World Bank warns of 3pc contraction; States borrow $230bn for major projects; Browse partners urged to turn the page; Colliers buys up Werrett, tops WA shopping league; Fortescue studies second port
World Bank warns of 3pc contraction
New fears for the world economy slashed 3 per cent from the value of shares yesterday, as gloomy forecasts from three major institutions suggested the economic recovery would be slower than markets had been assuming. The Australian
States borrow $230bn for major projects
The states are set to borrow more than $230 billion to fund massive infrastructure programs designed to stimulate their faltering economies and to offset a large decline in their revenues. The Fin Review
Browse partners urged to turn the page
Woodside Petroleum and its joint venture partners in the $30 billion Browse natural gas development are under strong pressure from the West Australian government to set aside their differences and choose an earmarked site for the massive project in the Kimberley in the state's far north. The Fin Review
Colliers buys up Werrett, tops WA shopping league
Colliers International is buying the WA-founded Werrett Property Group in a move that will see it vault Westfield, Centro Properties and Hawaiian to become WA's biggest shopping centre manager. The West
Fortescue studies second port
Fortescue Metals and Aquila Resources will study development of a second iron ore port in Western Australia's Pilbara region as Fortescue continues its quest to gain access to the private railways of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton. The Australian
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 4: Auditor-General Colin Murphy has begun an investigation of the risks involved in the government's $2.7 billion Royalties for Regions scheme.
Environment Minister Donna Faragher is still unable to deal with issues relating to gas giant Woodside Petroleum, more than two months after her husband left his job as a government relations adviser with the company.
Page 5: Premier Colin Barnett wants to limit the freedom of senior public officials to tla to the press as part of efforts to return the bureaucracy and give control of policy debates back to politicians.
The state government is ignoring its own advice and hurting businesses by failing to pay its bills on time, the opposition claimed yesterday.
Page 6: Earnings forecast for WA's most important exports, including iron ore, have been slashed for the second time in three months by the nation's chief commodities forecaster as the global recession eats into demand.
Page 9: Australia's big four banks have used the global recession to strangle competition and increase their asset holdings, prompting fears consumers will have little choice for their financial needs once the financial crisis ends.
Page 11: Perth city council last night rejected moves by Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan to cut trading hours at Northbridge venues, arguing the businesses in "Perth's premier late-night entertainment precinct" were managed professionally and were being targeted unfairly.
Page 16: The federal opposition yesterday backed a plan to block legislation aimed at softening the building industry watchdog as construction union secretary Kevin Reynolds claimed it had not lost any bite.
A market development planned for the former Coventry building in Morley has cleared a major hurdle after the WA Planning Commission joined Bayswater city council in supporting changes to the local town planning scheme.
Business: Fortescue Metals Group says it would ask the WA government to help fund development of a new Pilbara port to rival Port Hedland if it decided to proceed with what is likely to be a multi-billion dollar infrastructure project.
Colliers International is buying the WA-founded Werrett Property Group in a move that will see it vault Westfield, Centro Properties and Hawaiian to become WA's biggest shopping centre manager.
A consortium headed by AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick has struck a deal to buy Sydney's ANZ Stadium.
A new online system allowing companies to track the progress of environmental assessments of their projects will be launched today, a move Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore says will improve WA's much-maligned approvals process.
Thousands of investors in almond projects run by the collapsed managed investment scheme operator Timbercorp will be offered a deal to trade their assets for units in a listed trust, in a move the deal's proponents say will give creditors certainty.
Anglo American chief Cynthia Carroll and the company's board has wasted no time telling Xstrata that the share swap terms of its proposed $US70 billion ($87.9 billion) "merger of equals" are totally unacceptable.
Michael Kiernan's collapsed Monarch Gold Mining will be renamed Swan Gold Mining and return to the boards if a $55 million recapitalisation plan is approved next week.
The owner of the Magellan lead mine near Wiluna is beefing up its Perth management team ahead of plans to restart the controversial project.
