Today's Business Headlines

The $10.4bn giveaway
Pensioners, families and first-homebuyers will receive more than $10 billion in federal government handouts as part of Kevin Rudd's bid to trigger a Christmas spending spree aimed at insulating the Australian economy against a global recession. The West

Europe unites in $2.8 trillion shock and awe blitz on cash crisis
Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Austria have joined forces to launch the biggest bank bailout in history offering over $A2.86 trillion in guarantees and fresh capital in a "shock and awe" blitz to halt the credit panic. The West

Base metals bounce as bailouts inject new hope
Metals prices races higher last night, extending their recovery and boosting the hopes of WA's mining sector that the unprecedented government bailouts around the world would avert a global recession and ensure commodities demand remained robust. The West

Credit crunch crimps broadband plan
Telstra and Terria, the two main bidders for the federal government's national broadband network, have revealed that fallout from the turmoil in financial markets could affect the funding of their bids. The Fin Review

Top lender falls into line with rates cut
The Commonwealth Bank followed the country's other large banks yesterday by reducing its fixed rate on home loans by up to 1.55 percentage points. The Australian

THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: Pensioners, families and first-homebuyers will receive more than $10 billion in federal government handouts as part of Kevin Rudd's bid to trigger a Christmas spending spree aimed at insulating the Australian economy against a global recession.

Page 3: Pilots have been warned by French aircraft manufacturer Airbus not to trust some computers on their jets during an emergency after nearly 70 people were injured when a Qantas plane plunged hundreds of metres in seconds while travelling from Singapore to Perth last week.

Page 4: Economists believe Australians may face higher than expected interest rates as a result of the federal government's $10.4 billion economic stimulus package, with no guarantee the economy will not slide into recession.

Page 7: Retailers fear the federal government's $10.4 billion package may not rescue the sector from sluggish spending in the run-up to Christmas.

Page 9: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Austria have joined forces to launch the biggest bank bailout in history offering over $A2.86 trillion in guarantees and fresh capital in a "shock and awe" blitz to halt the credit panic.

Page 10: Colin Barnett has denied he was reluctant to hold a royal commission into the Varanus Island explosion because it could put him in the spotlight as resources and energy minister in the previous Liberal government.

The construction union has ditched its ambitious bid for a 21 per cent pay rise over three years and is asking builders for 18 per cent over the same period, warning there could be strikes to back the claim.

Page 19: The global financial crisis will drive up the cost of building the national broadband network, Telstra chief financial officer John Stanhope says.

Business: Metals prices races higher last night, extending their recovery and boosting the hopes of WA's mining sector that the unprecedented government bailouts around the world would avert a global recession and ensure commodities demand remained robust.

Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has wrested better terms from Morgan Stanley for a $US9 billion ($12.8 billion) investment, securing an additional $US300 million in annual dividends to factor in the struggling Wall Street bank's 60 per cent share price rout last week.

Wesfarmers managing director Richard Goyder says the global financial meltdown has not changed his outlook for the Coles Group turnaround, despite conceding the supermarket group was "certainly not getting great growth".

Perth chemicals tycoon Gordon Martin's Coogee Resources has become the latest company to suffer a cost blowout after problems with one of its contractors forced a delay of up to five months before oil is produced from its $US1 billion ($1.4 billion) Timor Sea project.

Annual Australian sharemarket returns are shaping up to be the worst in more than three decades as the global financial crisis continues to wreak havoc.

Takeover target Incremental Petroleum has tried to wrestle back momentum in its battle with hostile suitor Cooper Energy, declaring yesterday that shareholders controlling 13.5 per cent of its equity had rejected the hostile bid.

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:

Page 1: Millions of Australian households will receive a government handout under a $10.4 economic stimulation package announced yesterday.

The Bush administration's plan to invest $US250 billion ($372 billion) in the American banking system sparked another rally across regional sharemarkets as investors bet that aggressive action by US and European governments signalled the worst of the credit crisis may have passed.

Page 3: Telstra and Terria, the two main bidders for the federal government's national broadband network, have revealed that fallout from the turmoil in financial markets could affect the funding of their bids.

Page 7: The federal government has been rebuked by a branch of the Labor Party that has backed a Greens bill to immediately scrap the Australian Building and Construction Commission and prevent further prosecutions of construction workers.

THE AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: The federal government's efforts to stimulate the Australian economy may not stop at yesterday's $10.4 billion package, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says.

Page 2: Fairfax Media chief executive David Kirk has hit back at critics of the company's restructure while saying growing competition meant their papers no longer aimed to deliver the news first, but to deliver it best.

Page 3: Maths should be compulsory for all high school students, the academic charged with drafting a national curriculum says.

Page 5: The Commonwealth Bank followed the country's other large banks yesterday by reducing its fixed rate on home loans by up to 1.55 percentage points.

World: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for a new Bretton Woods-style conference to help deal with the current financial crisis (London).

Business: The federal budget could be driven into deficit if the Rudd Government relies too heavily on spending to keep the Australian economy out of recession.

Ratings agencies have ruled out any upgrade in the credit ratings of Australian banks as a result of the federal government's move to guarantee bank deposits and wholesale funding.

The prudential regulator has put pressure on credit unions and building societies to lift their liquidity levels to reinforce the $65 billion industry's buffer against any fallout from the global financial crisis.

Market volatility is creating opportunities for investors seeking diversification, with commodities highlighted as a good buy in the market environment.

Lloyds TSB cut the terms of its controversial takeover of HBOS, the owner of the Halifax, yesterday after the two lenders asked the British government for a combined capital injection of $A42 billion.

Harvey Norman, Australia's biggest electronics retailer, will take the unusual step of reporting weekly sales to provide and "indicator" of the state of Australia's economy.

Electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi has maintained bullish forecasts for sales growth despite the impact of the financial meltdown on consumer confidence.