Found: Firepower chief in London, denies hiding; Double gas trouble as Inpex quits WA and oil tax is passed; Monetary shot 'a necessity'; Rio faces strike as train drivers fire up test case; Timber firms plan writs over Varanus gas crisis
Found: Firepower chief in London, denies hiding
After two years of being called a runaway corporate conman and the "most wanted man in Australian sport", Tim Johnston yesterday emerged in London as an unrepentant defender of his collapsed fuel additive firm, Firepower. The Australian
Double gas trouble as Inpex quits WA and oil tax is passed
The state's gas industry has been dealt a double blow, with Japan's Inpex set to announce the Northern Territory has trumped WA as the preferred home for a $25 billion LNG project and the federal government winning its battle to impose a new $2.5 billion tax on the North West Shelf project. The West
Monetary shot 'a necessity'
ANZ boss warns the health of the global banking system hinges on US Congress approving the $US700 billion ($A840 billion) bailout of Wall Street, warning of the potential meltdown of the US banking system if the package is overturned. The Age
Rio faces strike as train drivers fire up test case
Mining giant Rio Tinto faces the first strike at its Pilbara iron ore mining operations in more than a decade as unions try to stop the company shifting employees from Australian workplace agreements onto non-union collective deals. The Fin Review
Timber firms plan writs over Varanus gas crisis
The timber industry is poised to launch legal action for compensation over losses from the gas crisis when an official report into the Varanus Island explosion is released by the state government. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Taxpayers are about to be slugged more than $3 million to reimburse the four major political parties for the cost of election advertising campaigns when the first payouts are made under the controversial poll tax.
The state's gas industry has been dealt a double blow, with Japan's Inpex set to announce the Northern Territory has trumped WA as the preferred home for a $25 billion LNG project and the federal government winning its battle to impose a new $2.5 billion tax on the North West Shelf project.
Page 4: The future of the City of Cockburn and its mayor Stephen Lee will be decided today when the Corruption and Crime Commission releases its long-awaited report into the funding of Mr Lee's 2005 election campaign.
Page 6: The man charged with overseeing the high-risk end of the state's $25 billion capital works program, Richard Mann, yesterday contradicted his new boss Treasurer Troy Buswell on the state of WA's infrastructure rollout.
Page 9: Reclusive Firepower founder Tim Johnston has come out of hiding just long enough to frustrate attempts by the liquidator of Firepower's Australian arm to have the entire group liquidated.
Page 11: The timber industry is poised to launch legal action for compensation over losses from the gas crisis when an official report into the Varanus Island explosion is released by the state government.
Business: Grange Resources has struck a $1 billion deal to help fund its huge iron ore project near Albany in an agreement that will hand effective control to Chinese steel giant Jiangsu Shagang.
Babcock & Brown shares have trebled in the past week as speculation mounts that current or former management are considering privatising the troubled company.
Brickworks chief executive Lindsay Partridge has brushed off the threat of rival Len Buckeridge's soon-to-be-completed brick plant to forecast strong demand for building products in WA next year.
Disgruntled investor Mick Shemesian has suddenly dropped his court action to block moves by cashed-up Cape Lambert Iron Ore to acquire a controlling stake in a Sierra Leone hematite project without shareholder approval.
Institutional investors could be ranked on how they manage climate change risks in their portfolios.
Centro's two consecutive chief executives were paid almost $6.5 million last financial year to manage Australia's worst-performing listed property trust, which lost 97 per cent of its security value in the year to June 30, 2007.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: US President George W Bush has invited the two men vying for his position to join him in united support of his planned $US700 billion ($A840 billion) bank rescue package.
Former Treasurer Peter Costello has distanced himself from a decision by John Howard last year to cut the pay of the Treasury secretary Ken Henry after the leaking of a speech he gave that was critical of government policy.
Page 3: Predatory pricing prosecutions will be stepped up by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission after the passing of amendments lifted the legal uncertainty surrounding such actions.
Page 4: Mining giant Rio Tinto faces the first strike at its Pilbara iron ore mining operations in more than a decade as unions try to stop the company shifting employees from Australian workplace agreements onto non-union collective deals.
Page 5: Western Australia's new Treasurer Troy Buswell is sitting on a record budget surplus of $2.57 billion but has refused to rule out public sector job cuts after fresh data showed the government's recurrent spending was growing at a record annual rate of more than 10 per cent.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Clean-coal technology must be at the top of the agenda to seriously combat climate change, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has told the UN.
After two years of being called a runaway corporate conman and the "most wanted man in Australian sport", Tim Johnston yesterday emerged in London as an unrepentant defender of his collapsed fuel additive firm, Firepower.
Federal Police have raided a Gold Coast home with suspicions the inhabitant leaked information to The Australian newspaper for a story about television black spots in regional Australia.
While confident that Australia's economy is strong enough to ride out the global credit crisis, the Reserve Bank has drawn up a contingency plan for a banking failure.
