Today's Business Headlines

Russian stake sale pressures Mt Gibson
Mt Gibson was last night scrambling to work out whether its biggest shareholder, China's APAC Resources, had picked up an additional 19.8 per cent stake from Russian billionaire Alishair Usmanov in a move that could trigger a $2.4 billion takeover bid for the WA iron ore producer. The West

Woolies outpoints Coles but investors watchful
Woolworths has stepped up the defence of its title as Australia's No. 1 retailer with plans to accelerate its store refurbishment program and claims that rival Coles has made little progress under its new owner, Wesfarmers. The West

Float backer sees red on Emeco profit shock
Investment bank and long-term supporter Citigroup has finally lost patience with Emeco Holdings, blasting its management and urging investors not to waste more money on the stock after the mining and earth moving equipment group yesterday warned of a profit slump, sending its shares to a nosedive. The West

Banks put the squeeze on broker
ANZ has given Tricom only days to reduce the brokers margin loan book by hundreds of millions of dollars. The Australian

Samuel takes tough line on mergers
The competition regulator is proposing that mergers in key parts of the economy be subjected to greater scrutiny because of concerns that some industries may be reaching anti-competitive levels of concentration. The Fin Review

THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
Page 1: The nation's financial watchdog has started auditing banks, credit unions and building societies in a bid to ensure customers' savings are not at risk from the fall-out from the global credit crunch which has hit many overseas lenders.

Business: Mt Gibson was last night scrambling to work out whether its biggest shareholder, China's APAC Resources, had picked up an additional 19.8 per cent stake from Russian billionaire Alishair Usmanov in a move that could trigger a $2.4 billion takeover bid for the WA iron ore producer.

Investment bank and long-term supporter Citigroup has finally lost patience with Emeco Holdings, blasting its management and urging investors not to waste more money on the stock after the mining and earth moving equipment group yesterday warned of a profit slump, sending its shares to a nosedive.

Troubled ticketing group ERG faces another fight to maintain a big contract, this time in Stockholm, as it tries to survive its axing from the $350 million Sydney deal.

Woolworths has stepped up the defence of its title as Australia's No. 1 retailer with plans to accelerate its store refurbishment program and claims that rival Coles has made little progress under its new owner, Wesfarmers.