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The Australian

Good morning,

One of Australia’s biggest coal power stations in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley is set to stay open for four more years amid fears of devastating electricity shortages, in an extraordinary U-turn for the state Labor government’s renewable energy-only blueprint.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Hanwha Group is on a potential collision course with billionaires Andrew and Nicola Forrest as it seeks the Albanese government’s permission to increase its stake in Australian and US navy shipbuilder Austal.

And ex-NRL star Wes Maas and meat exporter Roger Fletcher are collectively worth about $2bn and work just a few minutes apart in Dubbo where they have built lucrative businesses from the ground up. The 2025 edition of The List: Australia's Richest 250 is out Friday.

Vesna Poljak

Business editor

The markets

Making news this morning

1

ACCC report a trigger for rally on supermarkets, says Macquarie

The release of the ACCC’s report into the supermarkets could present a buying opportunity for the big retailers’ shares, Macquarie believes.

2

Star lawyer says $100k in paper bag ‘suspicious’

The casino operator’s former chief legal counsel Paula Martin said large amounts of cash leaving Star Sydney in bags did not necessarily indicate money laundering but it was ‘suspicious’.

3

New Hope surges on buyback and teases more to come

Coal miner New Hope Corporation says it will buy back up to $100m of its own shares as they are trading below their true value, and has flagged the potential for more capital management.

Editor's picks

ASIC chair lures the big spenders

ASIC’s boss took to the spotlight at a boardroom gab on Tuesday but didn’t exactly radiate, so we’re told. Nevertheless, there were plenty of movers and shakers hanging on his every word.

Savings account interest crunched from several directions

Savers are being slugged with big penalties for failing to read fine print on bank deposits. Here’s what experts say they should do.

By ANTHONY KEANE

Commentary

Gupta can’t hide financial secrets from Whyalla mess

By ERIC JOHNSTON

Associate Editor

OneSteel was never really a business under Sanjeev Gupta’s ownership. Steelmaking was just a by-product of the magnate’s financial engineering.

Gaza strikes endanger fragile calm in markets

By DAVID ROGERS

Markets Editor

A tentative rebound in global stocks is in danger as Israel’s renewed attack on Hamas threatens the recent fragile calm in geopolitical flashpoints.

DataRoom

→	Market enthusiasm for Austal share raid ‘premature’

Austal’s share price has soared on the back of the share raid by Korean suitor Hanwha, but could the market be getting ahead of itself?

→	Multiplex set to reveal exposure to Queen’s Wharf

Multiplex is becoming one of the most heavily scrutinised companies in the real estate market as it is set to release accounts on the latest state of its financial position any day.

→	Device Technologies sale on hold until financial results released

Navis Capital is expected to start the sale process for Device Technologies around the end of the group’s financial year, which means it would not be available to buy until June.