an agreement back in 1997 to introduce Concept to potential 'merger and acquisition opportunities'. In 1999 Challenger introduced Associated Planner Group Ltd (APGL) to Concept, but no deals came of the introduction. Then in 2003 Challenger bought out APGL, which Concept disputed in court, believing it was owed commission on the acquisition. Page 23.
--Financial services company KPMG has reported that almost 'one third of the 27 (superannuation) funds it had surveyed had poor online security for member accounts.' The report found that the funds have improved online member services but are lagging behind other financial services providers. 'Our last survey was in 2005 and we expected to find significant improvements in the online functionality of funds. However in many respects we were disappointed,' KPMG partner Emery Feyzeny said. The ramifications for members are identity theft and online fraud.
Page 23.
--According to former institutional banking chief Steve Targett from Australia and New Zealand Bank (ANZ), the bank could have saved around A$200 million in settlement costs and its reputation if it had exited margin lending and stock broking firm Opes Prime in 2007. An internal recommendation suggested exiting Opes but 'the mandated direction was to stay in the business and, in fact, look at opportunities,' Mr Target said. ANZ and Mr Targett are in a legal battle over breach of contract and deceptive conduct. Page 25.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au)
--New South Wales pubs have declined in value by 45 percent in the past six months, with some hotels in receivership failing to sell at auction. More than 200 hotels state-wide are already in breach of their banking covenants, industry sources say. Pub prices are down because of the wider economic slump and the lack of available finance. The historic Alexandra Hotel in Leura, which has been in receivership for 18 months, is set to sell for A$2.3 million - 64 percent less than the previous sale price.
Page 21.
--The Australian newspaper publishing industry has rejected Amazon's portable Kindle e-reader as a platform to deliver digital content to subscribers. Media companies Fairfax Media and News Corporation have both rebuffed Amazon's device, and it is now unclear if Amazon will proceed with a launch in Australia. The decision paves the way for a two-way contest between Sony and Apple, which is rumoured to be releasing a 25 centimetre reader early next year. Page 22.
--The managing director of the Bank of Queensland, David Liddy, will be called to give evidence to a parliamentary inquiry into collapsed financial services schemes. The Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, chaired by Labor MP Bernie Ripoll, will scrutinise high-profile failures such as Storm Financial and Opes Prime. Mr Ripoll said he was open to calling the chief of any organisation in front of a public hearing if he thought they would provide useful information.
Page 23.
THE AGE (www.theage.com.au)
--According to a report by Deutsche Bank some of Australia's leading banks, such as the Australian and New Zealand Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac Corporation, St George Bank, BankWest and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank have reduced the maximum borrowing limits for first home buyers. Deutsche found that (during November last year and April) St George had reduced their limit by A$55,000 to A$400,000 while its parent Westpac dropped it by A$33,000 from its A$479,000 limit. B1.
--Wool exporters claim that since the Federal Government is not providing export credit insurance, they are losing millions of dollars in earnings, as the demand for clothing has slumped.
Export contracts tend to be backed by credit insurance to protect exporters from customer default but due to the financial crisis lines of credit have dried up. Australia is losing market share to countries such as Canada, China and New Zealand who provide credit finance, said William Lempriere from wool exporter Lempriere. B2.
--According to analysis from think tank The Climate Institute, clean technology stocks are outperforming Australia's benchmark equity index. Clean investments have risen by 7.6 percent in the Standard & Poor's/ASX 200 over the last six months. B3.
--Insurance premiums for products such as house insurance to compulsory third party insurance have risen between 20 to 30 percent. In a report by the National Insurance Brokers Association a third of personal insurance products increased in premiums in order for insurers to replace cash reserves after years of weather and disaster related claims and investment losses. B3. --
Keywords: DIGEST AUSTRALIA BUSINESS (Sydney Newsroom +61-2 9373 1800; sydney.newsroom@reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.