Inquiry found King 'not of good repute'
As the bribery scandal engulfing construction firm Leighton Holdings continues, it can be revealed that a public inquiry previously found that former executive Wal King not of good repute, “having regard to character, honesty and integrity”
In 1994, Leighton Holdings had joined forces with US gambling firm Showboat to win the tender for the new Sydney casino. But a public inquiry into the probity of the Showboat group proved damaging for King, who was found not to be of good repute.
Two Leighton companies were also found to be “not of good repute, having regard to honesty and integrity”
The final report of the NSW government's Casino Control Authority Inquiry has been obtained by Fairfax Media. The inquiry was headed by Murray Tobias, QC.
The inquiry found King and fellow Leighton executive Vyril Vella “were involved with and had knowledge of” the illegal practice of paying unsuccessful tender fees.
This involved collusion between construction companies so winning tenders paid fees to the losers. These payments were then billed to the client with false invoices.
Worley earnings to ebb then flow
Global contract engineering group WorleyParsons has flagged its earnings to decline in the December half, with earnings to be more skewed to the latter part of the financial year, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The company said this followed a quiet period of order flows earlier in the year.
“The flow pattern of [contract] awards will see earnings [in the 2013-14 financial year] being more heavily biased to the second half than in recent years,” chief executive Andrew Wood told shareholders at Wednesday's annual meeting.
“That is, we expect our first-half earnings to be lower than those for the prior corresponding period.
“Despite ongoing challenges … we expect our geographic and sector diversification to provide a solid foundation to deliver increased earnings in [the financial year].”
Iron ore may give investors bumpy ride, says UBS
Investors in iron ore stocks could be in for a roller coaster ride over the next six weeks, with spot prices for the commodity potentially set to tumble sharply before recovering shortly thereafter, according to the UBS commodities team, reports The Australian Financial Review.
Prices for the steel ingredient could fall as low as $US70 a tonne including freight around the end of October, from a landed price in China of about $US130 at present, due an expected seasonal drop-off in steel production rates, UBS commodities analyst Tom Price said in Sydney on Wednesday.
After a dip to $US110 a tonne in June, iron ore prices held up better than many expected through the September quarter. But UBS reckons the chances are still high of a sudden decline.
While that is likely to cause panic among some equity investors, the bank is recommending investors use it as a buying opportunity because the drop should be short-lived.
