Man charged over NSW south coast death

FURTHER charges could be laid against a man accused of assaulting another man who was found dead in a NSW south coast home a day after he was attacked.

THE 41-year-old's body was on Thursday found in a Moruya unit and "officers were told the deceased man had been assaulted at the location the previous day," police said.

The man accused of assaulting the dead man and his 60-year-old male housemate was on Friday arrested and charged with two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.But more serious charges could be laid against him."We're waiting on the results of the post mortem," a police spokeswoman told AAP.Police wouldn't say if the death was suspicious, whether the men were known to officers or if they were related.The accused was denied bail in Batemans Bay Local Court on Saturday and is due to reappear on Monday.Forensic officers are continuing their investigation and a report is being prepared for the coroner.

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Man bashed at Sydney motel

A man has serious head injuries after being assaulted at a motel west of Sydney. Source: AAP

A MAN has serious head injuries after being assaulted at a NSW motel.

POLICE found the 28-year-old man at a motel reception at Warwick Farm, west of Sydney, on Friday night.

The man had serious head and limb injuries and was taken to hospital.Police say the man was assaulted but officers have not yet been able to speak to him.A crime scene has been established in one of the motel rooms.

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Stocks to watch at close on Friday

STOCKS to watch on the Australian stock exchange at the close on Friday:

IAG - INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP - down seven cents, or 1.2 per cent, at $5.81

WES - WESFARMERS - down 54 cents, or 1.3 per cent, at $41.25Insurance Australia Group's (IAG) $1.85 billion purchase of Wesfarmers' insurance underwriting business will go ahead after the sale cleared its final regulatory hurdle.MTR - MANTRA GROUP - down two cents, or 1.1 per cent, at $1.78Shares in Australia's second largest hotel and resort operator have fallen since it listed on the Australian Securities Exchange on Friday.STO - SANTOS - down 34 cents, or 2.4 per cent, at $14.15Australia's Santos and French partner GDF Suez have scrapped plans to build a multibillion dollar floating gas plant off Darwin's coast.WDC - WESTFIELD GROUP - up one cent, or 0.01 per cent, at $10.82WRT - WESTFIELD RETAIL TRUST - steady at $3.21Westfield's $70 billion restructure will go ahead after the shopping centre giant secured enough shareholder support to get the controversial move over the line.

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Two Qld cops in trouble with the law

A CENTRAL Queensland police officer has been suspended from duty on misconduct charges.

THE 31-year-old constable will be required to appear in the Mackay Magistrates Court for a "misconduct in relation to public office" offence.

Police have not specified any more details about the charge.It comes after a Brisbane senior constable, 29, resigned on Friday after being accused of an unspecified drug-related charge.He will have to front Brisbane Magistrates Court."This does not mean that the allegations against the officer have been substantiated," a police statement read.

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House prices tipped to continue to rise

ONE of the country's largest property developers believes house prices will continue to rise for years to come, with the Sydney market set for a "golden decade".

STOCKLAND chief executive Mark Steinert expects nationwide house prices to rise by four to five per cent on average for the foreseeable future, with Sydney leading the charge.

Despite a sharp rise in house prices in the past 12 months, an undersupply of property and improving confidence meant the growth was set to continue, he said."At the moment it is fair to say there is at least three years of undersupply in every major capital city," Mr Steinert said."Because of this demand-supply fundamental, we anticipate at least four to five per cent compound growth in new house prices for the foreseeable future."Mr Steinert said the NSW government's efforts to increase housing supply and infrastructure plans would boost Sydney's new property market."We are particularly bullish on Sydney," he said."I think it's fair to say that we are going to see Sydney and to a certain extent NSW have a golden decade."Mr Steinert's optimism contrasts with warnings from economists and analysts that house prices are likely to flatten or slide over the next few years.Credit Suisse analyst James Ellis has said a collapse in prices was unlikely, but he expects prices to remain flat for several years, which would amount to a decrease in prices in real terms, relative to incomes."Our base case scenario is one of real erosion of house prices," he said.Recent figures from the bureau of statistics suggest the housing market boom is cooling, with no growth in home loan approvals in April.Meanwhile, house prices suffered their biggest monthly fall in five years in May, dropping 3.6 per cent across capital cities, according to research from RP Data.But prices remain substantially higher than a year ago, especially in Sydney, were prices have risen 16.6 per cent in the past 12 months.