Australia's foreign investment adjudicator says it is not in favour of takeovers by overseas companies and is more inclined to approve smaller investments in bigger Australian companies.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: The states are set to borrow more than $230 billion to fund massive infrastructure programs designed to stimulate their faltering economies and to offset a large decline in their revenues.
Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull is facing scrutiny over his links to a Treasury official being investigated about a fake email and damaging government leaks, further undermining his assault on the government for assisting a Brisbane car dealer and Labor donor.
The US Federal Reserve is expected to emphasise its commitment to near zero interest rates later tonight after the World Bank's forecast of a deeper global recession triggered a sell-off across world sharemarkets.
Page 3: The number of Australians owning shares has fallen to its lowest point in a decade, owing to a huge drop in direct share ownership, a survey by the Australian Securities Exchange has found.
Page 4: Investors in Timbercorp's almond and olive schemes will push ahead with plans to appoint new managers to the schemes, claiming that while insolvent they were still viable, after a meeting with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission yesterday.
Page 6: Woodside Petroleum and its joint venture partners in the $30 billion Browse natural gas development are under strong pressure from the West Australian government to set aside their differences and choose an earmarked site for the massive project in the Kimberley in the state's far north.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: The coalition has been drawn deeper into the OzCar affair amid allegations that Godwin Grech, the senior Treasury official at the centre of the furore, had previously leaked reliable information to senior opposition figures.
Malcolm Turnbull has told colleagues Kevin Rudd would win an early election, amid growing backbencher anger over his botched attempt to skewer the Prime Minister for misleading parliament.
New fears for the world economy slashed 3 per cent from the value of shares yesterday, as gloomy forecasts from three major institutions suggested the economic recovery would be slower than markets had been assuming.
Page 2: Only a small number of public schools have started construction under the federal government's $14.7 billion Building the Education Revolution program, with a week to go until next Tuesday's deadline.
Page 3: The doctor who prescribed former navy medic Graeme Peterson with anti-arthritis drug Vioxx would "not in a fit" have done so if he had been properly warned by its manufacturer that it increased the risk of a heart attack.
Former ABC foreign correspondent Peter Lloyd has been released from Singapore's Changi prison after serving 10 months for possessing the drug ice, with his sentence reduced for good behaviour.
Page 4: The Australian Federal Police investigation into the faked email at the centre of the ute affair has become part of a Senate committee inquiry.
Page 5: New fears for the world economy slashed 3 per cent from the value of shares yesterday, as gloomy forecasts from three major institutions suggested the economic recovery would be slower than markets had assumed.
Australian companies plan to make only modest staff cuts over the next six months, compared with those in Asia and Europe, but 57 per cent of businesses say they will shed more employees this year.
Page 6: Prominent geologist Ian Plimer has labelled climate change theory an "ascientific, urban, religious, fundamentalist movement'' promoted by academics and activists who would be "unemployable outside taxpayer-funded climate institutes".
Business: A consortium led by AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick has bought control of Sydney's ANZ Stadium and a clutch of other assets from ANZ bank.
The Australian sharemarket crashed back to earth yesterday, slumping 3 per cent amid a global share rout triggered by fears the economic recession would be longer and deeper than widely expected.
Setting the stage for a prolonged takeover battle, Anglo American has issued an outright rejection of Swiss miner Xstrata's bid to form an $80 billion giant, calling the offer unattractive and totally unacceptable.
News that Patrick Colmer seems pretty comfortable with China's state-owned enterprises and their approach on Australian assets has surprised Rio Tinto's disappointed suitor, Chinalco.
Australians are losing their enthusiasm for the stockmarket, with the shareholding proportion of the adult population dropping from 55 per cent in 2004 to 41 per cent.
Fortescue Metals and Aquila Resources will study development of a second iron ore port in Western Australia's Pilbara region as Fortescue continues its quest to gain access to the private railways of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.
