Rate rise wrong, says Barnett – The Fin; Kelly wary of reform as bank posts record – The West; Griffin bondholders' plan B – The Fin; Wesfarmers takes $100m hit over rain – The Aus; Emeco secures $450m – The West
Rate rise wrong, says Barnett
West Australian Premier Colin Barnett said the Reserve Bank of Australia had erred in raising interest rates as building approvals fell for the sixth consecutive month, suggesting construction activity could be a drag on the economy next year. The Fin
Kelly wary of reform as bank posts record
Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly has warned the Gillard government that looming reforms to banking regulation could produce "unintended consequences" and called for broad consultation with the sector in any planned shake-up. The West
Griffin bondholders' plan B
Creditors of Ric Stowe's embattled Griffin coal empire are preparing a contingency plan to exchange their debts for equity in the firm if the sale process being run by administrator KordaMentha fails. The Fin
Wesfarmers takes $100m hit over rain
Record September rainfall in central Queensland will cut Wesfarmers Resources' annual earnings by up to $100 million. The Aus
Emeco secures $450m
Emeco has completed a debt refinancing as part of managing director Keith Gordon's restructure of the heavy earthmoving equipment group. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 3: Residents on the edge of John Forrest National Park were told to leave their homes yesterday as a suspicious fire burnt through hundreds of hectares of bush, coming dangerously close to properties.
A state government inquiry into the controversial boxing world title fight between Danny Green and Paul Briggs has concluded the fight was a "sham contest".
Page 4: Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon says WA cannot afford to pass up on millions of dollars in Commonwealth funding while it has breast cancer screening delays and continues to miss targets for elective surgery and emergency department waiting times.
Page 5: The big four banks face legislative retribution with the Gillard government considering a series of reforms, including a single bank account number for every Australian to help switch lenders, as part of its plan to boost competition.
The Reserve Bank lifted official interest rates as new home approvals experienced their biggest fall in a decade, new figures have shown - prompting fears there will be a new surge in property prices and house rents.
The Claremont Football Club facilities will be razed and rebuilt surrounded by new housing and commercial facilities under a $1 billion redevelopment tipped to be the first of many similar projects at WAFL grounds.
Page 9: The relationship between the Barnett and Gillard governments has become so poisonous that a WA minister pulled out of a planned state-federal announcement on a joint road project at the 11th hour.
Page 13: A split has emerged between the state government and the WA Nationals over the rollout of the National Broadband Network, after Brendon Grylls backed calls for WA households to be connected unless they ask not to be.
Page 14: Perth's CBD is on the cusp of a dining renaissance with the opening later this month of a new high-end "icon" restaurant on St Georges Terrace and the start of construction for a mega-restaurant venue with four floors of restaurants, bars and function rooms in the former newspaper press hall of The West Australian.
Page 18: A 10-year conservation plan covering 16 million hectares of south-east WA is aimed at halting the loss of native vegetation in an area heavily relied on by the mining industry.
Business: Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly has warned the Gillard government that looming reforms to banking regulation could produce "unintended consequences" and called for broad consultation with the sector in any planned shake-up.
A Chinese consortium was last night trying to secure support from Sphere Minerals shareholders for a debt-and-equity package designed to stymie Xstrata's improved $514 million takeover offer for the Perth iron ore hopeful.
Emeco has completed a debt refinancing as part of managing director Keith Gordon's restructure of the heavy earthmoving equipment group.
Westfield has moved to stamp its footprint on an even greater slice of the Australian shopping centre landscape with the creation of a new $12.2 billion listed property trust spin-off.
Nomad Building Solutions placed its shares in a trading halt last night while finalising a capital raising by tomorrow to provide the loss-making portable home maker with a "proper platform".
MACA shares soared 45 per cent yesterday as the Perth group's debut as a listed company in a sign that investor sentiment towards contracting and engineering groups may be improving.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Westpac Banking Corp chief executive Gail Kelly has hit back at government plans to impose new regulations on the banking sector, declaring the industry "strongly competitive" as Treasurer Wayne Swan promised a crackdown on price signalling between the big four banks.
Labor is preparing another concession to mining companies to soften the blow of the resources tax, but the industry fears it will run out of time to negotiate further changes to the new impost.