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JB Hi-Fi weathers the retail storm

Entertainment retail chain JB Hi-Fi expects its sales will be up by 5.3% for the year. Source: AAP

JB Hi-Fi is proving more resilient to slumping consumer confidence than other retailers.

THE electronics retailer remains on track to lift annual profit by about 10 per cent, despite winding back its sales expectations since the end of March.

Analysts say JB Hi-Fi is performing better than other retailers as it is not exposed to seasonal factors such as unusually warm weather, and due to its expansion into new product areas.The company said on Thursday it expects a 5.3 per cent rise in annual sales for 2013/14, weaker than its previous forecast of six to eight per cent growth.But it is sticking to its previous forecast of a $126-$129 million net profit for the year, a rise of between 8.3 and 10.8 per cent.That is in contrast to several other major retailers, who in recent weeks have warned of a sales slump amid consumer worries about spending cuts announced in May's federal budget.Shares in JB Hi-Fi soared in early trade, but fell back during afternoon trade, and closed 22 cents higher, up 1.2 per cent, at $18.95.CBA retail analyst Andrew McLennan said JB Hi-Fi was performing well during a period of disastrous consumer sentiment, continuing with store expansions and branching out into new categories such as coffee machines and other household appliances."For them to have held to a positive sales growth number in the fourth quarter is actually a good outcome," Mr McLennan said."More recently JB Hi-Fi have expanded into their JB Home category of household electronics products, including whitegoods and small appliances, and that appears to be enhancing their underlying sales growth off a relatively small base."This strategy had differentiated JB Hi-Fi from some of its competitors as CD and DVD sales continued to slide, Mr McLennan said.JB Hi-Fi was also not as exposed to seasonal factors as apparel retailers, who were experiencing difficult sales conditions due to warm weather in the lead-up to winter, he said.Meanwhile, JB Hi-Fi chief executive Terry Smart has confirmed he will retire on June 30.Mr Smart announced his plans to step down in April, and will hand over the reins to chief financial officer Richard Murray.

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Vic Nats upset by Liberal bid for Euroa

THE Liberals' decision to run against the Nationals in the Victorian seat of Euroa is "most unfortunate", state Nationals leader Peter Ryan says.

THE Nationals asked the Liberal Party not to field a candidate in the new seat, created after a redrawing of the Benalla electorate being vacated by retiring Nationals MP Bill Sykes, Mr Ryan said.

"The Liberal Party has apparently chosen to stand, although they have not spoken formally to me about it. We think that is a most unfortunate decision," Mr Ryan told reporters in Ballarat on Wednesday.The deputy premier said the Nationals believe the Liberal move is a breach of their coalition agreement."The very basis and foundation for having a coalition agreement is to ensure we don't see this sort of waste of resources occur," he said."We saw this all happen in the recent federal election in the seat of Mallee and here we go again."The Liberals ran a candidate in Mallee at last year's federal election, which was being vacated by National John Forrest.The Nationals' Andrew Broad won the seat.Stephanie Ryan will run as a Nationals candidate for Euroa at the November 29 state election."We are very confident of being able to win the seat," Mr Ryan said."We have not asked the Liberal Party to stand, indeed we have asked the Liberal Party not to stand."Premier Denis Napthine says decisions about running candidates are up to the party's administrative wing, which is in regular contact with the National Party administration."Peter Ryan and I work well professionally, we're also personally good friends. The coalition is a great working team," he told reporters.Dr Napthine said running Liberal and National candidates in the same seat gives voters a choice, but also maximises the Liberal-National vote."With regard to this seat, I think the National Party has selected a very, very good candidate and I'm sure Stephanie Ryan will do very well."

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Carbon policy pits Aus against US: Garnaut

AUSTRALIA is setting itself against the US and will become a drag on global climate change efforts with the repeal of the carbon tax, prominent economist Ross Garnaut says.

THE former government adviser says China, Europe and the US are gearing up for another big effort to address climate change and by scrapping its detailed and sophisticated carbon laws, Australia is going against this.

