Today's Business Headlines

Swan opens with cuts of $20bn

More than $20 billion in budget savings to be announced today will not be enough to guarantee a long-term return to surplus, with Treasury’s calculations blown off course by the China downturn. The Aus

Ministers' share trading attacked

The state government is under pressure to stop ministers trading in speculative shares in WA resources companies after Labor promised a blanket ban, if elected. The West

Gillard gains on misogyny

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has surged to a 10-point lead over Tony Abbott as preferred prime minister following her aggressive claims of misogyny against the Opposition Leader. The Fin

Buoyancy on Port Bouvard

Port Bouvard's advisers are confident they can strike a deal in the next few weeks to save the property group from collapse. The West

House prices near boom peak

The Perth property market has continued its recovery, with prices up more than $30,000 in the past 12 months and edging closer to the boom-time peak of almost three years ago. The West

THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: The state government is under pressure to stop ministers trading in speculative shares in WA resources companies after Labor promised a blanket ban, if elected.

Page 3: The Perth property market has continued its recovery, with prices up more than $30,000 in the past 12 months and edging closer to the boom-time peak of almost three years ago.

Page 4: Kevin Rudd has swung behind Labor MPs calling for the unemployment benefit to be increased, adding pressure to what Julia Gillard's backers believe is a campaign to stoke leadership tensions.

Salary sacrifice arrangements that give employees taxpayer funded discounts on things such as theatre tickets and podiatry will be abolished as part of Wayne Swan's efforts to protect the budget surplus.

Page 9: The world's leading golfers have been lavish in their praise of Perth's newest sporting event – the $2 million ISPS Handa Perth International.

Conservation groups are up in arms over BHP Billiton's plans to explore for oil just 5km from the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef.

Page 11: The Rockingham branch of fast food giant McDonalds has been fined almost $200,000 in eight months for food hygiene breaches.

Page 16: WA's local government lobby wants state government backing for a centralised and monitored CCTV network that would take the onus of deciding where cameras go out of the hands of individual councils.

Business: Port Bouvard's advisers are confident they can strike a deal in the next few weeks to save the property group from collapse.

Canada has blocked another foreign takeover, two years after it scuppered BHP Billiton's $US40 billion bid for PotashCorp.

Accounting giant Ernst & Young is bringing its corporate cycling day to Perth for the first time, along with guest of honour and pacesetter Cadel Evans.

The fledgling chief executive of Australia's biggest accounting firm, PwC, has challenged its WA office to dominate the state.

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:

Page 1: A federal budget update to be released today will reveal an unchanged forecast for unemployment of 5.5. per cent, despite a slowing world economy, and spending cuts and increased taxes worth more than $4 billion this year to keep Labor's budget surplus pledge.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has surged to a 10-point lead over Tony Abbott as preferred prime minister following her aggressive claims of misogyny against the Opposition Leader.

Page 8: Business groups and analysts warned against deeper budget cuts yesterday, as Treasurer Wayne Swan emphasised the long-term significance to the structural integrity of the budget of new savings and tax increases.

Page 9: Cuts to tax breaks on research and development are not expected to be part of options put forward to pay for a lower corporate tax rate by the federal government business tax working group's draft report, which is expected this week.

Page 10: Retailer Target had only a blacked-out letter with no names or address for the American supplier of M.A.C cosmetics, and it is now being claimed that the letter, as well as the cosmetics, were fake.

Page 11: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has reasserted control over the future shape of the euro zone, rebuffing a French-led bid for the setting up of a joint treasury with independent borrowing powers.

Page 13: US agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland is seeking GrainCorp's support for a cash takeover offer following a $268 million raid of its share register and a snap meeting of the grain handler's directors over the weekend.

National Australia Bank may face a backlash against executive pay and calls for a board shake-up in the wake of its shock decision to increase cover for bad debts.

Page 17: The head of Insurance Australia Group's biggest division predicted premium price rises for next year as insurers recover from 2011's natural disasters and more expensive reinsurance costs.

ANZ Banking Group chief executive Mike Smith believes Australian companies have to prioritise relationships with India, not just China, as they develop offshore growth strategies.

THE AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: More than $20 billion in budget savings to be announced today will not be enough to guarantee a long-term return to surplus, with Treasury’s calculations blown off course by the China downturn.

Voters in the ACT have joined Victoria, NSW, Queensland and the Northern Territory in swinging to the Liberal Party.

Restoring Kevin Rudd to the Labor leadership would boost the government’s primary vote by 11 percentage points and put it on track for victory at a federal election, according to leaked polling for the union movement.

Page 2: Australia's economy is set to grow more evenly as China’s economy slows, according to a new report, but the drag on key export prices is undermining government revenues.

Page 3: Schools and teachers have called on universities to impose tougher standards on prospective teachers, including higher entry scores, interviews to pick suitable candidates, and a limit on the number of degree places and practical training offered each year.

Page 5: The commonwealth bureaucracy should be slashed in the interests of prosperity and efficiency, according to an Institute of Public Affairs report, which slams as ‘‘unsatisfactory and piecemeal’’ Labor and Coalition plans for public service reform.

