The private equity model of buying companies and loading them with debt was completely inappropriate for a company facing tough market conditions, writes Glenn Dyer.
Westfield
Frank Lowy and Max the Axe joust at Sydney AGMs
The mini AGM season officially finishes on Monday and there was a flurry of activity in Sydney yesterday, with Stephen Mayne running between the Westfield and MAP Group AGMs.
Business As Usual: Housing on the up … Reserve Banks nostalgia, back to 07 … retail slump spreading …
The RBA sees cash flooding through the economy over the next year … Retail sales have had the brakes applied … Goldman Sachs lawsuits … Lottery tickets and cars are big hits in China …
Business As Usual: Westfield’s woes … Greeks falling behind … the dumped CEO
Frank Lowy owes Australians a lot for keeping his shopping centre giant Westfield afloat in 2009. That, plus the latest economic news from Greece and China in today’s business briefs.
Manningham battles Westfield, makes Parliament and tabloids
With planning likely to be a hot issue at the November 27 state election, it will be interesting to see if the Brumby government ploughs ahead backing these two controversial projects in Manningham.
Business As Usual: The dollar is travelling well
The booming Aussie dollar is encouraging Australians to travel more overseas, yesterday’s Super Bowl was the most watched game in history and the most watched TV show ever, Clive Palmer is back to his old tricks and more business briefs.
Why Frank Lowy still calls Australia home
Of all the companies to have benefited from the Government’s stimulus spending packages, Westfield stands out, with Rudd’s cash splashes helping it to ride out slumps in the US and UK.
Westfield economic suicide by greed?
The uncontrolled greed of local council and multi national shopping centre magnates has merged to screw the very customers — and ratepayers — that have funded their empires, writes Lionel Elmore.
RiskMetrics loses its spine on Westfield pay
How on earth can RiskMetrics recommend in favour of the Westfield remuneration report at Wednesday’s AGM, asks Stephen Mayne?
Morning Market Report: A quiet day on the markets
It was all quiet in our markets, down 5 points, with Macquarie posting weak results.
Lowy’s inner circle celebrates Ruddism
It was a glittering group in Sydney last night who paid tribute to Frank Lowy, the Westfield shopping mall king, a writes Glenn Dyer.
Rudd cuddles up to greedy extreme capitalists
Kevin Rudd is playing a bizarre game and the media are asleep at the wheel, writes Stephen Mayne.
Frank Lowy should cut his own pay
After a year of staying above the fray of the collapsing commercial property market, reality has caught up with Westfield, writes Adam Schwab.
Boral earnings crumble, Westfield wobbles
The still-falling US new home market and the slump in the value of the Australian dollar has hit building product maker Boral hard, writes Glenn Dyer.
Centro, Westfield hearing grim tales from US mall owner
One of America’s biggest mall owners is struggling survive, which raising more concerns about viability of Centro, and to a lesser degree Westfield. By Glenn Dyer.
Westfield’s tough tactics being brought to bear on British retailers
Westfield has a reputation as a tough negotiator in Australia. It seems that the British are now getting a taste of it, writes Glenn Dyer.
Charitable Frank Lowy deflects greed arguments at Westfield AGM
With the death of Kerry Packer and the departure of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp to Delaware, Westfield founder Frank Lowy is the last of Australia’s great mega-billionaires who fronts shareholders at his AGM each year, writes Stephen Mayne.
Why is Westfield so optimistic?
A quarterly report from a leading UK shopping centre operator and property group, Liberty International, has called into question Westfield’s optimism about the current state of the market in Britain, writes Glenn Dyer.
Property developers: a political party’s best friend
Property developers and development companies are public spirited fellows. In 2007-07 they provided $5.1 million of the $13.9 million which AEC figures show was donated to the three major political parties, writes Richard Farmer.
