QR National to be last big sale for Qld - The Fin; Housing still weak link for WA economy - The West; Swan's bid to boost small banks - The Aus; Carbon price 'no peril to economy' - The Fin; New front opens in push by low-paid - The Fin
QR National to be last big sale for Qld
The Queensland government has ruled out further assets sales beyond the next state election after raising $4.6 billion from the public float of QR National, which will list on the Australian Securities Exchange today.
Housing still weak link for WA economy
The WA economy will strengthen over coming months, new figures indicate, but the State's housing sector continues to drag.
Swan's bid to boost small banks
Wayne Swan has signalled his second wave of banking reforms is designed to turbo-charge the role of smaller banks and building societies to provide the "next pillar" beyond the big four banks.
Carbon price 'no peril to economy'
The economy is well placed to withstand the introduction of carbon trading and has recently endured a much bigger shock from the rapid appreciation of the Australian dollar, according to a new analysis by Access Economics.
New front opens in push by low-paid
The Gillard government has dropped plans to mandate the privatisation of its national broadband network in a compromise with the Greens that could clear the way for Parliament to approve the structural separation of Telstra this week.
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 14: The WA economy will strengthen over coming months, new figures indicate, but the State's housing sector continues to drag.
Page 19: Three scientific studies commissioned by PTTEP Australasia, the company behind last year's Montara oil disaster off the Kimberley coast, has found that no oil reached Australia or Indonesian shores and more of the oil stayed in Australian waters.
Page 38: Foster's has begun a high-level review of its struggling Rosemount win brand in an attempt to resuscitate the portfolio that once accounted for nearly 10 per cent of group wine sale but is now suffering from falling sales and negative demographic trends.
Canadian uranium giant Cameco is about to take the wraps off its Kintyre project in the East Pilbara as investors eagerly await confirmation of the size of one of Australia's biggest undeveloped deposits of the nuclear fuel.
Page 41: Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says she is not nervous about the float of the State's rail freight company today.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: The Queensland government has ruled out further assets sales beyond the next state election after raising $4.6 billion from the public float of QR National, which will list on the Australian Securities Exchange today.
Page 1: National Australia Bank chief executive Cameron Clyne has rebuked his banking peers for turning a "tin ear" to community concerns, saying banks face more intervention from federal government that they would have received had they responded earlier to criticism.
Page1: The economy is well placed to withstand the introduction of carbon trading and has recently endured a much bigger shock from the rapid appreciation of the Australian dollar, according to a new analysis by Access Economics.
Page 1: The Gillard government has dropped plans to mandate the privatisation of its national broadband network in a compromise with the Greens that could clear the way for Parliament to approve the structural separation of Telstra this week.
Page 3: The Gillard government faces a new test case for low-paid workers that could add about $800 million to the $7.1 billion in annual funding it provide for residential aged care.
Page 7: Capital expenditure figures for the September quarter may paint a less rosy picture of business investment plans than the previous quarters numbers.
Page 9: Credit unions and building societies could rebrand themselves as banks while gaining government help to issue securitised bonds, under proposals being put to Canberra to create a "new pillar" in financial services to tougher competitions with the big four banks.
Page 9: Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson has accused mining billionaire Andrew Forrest of making "baseless" claims that the resource rent tax will damage the industry, at the same time as his company proceeds with a $US8.4 billion expansion.
Page 42: Newcrest Mining, Australia's largest goldminer, is contemplating a secondary stockmarket listing in the northern hemisphere only months after cancelling the Toronto listing inherited through its $9.6 billion takeover of Lihir Gold.
Page 49: Westpac Banking Corporation has renewd its 10-year old technology outsourcing contract with IBM in a 5 year deal that is worth $1.3 billion.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Farmers will be able to cash in on measure to reduce carbon pollution, including tree planting and reducing fertiliser use, under government plans to test-run a carbon market for the sector.
Page 3: Chinese textile factories are tearing up orders from Austrakuab retailers iun an unprecedented production strike that will empty shelves and increase prices for consumers after Christmas.
Page 4: Wayne Swan has signalled his second wave of banking reforms is designed to turbo-charge the role of smaller banks and building societies to provide the "next pillar" beyond the big four banks.
Page 5: The Reserve Bank deliberately intervened in the political debate over Australia's property boom tyo stop governments releasing more land, which it feared would cause traffic gridlock, environmental problems and potentiall a US-style housing slump.
Page 9: Construction work is to resume at Victoria's $5 billion-plus desalination plant today after unions reached an agreement with building company Thiess over claims workers were spied on.
Page 21: The Australian bankers association has warned that the populist debate on banking could lead to legislation that is "potentially dangerous" for business.
Market watchers fear rail operator QR National could "do a Myer" and tank on market debut today, with a poor performance likely to tarnish the prospects for a further $14 billion of big-ticket listings.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: If a federal election were held now Labor would most likely lose, the latest Herald/Neilsen poll shows. Hope is dwindling for 29 miners trapped in a New Zealand coal mine for more than two days. A US Senate committee has accused an Australian-owned security company of abuses in Afghanistan.
Page 2: Aborigines in Western Australia's Kimberley region want a series of demands met over the construction of a $30 billion liquefied natural gas plant.
Page 3: Parents will have the right to ethics classes as an alternative to scripture in their child's school.
World: The Pope says condom use can be justified in some cases to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Finance: A secret alliance was forged between Macquarie Bank and doomed financial planner Storm Financial, documents have revealed.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: New Zealand mine blast survivor Daniel Rockhouse tells how he escaped the disaster.
Page 2: The families of 29 miners trapped in a New Zealand coal mine continue to wait and hope for their loved ones' survival.
Page 3: More on the New Zealand mine explosion.
World: The Melbourne twins who shot themselves in the United States in a suicide pact felt deep sympathy for the Columbine killers.
Finance: Fraudsters are targeting people's tax file numbers in an effort to steal their money and often their identity.
Sport: James Courtney ended one of the most dramatic periods in his V8 career with a thrilling victory on Sunday at Sandown raceway.
THE AGE:
Page 1: In a stunning reversal of traditional teaching, Pope Benedict XVI has given Catholics permission to use condoms to fight AIDS. The trouble-plagued Office of Police Integrity will be abolished and a new anti-corruption czar appointed if the coalition wins Saturday's state election.
Page 2: Labor voters overwhelmingly back allowing gays and lesbians to marry, but Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan has joined his leader in rejecting their view.
Page 3: An Australian-owned security company has been accused of a litany of abuses in Afghanistan - including theft and corruption - by a powerful US Senate committee.
World: Hopes of rescuing 29 men, including two Australians, trapped in a New Zealand mine after an explosion have faded after tests showed that a fire burning underground was generating toxic gases.
Finance: Retail investors have mostly passed up on the Queensland government's plea to be part of something big as rail freight business QR National prepares for its stock exchange debut on Monday.
Sport: Shane Warne has urged Ashes captains Ricky Ponting and Andrew Strauss to "grow some cojones" while having another dig at his former Australian teammate ahead of Thursday's series opener in Brisbane.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: The Victorian election is on a knife edge five days out from voting, with Labor's support plummeting, a private Galaxy poll released to the Herald Sun newspaper reveals.
Page 3: The devastated mother of murdered toddler Yazmina Acar says her beautiful daughter will always be with her.
Page 5: Melbourne schoolies fought a bloody battle with locals at an interstate tourist haven during drunken end-of-school debauchery.
Finance: Microsoft Australia chief Tracey Fellows is the first to concede the company has made mistakes. The trick she says, is to bounce back wiser, if not a little bruised.
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