"With our existing policies, we're not ahead of any game yet but we're part of the game. We will be doing our fair share," Professor Garnaut said on Wednesday."With the repeal of the carbon laws, and in the absence of anything in their place, then we won't be doing our fair share."We will be a drag on the international system."He said the move was particularly puzzling when the world's two big emitters, China and the US, whose inaction had previously been a problem, were committing themselves to very strong action."We have set ourselves against our ally the United States on a major question of policy in a way that we haven't done since the Ottawa conference in 1931," Prof Garnaut said.The comments came at the release of a report by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) into the economic trouble Australia could face without an appropriate response to climate change.The report says Australia faces the risk of growing repair bills from extreme weather and barriers to major project investment.CEDA chief executive Stephen Martin said policy makers need to recognise climate change is an economic issue, not just an environmental issue."Statistics show that the number of catastrophic weather events is increasing and the economic losses associated with these events are also trending up," Prof Martin said.He said Cyclone Yasi, Black Saturday, the Queensland floods and other weather events have had a direct impact on industry and on most Australians' hip pocket.Professor Martin said the federal government needs to introduce a national risk register that includes strategies to manage risks of extreme weather."Australia is reliant on foreign capital to fund major projects and new developments in international climate change policy are likely to impact international capital flow and investment decision making," Prof Martin said.

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Kiwi gains against weak Aussie dollar

THE New Zealand dollar has climbed against its trans-Tasman counterpart after the Reserve Bank of Australia minutes for its last meeting showed an expectation of slower growth as the country's mining boom winds down.

THE kiwi climbed as high as 92.54 Australian cents shortly after the release of the central bank's minutes and was trading at 92.48 cents at 5pm in Wellington, up from 92.25 at 8am and 92.31 cents at 5pm on Monday.

The kiwi fell to 86.58 US cents at 5pm, from 86.78 cents at 8am and 86.85 cents on Monday."The RBA released its minutes this afternoon. They didn't say much different about the currency, but there were some hints that they were slightly less positive on the economy," said Raiko Shareef, a currency strategist at Bank of New Zealand."The kiwi/Aussie has had a bit of a move, and that's largely driven off the weakness of the Aussie dollar."In contrast, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is hiking interest rates to curb inflationary pressures, while Thursday's gross domestic product figures are expected to show the economy growing at a 3.1 annual pace in the first quarter."From a global investors perspective New Zealand has pretty good appeal from the interest rate side and also combined with the fact the New Zealand dollar currency volatility is at an all time low," Mr Shareef said.The kiwi slipped to 63.84 euro cents from 64.12 cents on Monday and to 88.26 yen from 88.34.The trade-weighted index fell to 80.70 from 80.85.

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Shell to sell most of Woodside stake

Woodside, Australia's largest oil and gas company, has placed its shares in a trading halt. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIA'S largest oil and gas company Woodside Petroleum will spend nearly $3 billion to get Royal Dutch Shell off its share register.

WOODSIDE'S largest shareholder, petroleum giant Shell announced plans on Tuesday to sell 19 per cent of its $6.3 billion stake.

The desire to split is mutual, with Woodside keen to remove the overhang that has capped its share price for years and Shell in the middle of a $15 billion global asset sale, including Australian refineries and service stations.Former treasurer Peter Costello blocked Shell's attempted $10 billion takeover of Woodside in 2001 on national interest grounds - one of only two such rejections in Australian history.Woodside will buy back 78.3 million of its shares - or 9.5 per cent of the company - from Shell for $US2.68 billion ($A2.90 billion) or $A36.49 a share, if shareholders back the deal.Another 78.3 million shares will be sold to institutional investors at $A41.35 per share.Shell will be left with a 4.5 per cent stake.Its chief executive Ben van Beurden said it would net $US5 billion ($A5.41 billion) from the deal.Woodside, which operates six of Australia's seven LNG processing plants predominantly in WA, described it as a new chapter.It was a natural transition in the evolution of the company, Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman told an investor briefing."It is the first time in many, many years we have not had a substantial shareholder on the register," he said."We now look very much like most of our peers in the marketplace."I think that it is a really good thing, the market will be able to fully value us, we will get full value on our ASX listing with respect to our weighting on the index as well."Shell had increasingly flagged its desire to sell over the years, reducing the incentive for other institutional investors to buy in until that happened, Royal Bank of Canada analyst Andrew Williams said."Who knows if the stock may have been at current share price levels earlier if that overhang had been removed," he told AAP.Shell reduced its stake by 10 per cent for $A42.23 a share in 2010, well above Tuesday's sale prices.Woodside's shares are in a halt and last traded at $42.85.Woodside will cancel the 9.5 stake it is buying back, delivering real value to shareholders through enhanced earnings per share, cash flow and dividends, Mr Coleman said.It can afford to do that, he said, through existing cash and debt, low gearing and last month's collapse of its planned $US2.6 billion ($A2.81 billion) share in the Israeli Leviathan gas project, freeing up capital.Woodside could now be vulnerable to a takeover, although Mr Coleman said that was not part of the company's plans.Mr Williams said the market remained concerned about Woodside's growth prospects, given the uncertainty around what new proposed projects would emerge to replace their North West Shelf and Pluto projects that would eventually decline.

