Canberra fast-track approval to Clive Palmer’s coal project, Rivals consider Cadbury bid: Economy Roundup

The Federal Government has given approval to fast-track plans for a coal and rail project being developed by billionaire Clive Palmer.

Infrastructure minister Anthony Albanese said the project has been grant major project facilitation status, saying that if the plan goes ahead it could create thousands of jobs.

“The MPF program is administered by my department, with the purpose of facilitating and supporting private sector investment proposals through the approval processes of federal and state/territory authorities,” he said in a statement.

“It also assists with the early identification of impediments to greater private sector investment.”

Shares open higher despite Wall Street losses

The Australian sharemarket has opened slightly higher today, despite a fall on Wall Street were poor results from an official index tracking housing construction affected investor confidence.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 9.5 points or 0.2% to 4748.5 at 12.00 AEST. The Australian dollar also lost some ground to US92c.

ANZ shares lost 0.6% to $22.30, while Commonwealth Bank shares also dropped 0.6% to $52.62. Westpac gained 0.4% to $24.75, while NAB rose 0.5% to $28.75.

Babcock & Brown Power will continue to remain suspended from trading due to talks with North West Shelf gas sellers and a banking syndicate, regarding its contracts in WA.

“BBP is continuing with its process of engaging with the relevant parties to ascertain a full understanding of the implications of the interim award,” BBP said in a statement on Thursday.

“Accordingly, BBP’s voluntary suspension from quotation will continue until such time as BBP is in a position to make an announcement in relation to those discussions.”

Meanwhile, BHP Billiton chief executive Marius Kloppers has said commodity restocking on OECD countries has continued to remain “lethargic”.

“Restocking activity in the OECD has been somewhat slow to start and has actually been quite lethargic to date,” Kloppers said in a speech to The Lowy Institute.

He also said global miners had the ability to meet rising demand for resources, and that Japan’s economic growth could teach other nations how to trust markets to deliver the resources they need to survive. He added Australia must continue to be a world-leader in resources exporting.

‘Although clearly not simple, a part of the solution lies in continued foreign investment, meaning that both Australia and Australian companies need to be open to this kind of investment, despite its immediate and strategic implications,” Kloppers said.

Goodman Fielder has announced the trading outlook for the company’s current financial year is “encouraging”, with the food company continuing its talks with a “preferred bidder” to divest its commercial industrial division.

Managing director Peter Margin said at the annual general meeting the company is confident about the year ahead, saying “We believe the outlook… is encouraging”.

The company recorded net profit after tax of $177.1 million, up from $27.1 million during last year. Chairman Max Quld said commodity costs have fallen, and that raw material pricing is now in a “manageable range”.

Cadbury denies bids from Ferrero, Hershey

Overseas, confectionary companies Ferrero and Hershey are reportedly considering bids for British chocolate manufacturer Cadbury, but Kraft has still been seen as the first-in-line for any takeover plan with a $US16.8 billion offer.

Ferrero and Hershey were asked by the UK Takeover Panel to clarify intentions after a number of reports had suggested they were discussing a joint bid, but the two said there was no assurance a proposal would be made.

Cadbury responded by saying it would give consideration to “any serious offer that delivers full value for the company”, but also said it had not received any other bids.

US president Barack Obama has said in Beijing that rising deficits and debt levels will make it harder for his country to recovery from the recession.

“It is important though to recognise if we keep on adding to the debt, even in the midst of this recovery, that at some point, people could lose confidence in the US economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-dip recession,” he said.

The comments came as Wall Street stocks fell after three days of gains, as business software developer Autodesk released a cautious outlook, and housing construction figures were lower than expected. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 11.11 points, or 0.11%, to 10,426.31.