Packer’s $1bn plan for WA casino - The Fin;
RBS to lose half its Australian businesses - The Fin;
Push to privatise Rottnest villas - The West;
Gillard’s threat to dock states - The Aus;
ASIC casts an eye over Salter’s reign at Paynes Find - The Aus
Packer’s $1bn plan for WA casino
James Packer is set to more than double his massive bet on revamping his gaming operations in mining-rich Perth after beginning negotiations on a new $1 billion project. The Fin
RBS to lose half its Australian businesses
Royal Bank of Scotland will sell or shut down about half of its Australian business, casting doubt over the jobs of more than 400 employees and redrawing the shape of Australia’s investment banking industry. The Fin
Push to privatise Rottnest villas
Private operators would take over the running of Rottnest’s holiday accommodation under a plan being touted by Rottnest Island Authority chairman Laurie O’Meara. The West
Gillard’s threat to dock states
Julia Gillard is threatening to revoke $450m in payments to the states and territories as punishment for stalling on national reforms. The Australian
ASIC casts an eye over Salter’s reign at Paynes Find
The corporate regulator has launched an investigation into bizarre mining junior Paynes Find Gold amid claims money was siphoned out of the company during the colourful reign of sacked chief executive Peter Salter. The Australian
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
Eric Ripper says he does not expect a leadership challenge at the Labor Party’s first meeting of the year in Bunbury next month.
Private operators would take over the running of Rottnest’s holiday accommodation under a plan being touted by Rottnest Island Authority chairman Laurie O’Meara.
Pilbara Labor MP Tom Stephens has attacked the Barnett government’s lack of urgency in providing underground power in parts of Port Hedland, saying it is a basic necessity in a cyclone prone area.
QBE Insurance Group shares dropped to a near record low yesterday after it warned that full-year profit could plunge as much as 50 per cent due to difficult investment markets and a year of global catastrophes.
WA farmers have been urged against warehousing their grain in the hope of a recovery in prices, as marketers estimate almost half of this season’s near record crop remains unsold.
Collie coal miners are threatening industrial action at Collie coal as the Indian owner seeks to introduce “hot seating” in the workforce by extending shifts by half an hour.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
Tony Abbott’s top economic frontbencher will fight to keep a $500 million cut to car industry subsidies as Coalition policy as the opposition debates whether to match the Gillard government’s latest industry support.
James Packer is set to more than double his massive bet on revamping his gaming operations in mining-rich Perth after beginning negotiations on a new $1 billion project.
Royal Bank of Scotland will sell or shut down about half of its Australian business, casting doubt over the jobs of more than 400 employees and redrawing the shape of Australia’s investment banking industry.
A battle between unions over who should represent workers on big resource projects is stalling negotiations on new projects and scaring off investors, a major industry group says.
Property developers and the resources sector are unhappy with a plan to charge for projects that have to be approved under federal environment laws, despite widespread concern about assessment timeframes.
QBE chief executive Frank O’Halloran has admitted the global insurer should have done a better job of choosing risks in countries decimated by natural disasters as the company slashed its 2011 profit forecast.
Travellers can expect a sharp rise in room rates in key Australian business markets this year in response to low development levels and strong demand.
THE AUSTRALIAN
Julia Gillard is threatening to revoke $450m in payments to the states and territories as punishment for stalling on national reforms.
Households already struggling with higher costs of living will pay 15 per cent more to insure their homes.
Consumers owe a record $50 billion and have more credit cards than ever but they are becoming increasingly wary of spending on their plastic.
The federal ombudsman is demanding extra resources to monitor the new building industry watchdog's use of "extraordinary" compulsory interrogation power against construction workers.
QBE chief executive Frank O'Haloran has admitted that he made mistakes but promised to revive the nation's biggest insurer.
Royal Bank of Scotland plans to slash its international investment banking business, selling or closing down operations around the world that will include much of RBS Australia, the former ABN Amro.
The corporate regulator has launched an investigation into bizarre mining junior Paynes Find Gold amid claims money was siphoned out of the company during the colourful reign of sacked chief executive Peter Salter.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Page 1: Senior Liberals, including shadow treasurer Joe Hockey, have vowed to defeat a push for the coalition to maintain Labor's car industry subsidies.
Page 2: The SCG Trust says pressure to keep pace with the improvement in stadiums has compelled it to add $62 million to its redevelopment plans.
Page 3: Harness racing trainer Dean Atkinson, who pleaded guilty to being involved in a corruption scandal, has fears for his family's safety after getting threatening phone calls from a horse owner.
World (DELHI): Polio could be wiped from the face of the earth within two years, with India on the verge of being declared free of the virus.
Finance: QBE Insurance has blamed a year of global catastrophes and difficult investment markets for a shock profit plunge of as much as 50 per cent.
Sport: Ian Thorpe will on Friday swim competitively in Australia for the first time since he came out of retirement.
The Age
Page 1: The coalition is facing internal divisions over economic policy, with senior Liberals vowing to defeat a push to maintain Labor's big subsidies to the car industry.
An emergency phone call by Australian property developer Greg McNicol as he was bleeding to death has been played in court.
Page 3: A report that gives India a poor rating on nuclear material security has been seized on by opponents of plans for Australia to sell uranium to the country. Australian companies are still importing orange juice from Brazil even though the US has temporarily stopped doing so because of health concerns. A study has shown drinking alcohol makes people feel better because it produces the same chemicals in the brain as exercising and laughing.
World: Two years after Haiti was devastated by an earthquake, international aid donors have delivered just half of the billions of dollars promised for reconstruction. A secret assessment by the US intelligence community says the war in Afghanistan is mired in stalemate and warns security gains have been undercut by corruption, incompetent governance and Taliban fighters operating from neighbouring Pakistan.
Finance: QBE shares dropped to a near-decade low after it warned that full-year profit could plunge as much as 50 per cent due to difficult investment markets and a year of global catastrophes.
It was the modern reality of the open plan office that saw merchant bank JP Morgan caught up in an insider trading investigation of one of its staff, court documents reveal.
Sport: Indian captain MS Dhoni says rumours of team ructions are an Australian invention. Questions have again been raised as to whether swimming great Ian Thorpe has left himself enough time for a successful comeback.
Herald Sun
Page 1: A food poisoning outbreak at a sushi bar that left 83 people sick and 19 in hospital is among serious food safety incidents kept quiet by authorities.
Page 2: The kangaroo is being used to flog cigarettes in Europe.
Page 3: Molly Meldrum is expected to leave hospital within days. Activists have thrown acid at a Japanese whaling boat as hostilities reach boiling point on the Southern Ocean.
World: Bee Gee Robin Gibb has turned to a team of alternative medics as he battles liver cancer.
Finance: Investors sent QBE shares plummeting to an eight-year low after the company warned profits could be halved as a result of the huge increase in natural disasters last year.
Sport: Indian captain MS Dhoni has accused the Australian team of making up stories about his players.
The Daily Telegraph
Page 1: Police are yet to lay a single charge over 48 drive-by shootings in Sydney since March because of a wall of silence from witnesses.
Page 2: An Australian whipped in a Saudi jail for blasphemy was allowed to wear a leather jacket while he was lashed 75 times.
Page 3: Horrified holidaymakers at Susses Inlet watch fishermen bash a protected baby great white shark to death.
World: The Pentagon is investigating a video that appears to show US Marines urinated on the bodies of three dead men in Afghan clothing.
Finance: ANZ's attempt to break free from the Reserve Bank's monthly interest rates decision begins today and could be a bad omen for borrowers.
Sport: Indian cricket captain M.S Dhoni has accused Australia of getting on the drink and making up stories about his team.
