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The Australian

Good morning,

The nation’s largest supermarket landlord, Region Group, has warned that the competition regulator’s possible harsh restrictions on Woolworths and Coles entering new markets plus relentless public attacks on the sector by politicians are having a chilling effect on developers building new supermarket properties.

Meanwhile, the development management company behind the soured scheme to build Australia’s tallest mixed-use project in Melbourne owes more than $100m and has payments outstanding to top designers, consultants and lawyers. | See the full list of creditors.

And the Australian dollar could fall below US60c in the short term before recovering to US68c by the end of the year, driven by an overestimation of Reserve Bank interest rate cuts and continued strength in commodity prices, one of UBS's top currency experts predicts.

The markets

Making news this morning

1

We’re buying less meat, cheaper brands as shopping bills soar

Shoppers are cutting back on dining out, switching to cheaper brands and relying on discounts and loyalty points as household budgets come under increasing strain, a new Coles survey reveals.

2

Defence technology fund fires up amid Trump demands

Tech entrepreneur Steve Baxter says Donald Trump’s push for Western countries to spend more on their militaries will be a boon for his specialist defence venture capital fund Beaten Zone.

3

Miners spared cyclone calamity but Rio facing uphill battle

Rio Tinto will be playing catch-up with its struggling iron ore operations for the rest of this year but has come through the latest cyclone to hit the WA coast in better shape than first feared.

Editor's picks

Symond drops price on plush Knightsbridge address

Retired mortgage broker John Symond has again lowered the asking price on his luxury apartment in London’s upscale Knightsbridge, and it is now on the market for $79m.

By JONATHAN CHANCELLOR

Debate on payment card surcharges to heat up

The polarising issue of debit and credit card surcharging will come to the fore again in coming weeks,

By JOYCE MOULLAKIS

Gordon times his run carefully in licence sell-off

After selling off WIN’s northern NSW TV licences, Nine’s largest shareholder, billionaire Bruce Gordon, is free to lift his stake to a dominant position.

By JAMES MANNING, JAMES MADDEN

Commentary

Big banks’ abysmal record on rate cuts in focus

By JOYCE MOULLAKIS

Senior Banking Reporter

The major banks are politically savvy enough to know if a rate cut is announced this week they must pass it on in full. But their track record on reductions is extremely poor.

DataRoom

→	With Healthscope in hospital, Ramsay in focus

The woes around cash-strapped Healthscope have prompted private equity firms to pay closer attention to its larger rival Ramsay Health Care, which could shape up as a major winner should the former collapse.

→	CDPQ zeroes in on CDC as Telstra considers asset sales

Data centres are in strong demand from investors, and asset owners are cashing in.

→	KKR returns with sweetened Perpetual deal

Perpetual’s negotiations over the sale of its corporate trust and wealth management units to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts are believed to be close to ending as KKR returns with an improved offer.