Page 6: Welfare groups have reprimanded Employment Minister Bill Shorten for failing to commit support to lifting the Newstart allowance despite declaring his sympathy for struggling unemployed people.

Business: One of the nation’s largest industry superannuation funds, Cbus, is implementing a radical review of its investment strategies in a bid to reduce the impact of sharemarket volatility on members and smooth returns over the medium term.

The Graincorp board met late yesterday to consider its response to US grains processor Archer Daniel Midland’s hostile approach to the country’s biggest listed agricultural company and is likely to push for a higher price before allowing any due diligence.

The government has been urged to crack down on so-called ‘‘coffee shop arrangements’’ that allow shareholders to collude to gain control of a company by stealth.

James Packer’s Asian joint venture partner says the total development cost for its next big project in Macau, the Studio City casino resort, has risen to about $US2.9 billion ($2.8bn) and that it remains on track to open mid-2015.

Australia has used its skills training expertise to improve relations with India, agreeing to help the country work on its target of training 500 million people by 2022.

The intrigue surrounding National Australia Bank’s surprise decision to increase provisioning by $250 million is set to deepen this week, with a Victorian Supreme Court ruling over $1 billion in provisions booked against derivatives in 2008.

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:

Page 1: Julia Gillard's personal standing among men and women has soared since her attack on Tony Abbott as a sexist but the coalition would still win an election if it were held now, despite Labor slowly closing the gap.

Page 2: Supporting the rights of patients to choose to end their life is not a morose or negative cause, the actor and Bell Shakespeare theatre director John Bell says.

Page 3: The evidence in favour of minimum pricing for alcohol is so strong it is only a matter of time before it is introduced, says the author of new research finding the policy had drastic effects when it was implemented overseas.

World: The youngest son of the toppled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has been reported killed in fighting between militias on the first anniversary of the dictator's death.

Business: Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs will have to defend claims that it deliberately sold toxic subprime mortgages to an Australian hedge fund in 2007 as the US housing market began to unravel.

Sport: No international raiders dominated the Melbourne Cup and spring racing like the French.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:

Page 1: Kokoda Track veterans are outraged by the claims of a prominent war historian that the planned Japanese invasion of Australia during WWII was a myth.

Page 2: A Labor MP has described the partner of a coalition backbencher as resembling a "retired B-grade porn star" in an ugly slur that has reignited the misogyny row.

Page 3: Who said there was no money left in spring racing?

World: Former prime minister John Howard commented on his recent visit to the US that it made little difference to Australia whether a Democrat or a Republican occupied the White House, because we could work with either.

Business: More than four million Australians have not yet lodged their annual tax returns, and time is running out.

Sport: Daniel Geale is putting up all he has and wants Anthony Mundine to do the same.

THE AGE:

Page 1: Fairfax-Nielsen poll shows Julia Gillard and Labor fighting back. Gillard's misogyny speech has transformed the contest between two unpopular leaders. The Philippines will press Australia to be one of its top three defence allies in a move that could unsettle our relationship with China.

Page 2: Kevin Rudd wins over Chinese audience with jokes and flattery in Mandarin.

Page 3: Tax office may probe the role played by lord mayoral candidate Gary Singer in the finances of high-profile gallery owner Robert Gould. Bus industry says any plan to share dedicated bus lanes with cyclists would increase the risk of fatalities. Some 17,000 cyclists take part in the Around the Bay fund-raiser. Toorak mansion fetches almost $17 million, capping a surge of confidence in the Melbourne property market. Halloween on the rise with 100,000 pumpkins ready to be hollowed out while kids dress up with fangs, spooky ghost sheets or witches hats to harass the neighbours.

World: The youngest son of toppled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is reported killed in fighting between militias.

Business: Supermarket sales up as Coles and Woolies cash in on new demand for American celebration of Halloween.

Sport: Another French raider, Brigantin, sensationally backed over the weekend to win the Geelong Cup on Wednesday.

THE CANBERRA TIMES:

Page 1: ACT political leaders shape up to woo the Greens in order to form a minority government.

Page 2: Australians in US bus crash not injured seriously.

Page 3: Budget cuts to hurt but ACT may escape the worst.

World: US President Barack Obama and Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney prepare for vital last debate.

Business: Bank of Queensland denies loss makes it a takeover target.

Sport: Powerhouse teen picks up judo as a core motif.

THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:

Page 1: Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond predicts she will win by a single vote in tomorrow's Liberal leadership showdown and is pointing to her strong poll lead as evidence she should keep the job.

Page 3: Public service managers have been ordered to rein in an explosion in labour hire costs which have more than doubled in five years, from $46 million to $107 million.

World: A charter bus carrying mainly Australian tourists from the Grand Canyon has crashed on an Arizona highway, killing the driver and injuring 48 passengers.

Business: BHP's Billiton's decision not to proceed with the $20 billion Olympic Dam expansion is set to further slow momentum in SA's already struggling economy, a key quarterly economic report says.

Sport: Crows face draft dilemma if no trade for Kurt Tippett.