BHP boss rattles Rio Tinto's cage; Bosses in blitz to block AWAs; PwC snares adviser Gem; Class actions cloud Quantas' horizon; US feels power of cashed-up foreign funds
BHP boss rattles Rio Tinto's cage
BHP Billiton has reconfirmed its takeover bid of Rio Tinto, making it clear it's ready to go straight to shareholders if the target's board declines to engage. The Australian
Bosses in blitz to block AWAs
Telstra and the Commonwealth bank are leading an employer blitz on five-year Australian Workplace Agreements that would secure conditions well into a second term of a Labor government. The West
PwC snares adviser Gem
Big four accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has vowed to retain the GEM Consulting name after yesterday unveiling a deal to buy the top-shelf WA advisory firm for an undisclosed sum amid booming demand for management consultancy services. The West
Class actions cloud Qantas' horizon
Qantas airways has agreed to plead guilty to criminal price fixing in the US and pay $71million to settle the charges. But the settlement is epxected to be dwarfed by the class action lawsuits on behalf of air freight customers alreadu filed against Qantas in Australia and the US. The Fin Review
US feels power of cashed-up foreign funds
A tumbling US dollar and drop in asset prices has made corporate America attractive to the world's cashed-up sovereign wealth funds looking for investment opportunities. The Fin Review
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
Page 1: Malcolm Turnbull and Brendan Nelson were locked in a neck-and-neck race for the Liberal leadership last night after the withdrawal of Tony Abbott prompted party members to speculate that his supporters would fall behind Mr Nelson.
WA could be on track for a third consecutive $2 billion-plus surplus on the back of more record tax and royalty collection after fresh Treasury figures showed the State Budget was already an unprecedented $746 million in surplus after just the first three months of this financial year.
Telstra and the Commonwealth bank are leading an employer blitz on five-year Australian Workplace Agreements that would secure conditions well into a second term of a Labor government.
Business: Big four accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has vowed to retain the GEM Consulting name after yesterday unveiling a deal to buy the top-shelf WA advisory firm for an undisclosed sum amid booming demand for management consultancy services.
He may be the latest addition to WA's ranks of "century" millionaires after a bumper stockmarket debut by the mining services company he founded nearly 30 years ago, but Frank Tomasi isn't letting it go to his head.
They came in droves to hear about metal messiah Andrew Forrest's latest venture, the rebirth of the historic Poseidon nickel mine, and left with a spring in their step.
ThinkSmart shares leapt more than 7 per sent yesterday as investors embraced a deal with US office supply giant Office Depot that has launched the rental finance group into a market with 23 small businesses.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
Page 1: Coalition parties across the country were in turmoil yesterday as the federal leadership race came down to former environment minister Malcolm Turnbull and outgoing defence minister Brendan Nelson; Treasurer-elect Wayne Swan yesterday met with Reserve Bank officials for the first time, and was believed to have slated the possibility of making a new agreement on monetary policy; A tumbling US dollar and drop in asset prices has made corporate America attractive to the world's cashed-up sovereign wealth funds looking for investment opportunities.
Page 3: Australia's best-selling car, the Holden Commodore, could go hybrid using existing technology and platforms, the manufacturer claims.
World: Despite fears of a recession, senior US Federal Reserve officials say that interest rates are unlikely to be cut at a December 11 meeting.
THE AUSTRALIAN
Page 1: Small businesses are being urged to sack workers before Labor overhauls industrial relations laws; Respected Aboriginal academic Professor Marcia Langton has urged the Labor government not to wind back key elements of the Northern Territory intervention; Former health minister Tony Abbott has left the Liberal leadership battle to Malcolm Turnbull and Brendan Nelson but hasn't ruled out a future leadership challenge; The Queensland Liberal Party is in tatters, with leader Bruce Flegg refusing to step down.
Page 2: Tasmanian deputy premier Bryan Green has admitted staying rent-free at the house of the premier's senior adviser while claiming a parliamentary away-from-home allowance.
Page 3: Up to 1000 Australian companies could sue Qantas after the airline was fined for being part of an international freight price-fixing scandal.
Finance: BHP Billiton has reconfirmed its takeover bid of Rio Tinto, making it clear it's ready to go straight to shareholders if the target's board declines to engage.
