Lawsuit risks loss of groundbreaking prostate cancer treatment

Original article by
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 26-Mar-25

Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis is taking cancer care provider GenesisCare to the Federal Court over GenesisCare’s use of a treatment for metastatic prostate cancer called Lutetium PSMA I&T, which has been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Adminstration. Novartis argues that Lutetium PSMA I&T infringes on the company’s patent for a similar product known as Pluvicto; if its action succeeds, it will reduce the treatment options for men suffering from metastatic prostate cancer. The lawsuit was discussed on ABC Radio National Breakfast by Professor Sze Ting Lee, who chair the Australasian Association of Nuclear Medicine Specialists Theranostics Committee.

CORPORATES
NOVARTIS AG, GENESIS CARE PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. THERAPEUTIC GOODS ADMINISTRATION

Foreign buyers to be banned from purchasing existing homes

Original article by Remy Varga
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 26-Mar-25

The budget papers show that the federal government will impose a two-year ban on foreigners buying established homes, with the policy slated to take effect from 1 April. The budget has allocated $5.7m for the Australian Taxation Office to enforce the ban, while the ATO will be given $8.9m to crack down on ‘land banking’ by foreign buyers. The government will also expand the Help to Buy shared equity scheme for home buyers, and provide eligible construction industry apprentices with grants of up to $10,000 as part of its strategy to address the skills shortage that is contributing to the housing crisis.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Net migration to fall to 225,000

Original article by Rhiannon Down
The Australian – Page: 5 : 26-Mar-25

The federal government’s budget papers show that net overseas migration is expected to fall over the forward estimates period. Net overseas migration peaked in 2022-23 following the re-opening of Australia’s international borders after the pandemic. The Treasury has forecast that annual net overseas migration will fall to 225,000 in 2026-27 and remain at a similar level in the following two financial years. The budget papers also reveal that managing unlawful non-citizens who were released from immigration detention in the wake of a High Court ruling will cost about $1.9bn in 2025-26.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Conservative commodity price forecasts offer revenue windfall

Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 27 : 26-Mar-25

The budget papers show that the Treasury is continuing to adopt a conservative approach to commodity price forecasts. The budget’s revenue forecasts are based on expectations that the iron ore price will fall to $US60 per tonne at port by the end of March 2026; the price of the steel input is currently trading at around $US100 per tonne. UBS recently forecast that the iron ore price will remain within a range of $US90 to $US100/tonne for the next five years. The Treasury’s forecasts for other key commodities such as coal and LNG are also significantly below current prices.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Risk of mortgage stress dropped in February, after the Reserve Bank cut interest rates for the first time since 2020

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-Mar-25

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1,549,000 mortgage holders (27.7%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in February 2025. The share of mortgage holders ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ is the lowest since November 2024. After the introduction of the Stage 3 tax cuts in July 2024 the share of mortgage holders ‘At Risk’ fell for four straight months until October, but it then began to increase for the next three months until the Reserve Bank’s interest rate cut in mid-February. The number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 742,000 since May 2022 when the RBA began the cycle of interest rate increases. Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered to be ‘Extremely At Risk’ of mortgage stress is now numbered at 1,066,000 (19.6% of mortgage holders), which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 10 years of 14.7%. These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey, based on in-depth interviews conducted with more than 60,000 Australians each year, including over 10,000 owner-occupied mortgage-holders.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Tariff war impact ‘modest’: Treasury

Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian – Page: 2 : 26-Mar-25

The budget papers show that Australia is now expected to record economic growth of just 1.5 per cent in 2025, compared with forecasts of two per cent growth in the 2024 budget and 1.75 per cent growth in the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook in December. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has conceded that the Trump administration’s tariffs policy will have a slight impact on Australia’s economic growth. The Treasury’s modelling suggests that the combined direct and indirect impact of the tariffs on the Australian economy by 2030 is likely to be modest.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

$17b tax cut sparks poll fight

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 26-Mar-25

Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor has accused the federal election of an election bribe after it used the 2025 budget to announce a tax cut. The cut will see the 16 per cent tax rate, which applies to workers earning between $18,201 and $45,000, reduced to 15 per cent from 1 July 2026, with the rate then being cut to 14 per cent from 1 July 2027; all up, the cuts will save workers in that earning bracket $536 a year and will be worth $17.1 billion over five years. Taylor said the Opposition would not support the proposed tax cuts, while the budget forecasts a deficit of $27.6 billion for this financial year, increasing to $42 billion in 2025-26.

CORPORATES

No compelling reason for Rio unification

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 26-Mar-25

Rio Tinto shareholders will shortly vote on a resolution to scrap its dual-listed structure in favour of a primary listing on the Australian sharemarket. UK-based hedge fund Palliser Capital has been advocating the move for some time, but the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors has told its members that there is no compelling reason to support the proposal at present. ACSI represents the nation’s major industry super funds. Rio Tinto’s British shareholders will vote on the resolution on 4 April, followed by Australian shareholders on 1 May.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, PALLISER CAPITAL UK LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SUPERANNUATION INVESTORS INCORPORATED

Lib takes aim at teal with corruption probe call

Original article by Rhiannon Down, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 7 : 25-Mar-25

Former Liberal MP Jason Falinski has called for a National Anti-Corruption Commission investigation into MP Zoe Daniel to be re-opened. Daniel had been accused of misusing commonwealth resources, but was cleared by the NACC earlier this year. It came after consultant Jim Middleton approached The Australian Financial Review about dropping Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes a Court from its 2024 Power list, with Holmes a Court having funded Daniel’s 2022 election campaign. The NACC found that Middleton was working as a temporary part-time consultant for Daniel and was being paid by her private not-for-profit company rather than the Commonwealth at the time of his approach to the AFR, but Falinski contends he has evidence that indicates that Middleton was still a ‘senior adviser’ to Daniel at the time, with Falinski accusing her of misleading the NACC.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION

Liberal backbenchers urge Coalition not to raid foreign aid budget to pay for rumoured $15bn defence boost

Original article by Henry Belot
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 25-Mar-25

Recent media reports suggested that the Coalition may be open to increasing defence expenditure by at least $15bn a year if it wins the federal election. Some Liberal MPs have expressed concern that funding may be redirected from foreign aid to boost defence spending. A Liberal backbencher has warned that China may step in to fill the funding void if Australia were to reduce foreign aid to its neigbours in the Pacific region. The UK government recently opted to reduce foreign aid in order to increase defence spending, while the Trump administration has paused foreign aid.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA