China in plan B talks over Oakajee funding – The West; Barnett pitches WA to banks – The Fin; Griffin bid deadline extended – The West; US deal fails to lift Navitas – The Fin; Chevron floats LNG expansion – The Aus
China in plan B talks over Oakajee funding
China's steel industry has begun informal talks on a back-up financial model for the $4.3 billion Oakajee port and rail network amid mounting concern the proponent of the much-needed infrastructure will struggle to secure funding in time for its 2014 start-up target date. The West
Barnett pitches WA to banks
West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has lobbied the nation's big banks to relax property lending standards in the state because of WA's mining investment boom. The Fin
Griffin bid deadline extended
The deadline for final bids for Ric Stowe's Griffin Coal has been delayed by two weeks to allow potential bidders more time. The West
US deal fails to lift Navitas
Shares in education provider Navitas continued to flounder yesterday even after the Perth-based company said it had signed up its fifth college in the lucrative United States market. The Fin
Chevron floats LNG expansion
Chevron is considering a multi-billion-dollar floating liquefied natural gas plant to develop recent offshore discoveries in Western Australia as it eyes local investments beyond its $43 billion Gorgon project and the planned $20bn-plus Wheatstone project. The Aus
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Profit-hungry banks will face new laws to protect the nation's home-owners from being used as cash cows after the Commonwealth Bank yesterday super-sized an increase in official interest rates.
Page 7: Retailers have attacked the Reserve Bank over its decision to lift interest rates, arguing that Christmas sales have been ruined for a sector that had been treading water all year.
Page 9: The Rudd government was told to use the Greek financial crisis to explain big falls in mining share prices after releasing its plan for a 40 per cent resources super profits tax.
Page 11: Vineyards are for sale for less than half-price in the South-West as the state's wine industry faces its worst downturn.
Struggling South-West dairy farmers suffered another major blow yesterday when administrators warned it could take months to get any return from the multi-million-dollar collapse of Challenge Australia Dairy.
Page 13: A senior council manager who committed suicide after he became the target of a probe into a $5 million rort "pestered" and "harassed" contractors to secretly buy him lavish gifts and help him swindle his employer.
WA Nationals leader Brendon Grylls has given tentative backing to a major new immigration detention centre in Northam, provided the Gillard government guarantees community safety.
Page 24: The Conservation Council has threatened to go to WA's environmental watchdog seeking an injunction against Water Corporation, which plans to increase its draw on the Gnangara Mound by 45 billion litres next year.
Business liftout:
Page 1: China's steel industry has begun informal talks on a back-up financial model for the $4.3 billion Oakajee port and rail network amid mounting concern the proponent of the much-needed infrastructure will struggle to secure funding in time for its 2014 start-up target date.
Page 3: A sharp profit downgrade by Leighton Holdings has soured the mood ahead of the send-off for long-serving chief executive Wal King at tomorrow's annual meeting.
Page 5: One of the world's biggest helicopter operators is moving its Australian headquarters to Perth to cash in on the massive investment in new oil and gas projects in WA's North West.
Page 6: Education provider Navitas has struck its fifth US college deal in a year, announcing yesterday it had signed a 10-year agreement with the University of New Hampshire.
An aggrieved earthworks contractor at the $US5.2 billion Sino Iron project in the Pilbara has labelled one of the troubled development's Chinese owners as "spiteful and petty" amid threats of court action to recoup about $6 million in outstanding monies.
Westfield has come storming back into the market with a capital raising of $3.5 billion amid speculation it plans to split its Australian retail operations.
Page 9: The deadline for final bids for Ric Stowe's Griffin Coal has been delayed by two weeks to allow potential bidders more time.
Page 10: Canada is reported to have given BHP Billiton's $US40 billion bid for PotashCorp the green light on foreign investment grounds.
Page 15: WA's office market is ready for energy efficency ratings and new disclosure rules that came into effect on Monday.
Construction is due to start in January on an $8 million retail and dining precinct at Mirvac's Seascapes development in Mandurah.
Page 17: Sales of office space at the 26-storey Equus Building have been brisk since the State Government unveiled plans to redevelop the Treasury Buildings on the opposite corner in the CBD.
Page 23: LandCorp will conduct its biggest survey of industrial land during the next month as part of its continuing mission to improve the supply of industrial land in WA's growing economy and gauge the level of future demand.
Page 24: Tourism WA hopes to present a range of solutions to the state government to deal with a shortage of hotel rooms in Perth that may have cost the state more than $200 million.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has branded Commonwealth Bank of Australia's decision to lift mortgage rates by close to double the Reserve Bank's increase a "cynical cash grab" and vowed to introduce reforms to boost competition between lenders.
Frank Lowy's Westfield Group will restructure its $47 billion global operation to address investors' demand for a better return on capital.
Page 3: The Gillard government is pressing the states to complete reforms that would slash $14 billion from business costs over a decade, determined that every measure must proceed, despite objections from NSW.
Page 4: Victoria and NSW accused Western Australia and Queensland of trying to steal their states' share of the GST, as state business groups backed a push to revise the method for dividing up the tax revenue.
Page 7: The Reserve Bank has adopted a "better to be safe than to be sorry" approach to the inflationary risks posed by Australia's resources boom and soaring terms of trade.
Page 10: The head of retail banking at Australia's largest home lender has warned that the consequences of not outstripping the central bank's move on interest rates would ultimately be worse for customers.
Page 12: Retailers such as Gerry Harvey are "buggered" as to why the central bank raised rates on Cup day and so close to their crucial Christmas sales period, especially when customers are behaving more cautiously than ever.
Page 18: James Packer and Lachlan Murdoch has stepped up their push to depose Ten Network executive chairman Nick Falloon amid claims his job title was changed to avoid a shareholder vote on his re-election to the board.