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Stocks to watch on Monday

STOCKS to watch on the Australian stock exchange at the close on Monday:

DLS - DRILLSEARCH - down 4.5 cents, or 2.89 per cent, at $1.51

AQO - AMBASSADOR OIL AND GAS - up 0.5 cents, or 1.54 per cent, at 33 centsDrillsearch has sweetened its takeover offer for Ambassador Oil and Gas to combat a rival offer.DJS - DAVID JONES - down five cents, or 1.28 per cent, at $3.86Retailer David Jones' shares were the most heavily traded on Monday, amid reports Solomon Lew was trying to increase his stake in the company ahead of its planned takeover by South Africa's Woolworths.EGP - ECHO ENTERTAINMENT - up 21 cents, or 7.58 per cent, at $2.98Shares in casino operator Echo Entertainment have soared after the company flagged a rise in full year profit.GXL - GREENCROSS - steady at $9.12The company behind Petbarn stores and Greencross vets is expanding into Western Australia with a $205 million takeover of petcare retailer City Farmers.ROC - ROC OIL - steady at 55 centsHZN - HORIZION OIL - steady at 38 centsThe board of Roc Oil has urged shareholders not to hamper an $800 million merger with fellow energy player Horizon Oil.SUL - SUPER RETAIL GROUP - up 27 cents, or 3.35 per cent, at $8.32Super Retail Group has trimmed its full year profit forecast, blaming the federal budget for hurting sales across its businesses.UGL - UGL - up four cents, or 0.58 per cent, at $6.98TPM - TPG TELECOM LIMITED - up nine cents, or 1.62 per cent, at $5.66Engineering and property services group UGL has sold its real estate business DTZ for $1.2 billion.

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Super Retail blames budget for sales dip

The owner of Rebel Sports and Supercheap Auto has blamed the federal budget for hurting sales. Source: AAP

WIDESPREAD belt-tightening in the wake of the federal budget has claimed another retail scalp.

SUPER Retail Group, which owns Supercheap Auto and Rebel Sports, is the latest to trim its profit forecasts after suffering weaker-than-expected sales since the May 13 budget.

Managing director Peter Birtles says annual net profit is expected to rise by just five per cent to between $107 million and $109 million.He said it was disappointing to further moderate profit expectations, but believed it was the result of external factors.The group's sales have been lower than expected for the past six weeks, and the company fears the trend will continue for the rest of the financial year."This reflects the significant downturn in consumer confidence since the federal budget, particularly across the lower to mid-income families who represent the group's core customers," the company said in a statement on Monday.Super Retail said the warmer-than-usual temperatures during autumn and early winter had also hurt apparel sales for its leisure and sports businesses.Its auto and sports stores also only managed modest rises of 2.2 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively.Clothing maker Pacific Brands, discount retailer The Reject Shop and women's apparel chain Noni B have all issued profit downgrades in the past month due to a fall in consumer confidence and warm weather.CommSec market analyst Tom Piotrowski said there was a lot of concern consumers would rein in spending because of the planned tough budget cuts."What we are now seeing is the rubber hitting the road with companies warning of difficult conditions," he said."The Super Retail Group is another example of what the market will continue to do in the weeks ahead."However, one prominent forecaster does not expect the budget to prevent another strong year of consumer spending.Deloitte Access Economics partner David Rumbens estimates households will have about $10 billion less to spend by 2017/18 due to budget measures but describes this as only a modest detraction from retail and other types of consumer spending.Consumers are currently spending around $23 billion a month at the shops."On the view that consumers will respond to actual influences on their ability to spend rather than perceived ones, the budget shouldn't stop 2014/15 from being a strong year for retail," Mr Rumbens said.Super Retail shares closed at 27 cents higher at $8.32.