Page 3: The files of more than 500 clients of Commonwealth Bank of Australia's financial planning arm will be reviewed to determine if they received inappropriate advice and should be compensated for losses.
Page 6: Creditors of Ric Stowe's embattled Griffin Coal empire are preparing a contingency plan to exchange their debts for equity in the firm if the sale process being run by administrator KordaMentha fails.
Page 7: West Australian Premier Colin Barnett said the Reserve Bank of Australia had erred in raising interest rates as building approvals fell for the sixth consecutive month, suggesting construction activity could be a drag on the economy next year.
Page 9: The $30 billion coal-seam gas industry has urged the federal government in high-level confidential discussions to change features of the proposed resource tax regime to avoid giving offshore competitors an unfair advantage.
Page 17: James Packer is urging the Ten Network board to accept Lachlan Murdoch as its next chairman, as the campaign to remove current chairman Nick Falloon escalates.
Page 18: Xstrata's move to raise its takeover bid for African iron ore explorer Sphere Minerals yesterday may flush out a rival proposal before the end of the week.
Page 20: Embattled engineering group Downer EDI has pledged to redress its remuneration practices after becoming the latest company to feel the wrath of investors on the issue of executive pay.
Tiger Airways will continue to add capacity to its low-cost services in Australia and is in discussions with state governments and airports about setting up additional bases beyond Melbourne, chief executive Tony Davis said as the company swung back to profit in the second quarter.
Page 21: BHP Billiton has denied plans to sell Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan's large nitrogen and phosphate divisions as investors around the globe wait anxiously for the Canadian government's ruling on the $US40 billion hostile bid.
CSR, the building materials group, has called for more investment in construction, warning the commercial building market remains "in the doldrums" and that the residential market will slow.
Page 22: Westpac Banking Corp posted its biggest ever annual profit thanks to a sharp drop in bad debt charges, rounding out a bumper year of record earnings for the major lenders.
Page 24: The proposed $8.4 billion takeover of ASX Ltd by its Singapore counterpart could be blocked by a minority of shareholders in the city-state, placing another hurdle in the way of the deal.
Page 48: Westfield's latest reincarnation - with a new Westfield Retail Trust to hold half the Australasian assets - gained a qualified thumbs up from analysts and investors yesterday.
Page 59: Sydney, Perth and Brisbane are among the 10 most expensive cities in which to rent industrial property, CB Richard Ellis research has shown.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Wayne Swan is expected to include backing for the mortgage bond market and a new safety net to replace bank deposit guarantees in his plan to force more competition into the banking sector.
The Gillard government must urgently pass legislation to smash apart Telstra's near-monopoly position in order for the implementation of the $43 billion National Broadband Network to proceed, previously secret documents reveal.
Page 3: A preventive health scheme that encourages doctors to perform indigenous health checks has failed, with only 12 per cent of the Aboriginal population nationwide receiving a check-up in the past year.
Australia's decade-long baby boom has stalled, with 295,700 infants born last year, 900 fewer than the year before.
A Perth doctor whose house was being used to treat desperately ill cancer sufferers with bizarre, toxic concoctions told the grieving husband of one of the victims not to talk to the police without first speaking to her lawyer.
Page 4: Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly has called for calm in the escalating battle between Australia's major banks and the government over interest rates and the threat of greater regulation for the industry.
Marketing experts believe the Commonwealth Bank may have undone years of work regaining the confidence of consumers with its surprise Melbourne Cup day rate rise.
The nation's peak banking body has supported a closer examination of government backing for the residential mortgage-backed securities market as a way of boosting competition.
Building approvals have slid for the sixth successive month, with no relief in sight after this week's interest rate rise.
Page 5: Wayne Swan has rubbished criticism that the government's stimulus package contributed to this week's rate rise by pumping too much money into a strengthening economy.
Borrowers who defect from the ''big four'' banks to cheaper rivals could reap the savings within months.
Page 6: The government's failure to pass crucial legislation designed to underpin the success of the National Broadband Network could disrupt the rollout of the $43 billion project and threaten its deal with Telstra.
The opposition has accused the head of the taskforce investigating the Building the Education Revolution of covering up for the federal government rather than assessing whether the $16.2 billion program achieved value for money.