Page 31: When it comes to growth potential, few major companies can match the upside promised by Woodside Petroleum over the coming years.
Page 49: Shares in education provider Navitas continued to flounder yesterday even after the Perth-based company said it had signed up its fifth college in the lucrative United States market.
Page 51: West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has lobbied the nation's big banks to relax property lending standards in the state because of WA's mining investment boom.
Page 54: Chevron Australia has leased more than 12,300 sq m at 256 St Georges terrace, which agent Savills has labelled the largest office leasing deal in the Perth CBD this year.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: The Commonwealth Bank's shock decision to almost double the Reserve Bank's 25-basis-point rate rise has exposed the banking sector to a fresh round of regulation.
David Gyngell has become one of the most powerful media executives in the country after replacing PBL Media chief executive Ian Law, in a shock move that pits him against lifelong friend James Packer.
Page 2: The Commonwealth Bank, which pays chief executive Ralph Norris $16.2 million and is the most profitable in Australia, has slugged its home-loan customers with an interest rate rise nearly double the official move from the Reserve Bank.
Retailers concerned about yesterday's interest rate rise having a negative effect on people's spending habits should take heart that many young female shoppers won't let economics get in the way of a new frock.
Three leading economists have called on Wayne Swan to step up the tightening of federal government spending to take pressure off the Reserve Bank and interest rate policy as the economic recovery moves into full swing.
Page 3: Restaurants, caterers and fast food outlets could be forced to display the results of food safety inspections, in a bid to reduce the 5.4 million cases of food poisoning each year.
A Federal Court judge has branded Optus ''tricky'' for misleading customers over the fine print in its high-speed internet plans.
Page 4: The Kimberley Land Council has challenged West Australian Premier Colin Barnett's assertion on ABC's Q&A program that a consent agreement would be reached on a gas hub at James Price Point while a compulsory acquisition process is under way.
The head of the inquiry into the federal government's Building the Education Revolution scheme has been challenged over his assertion that principals were not bullied by governments to prevent them exposing problems with the $16 billion program.
China has told Australian Tertiary Education Minister Chris Evans that immigration restrictions on foreign students have blended with the population debate to create a less welcoming environment for their citizens.
West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has urged Australia's big banks to back residential development in the booming Pilbara, as the region struggles to overcome housing shortages and crumbling infrastructure.
Page 6: Tony Abbott has seized on a report that former finance minister Lindsay Tanner was excluded from meaningful pre-budget meetings in the last parliament, to question the economic credibility of the government.
Julia Gillard has handed Indonesia $500 million to help bankroll improvements in its education system, but failed to win Jakarta's clear support for her proposal to build a regional asylum-seeker processing centre in East Timor.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says he is ''optimistic'' about developing a prisoner transfer agreement with Australia to apply in cases such as that of Schapelle Corby.
Page 7: Kevin Rudd's former economics whiz kid, Andrew Charlton, has moved to Perth to take up a lucrative job with Wesfarmers, becoming the latest in a string of hirings of Labor-linked figures at the company.
Page 9: A string of Perth builders and contractors have admitted to massive corruption and kickbacks in a multimillion-dollar council building scam masterminded by a senior manager who killed himself when investigators closed in.
Business: Westfield Group will spin out its Australian and New Zealand shopping centre portfolio into a new vehicle as part of a major restructuring to realise its growth ambitions.
Leighton Holdings will face disgruntled shareholders at its annual meeting tomorrow after revealing a surprise net profit downgrade of 23 per cent.
The Commonwealth Bank has blamed volatile global financial markets and the retail deposit competition war for increasing its key lending rates by almost double the official move from the Reserve Bank.
Chevron is considering a multi-billion-dollar floating liquefied natural gas plant to develop recent offshore discoveries in Western Australia as it eyes local investments beyond its $43 billion Gorgon project and the planned $20bn-plus Wheatstone project.
Worley Parsons has been awarded a $580 million contract for British gas giant BG Group's $US15 billion Queensland LNG project.
BHP Billiton appears to have received Canadian bureaucratic approval for its $US40 billion hostile takeover of Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan.
Ten Network Holdings executive chairman Nick Falloon will avoid standing for re-election at next month's annual general meeting, a move that is likely to be fiercely debated with his new major shareholder James Packer.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: The government will reveal measures next month to try to rein in the banks from lifting interest rates above the Reserve Bank's increases.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade faces harsh funding cuts.
The Democrats are facing a grim result in the US midterm congressional elections.
Page 2: Australians fear cancer more than any other nation, according to a poll.
Page 3: The RTA has delayed the creation of Wolli Creek Regional Park because it plans to build a tunnel through it, residents say.
World: (Washington) Barack Obama will reduce the scope of his legislative ambitions if Republicans seize control of the US House of Representatives.
Business: Westfield has stormed back into the market with a capital raising of $3.5 billion.
Sport: Americain wins the Melbourne Cup.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Americain won the Melbourne Cup. The Reserve Bank raised the official interest rate by 0.25 per cent.
Page 2: Coverage of the Melbourne Cup.
Page 3: A naval police officer faced court on child porn charges.
World: (New York) Michelle Obama hit the campaign trail on Tuesday.
Business: The banks should be applauded for inflicting pain.
Sport: The Melbourne Cup is now being celebrated around the world.
THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:
Page 1: The other big banks are likely to follow the Commonwealth's and hike rates.
Page 3: A budget backflip on adult education re-entry was made without cabinet or treasury approval.
World: Indonesia's Merapi volcano shows no signs of tiring.
Finance: Shares in the Commonwealth Bank lead a charge upwards on the sharemarket.
Sport: Pic of Americain crossing the Melbourne Cup finish line.