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Afghan voters defy Taliban threat

Afghans have braved threats of violence and searing heat to vote in the presidential elections. Source: AAP

THE United States praised millions of Afghan voters who defied Taliban threats and attacks to vote in a presidential run-off election securing the country's first democratic transfer of power, with counting set to begin.

WITH turnout higher than expected after a largely peaceful day of voting, Washington hailed the polls as a "significant step" for the country's democracy, commending "the voters, electoral bodies and security forces for their commitment to the democratic process".

"These elections are a significant step forward on Afghanistan's democratic path, and the courage and resolve of the Afghan people to make their voices heard is a testament to the importance of these elections to securing Afghanistan's future," the White House said.Ahead of the ballot, which decides the next president of the country ahead of the withdrawal of NATO troops later this year, the Taliban had threatened to kill voters and officials, saying the election was an American plot "to impose their stooges".Polling day saw no major attacks in cities, but there were at least 150 minor attacks - including a Taliban rocket that hit a house near a polling station, killing five members of the same family.Eleven voters in the western province of Herat had their fingers - which were dipped in ink to register their ballot - cut off by insurgents, Deputy Interior Minister Ayoub Salangi said on his Twitter account.The polls result, due out next month, will confirm whether former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah or ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani will lead Afghanistan into a new era of declining international military and civilian assistance.The two candidates came top of an eight-man field in the April first-round election, triggering the run-off as neither reached the 50 per cent threshold needed for outright victory.Abdullah secured 45 per cent of the vote with Ghani on 31.6 per cent.Counting the ballot will take weeks. The preliminary result is due on July 2 and a final result on July 22.The United Nations also praised the elections, congratulating the "courageous" Afghans who set out to cast their ballots in the face of Taliban threats."With the same determination, resilience and courage the world saw in the first round of elections, the people of Afghanistan today once again decided to take their destiny in their own hands and demonstrate their desire for a peaceful, prosperous, and united Afghanistan," the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, Jan Kubis, said.While high turnout may lend legitimacy to the winner if the gap between the two candidates is clear, a close count could mean a contested outcome.Both candidates swiftly alleged fraud after the closure of the polls Saturday."We know there has been fraud, you have seen it, we have seen it," Abdullah said.Ghani called for a full investigation into vote-rigging, saying "unfortunately there were cases of security forces involved in fraud, we have the evidence".A smooth handover in Afghanistan's first democratic transfer of power would be a major achievement for the 13-year US-led effort to establish a functioning state after the depredations of the Taliban era.President Hamid Karzai, who has ruled Afghanistan since 2001 and was re-elected in a 2009 vote marred by ballot-box stuffing, is constitutionally barred from a third term in office.

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Nicole Kidman for top Shanghai honour

NICOLE Kidman is to be honoured with an outstanding contribution award at the Shanghai International Film Festival in China.

HUGH Grant and John Woo will present the Australian actress with her latest accolade at the opening ceremony on Saturday, while artist Qin Yi will honour actor and director Jiang Wen with the Outstanding Contribution to Chinese Film Award.

Kidman will be hoping the festival will be a better experience than her visit to Cannes last month, when her new film Grace of Monaco was savaged by critics.Kirsten Dunst, John Cusack, Hayden Christensen, Jackie Chan, Tony Leung, Li Bingbing and Korean superstar Rain are expected to attend the opening gala, according to The Hollywood Reporter.The film festival will open with a restored version of 1964 movie Two Stage Sisters and close with Transformers: Age of Extinction.A jury led by actress Gong Li will decide the winner of the Golden Goblet from the 15 films in competition.

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