Page 7: US authorities are considering taking action against convicted terror supporter David Hicks for publishing an account of his six-year imprisonment at Guantanamo Bay, but have ruled out prosecuting the former chicken boner for breaching his pre-trail agreement.
Business: Westpac has warned that consumer and business credit growth remains subdued and a margin squeeze is being intensified by ongoing pressure on funding costs.
Australia may fret that its future is to be a quarry for China's voracious industrial sector, but mergers and acquisitions in the resources sector may be heading west over the next year.
One of Sphere Minerals' biggest shareholders is expected to launch a rival financing proposal for the company today, after suitor Xstrata caved in to pressure and upped its $428 million takeover bid due to poor traction for its offer.
The Canadian government is today expected to approve BHP Billiton's $US40 billion ($40.1bn) bid for Potash Corp of Saskatchewan as reports emerge of a Russian challenge.
Record September rainfall in central Queensland will cut Wesfarmers Resources' annual earnings by up to $100 million.
The board of Ten Network Holdings and major shareholder James Packer remain deadlocked as both sides continue to debate governance issues surrounding executive chairman Nick Falloon's job title.
BP is likely to pay a much smaller dividend and spend more on oil exploration as it remakes itself into a leaner, more growth-oriented company following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, its new chief executive said yesterday.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: Marco Rubio has praised the US as the greatest nation in all of human history.
Wayne Swan has telephoned bank bosses to vent his anger over rate rises.
A young Aborigine was shocked to hear she might not look indigenous enough for a job.
Western Sydney hospital managers bumped hundreds of patients off surgical waiting lists, artificially improving the area's performance.
Page 2: A teenager was gunned down at his Sydney home.
Page 3: The electronic book avalanche has reached Australia.
World: (Washington) The election that delivered control of the House to Republicans was awash in numbers.
Business: Downer EDI faces further losses on its NSW Waratah rail contract.
Sport: Several Australian players are firmly opposed to the idea of Michael Clarke succeeding Ricky Ponting as Australian captain.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: The Greens and independent Andrew Wilkie are considering backing the coalition's plan to rein in the big banks' soaring profits.
Page 2: Sir Ralph Norris remains at large.
Page 3: The race to legislate against the big four banks is on. World: (Rome) Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has rejected calls to resign.
Business: Westpac chief Gail Kelly has signalled that the growing chasm between the official interest rate and mortgage rates will never be reversed.
Sport: So You Think has run his last race in Australia.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Labor has secured almost unanimous financial support from major unions, including those that backed the Greens during the federal election in its inner-suburban seats.
The ACTU calls on the government to consider stronger financial regulation of bank fees and charges.
Page 2: The Australian Human Rights Commission has slammed the federal government's foreign student strategy as deficient in tackling isolation and social problems.
High Court judge William Gummow has criticised Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls for failing to intervene in a landmark case that will determine whether the identities of registered sex offenders must be suppressed.
Page 3: A planning row at Melbourne University over the demolition of a heritage-listed building is putting at risk millions of dollars earmarked to construct a new biomedical institute in Parkville.
World: America's rising unemployment rate is being blamed for the Democrats' ousting from the lower house in the mid-term elections.
Business: Westpac chief Gail Kelly has warned that new banking regulation could have unintended consequences, and pressure on mortgage pricing could continue building until 2012.
Sport: Marcus North is firming as a possible captain for Australia's test as Michael Clarke's chance slides after the Indian tour.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: The federal government is considering abolishing mortgage exit fees after consumer backlash over the Commonwealth Bank's brazen interest rate rise.
Page 3: A mother who plied her toddler son with alcohol "cheered" him on to drink grappa shots, a court has heard.
Page 5: Commonwealth Bank chief Ralph Norris is missing in action, not available to defend the bank's dramatic interest rate hike.
World: Greece has halted international deliveries for 48 hours after a small parcel bomb addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sent to Athens
Finance: Westpac matriarch Gail Kelly has signalled the gulf between interest rates and mortgage rates will continue to widen as banks pay more for wholesale funding
Sport: Jockey Jimmy Cassidy has been banned from racing for three months after allegedly testing positive for marijuana use
