Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (www.afr.com)
--Australian companies have raised A$53 billion in equity since last September, delivering investment banks over A$1 billion in fees so far this year. Analysts say the tightening of credit by banks and exodus of foreign lenders has forced companies to look to the sharemarket in order to raise funds. 'Everyone's been surprised by the extent of the liquidity in the market and the? very favourable terms to the issuers,' says Deutsche Bank's Scott Perkins. Page 1.
--Tighter credit markets and increased bidding costs are putting public private partnerships (PPPs) in Australia under increasing pressure, according to a new report by accounting firm KPMG. The report advises that federal and state governments shoulder some of the associated risks by providing PPPs with debt finance on projects worth over $1 billion and allocating grants to projects costing between A$500 million and A$1 billion.
However, KPMG's Graham Brooke maintains that there is a 'very strong future' for PPPs despite the current difficulties. Pg 1.
--Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has defended the Government's stimulus measures ahead of an expected 0.2 percent decline in the nations gross domestic product for the March quarter. Mr Swan said yesterday that the Government's A$8.7 billion pre-Christmas cash payments had helped 'cushion Australians from the worst the world can throw at us.' However, Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull claimed that the stimulus payments had been 'economically ineffective,' arguing that the nation's expected debt level of A$315 billion in 2012-14 was unsustainable. Pg 1.
--Car maker GM Holden, the Australian arm of troubled United States company General Motors, is expected to continue trading even if its parent company files for bankruptcy, according to Federal Industry Minister Kim Carr. GM Holden has undergone a radical restructuring, including pay freezes and production cuts, and is in 'a good position to deal with whatever General Motors announce in the coming days,' Mr Carr said yesterday. Page 3.
THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)
--Australian Property Monitors (APM) reports that monthly auction clearance rates for the year have returned to 2007 levels. 'All the action in the market this year has come from first-home buyers and demand from first-home buyers is definitely still very strong,' says APM's head of research Yvonne Chan.
However Ms Chan warns that investors were sceptical of the market, believing prices were being artificially inflated by the first-home buyer's grant. There is 'an expectation that house prices will fall after the grant expires,' Ms Chan says. Page 3.
--Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has indicated that the strategy of quarantining people with possible exposure to swine flu could be abandoned in favour of identification and treatment of those at risk. The possible change in strategy comes as Australia's tally of confirmed cases last night rose to 303, with 212 cases confined to the state of Victoria. 'We are seeking advice on whether we can move jurisdictions at different rates, to different levels? the situations are quite different in different states and territories,' Ms Roxon said yesterday. Page 3.
--The expected retirement age of baby boomers is now 64.3 years according to research from the University of Tasmania. The results of the study also reveal that blue-collar workers expect to retire at a median of 66.1 years, although their preferred retirement age is 58.3. In comparison, white collar workers expect to retire at 63.3 years, with their preferred retirement age at 61.1. According to study co-author Natalie Jackson, 'the research shows we could target particular professionals to help them transition to retirement in a way that keeps them engaged in the workforce.' Page 3.
--Alcohol company Diageo Australia has cut 60 jobs and placed its Huntingwood plant, in Sydney's outer-west, on extended shutdown following falling sales and a tax increase on sweetened premixed drinks. Managing director Tim Salt said it was difficult shedding staff based on a tax policy that was 'not achieving its stated intention of addressing alcohol misuse.?
The Federal Government raised its excise on alcopops by 70 percent to curb binge drinking among teenage girls in particular.
Page 3.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au)
--New South Wales Government-owned transport provider Railcorp has backed a ban on an Animal Liberation campaign planned to be advertised on Sydney trains. APN Outdoor, the company that manages Railcorp's advertising, deemed the campaign on the fate of caged chickens too distressing for children. Lynda Stoner, of Animal Liberation, yesterday questioned why the public can see 'anti-smoking ads with pus-filled lungs on the sides of buses,' but had to be shielded from 'anything to do with the food we eat.' Page 1.
--The New South Wales Government is set to amend the Residential Tenancy Act this week to allow tenants in repossessed homes 30 days rent free in order to find new accommodation. The Minister for Fair Trading, Virginia Judge, said yesterday that tenants that fall victim to a landlord's inability repay their mortgage will also have all advance rental payments returned to them and called on banks to 'act swiftly' to ensure tenants receive their bonds back faster than usual. Page 2.
--A New South Wales policeman was shot yesterday following an armed siege at the Lakes Hotel in Rosebury. An alleged armed robber shot Sergeant Stephen de Lorenzo, 52, in the shoulder before taking hostages. The gunman eventually released all the hostages and surrendered to police four hours later. Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said that the injured policeman, who has since been released from hospital, went 'above and beyond the call of duty.' Page 3.
THE AGE (www.theage.com.au)
--A protest by Indian students in Melbourne ended in missiles being thrown at the windows of Flinders Street station and the arrest of one man for riotous behaviour. The crowd of around 2000 people had taken to the streets to protest against the recent rise in violent assaults on Indian students. The march was intended to be peaceful, however, 'there were some agitators there, stirring things up,' said Gautam Gupta, of the Federation of Indian Students of Australia. Page 1.
--Victorian Premier John Brumby has defended his Government's move to clear the way for the removal Labor Member of Parliament George Seitz from his seat following an Ombudsman's report into alleged corruption in the Brimbank area. Union leader Jeff Jackson, a senior figure in the Labor Right faction, has questioned Mr Brumby's decision, saying it cast doubt on his ability to 'steer an above-board government.' However, Mr Brumby maintained the Government has acted 'decisively' on the report's recommendations. Page 4.
--A Melbourne blinds factory has been forced to backpay 53 current and former workers A$420,000 after it was found the company had underpaid the workers for shift work over 4.5 years.
Contract Blinds had paid its shift workers only half the amount they were entitled to under the legal penalty rates. Kevin Reidy, a solicitor for the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, yesterday described the decision as an 'excellent outcome' for the employees, many of whom came from overseas. Pg 4. --
Keywords: DIGEST AUSTRALIA GENERAL (Sydney Newsroom +61-2 9373 1800; sydney.newsroom@reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (www.afr.com)
--Australian companies have raised A$53 billion in equity since last September, delivering investment banks over A$1 billion in fees so far this year. Analysts say the tightening of credit by banks and exodus of foreign lenders has forced companies to look to the sharemarket in order to raise funds. 'Everyone's been surprised by the extent of the liquidity in the market and the? very favourable terms to the issuers,' says Deutsche Bank's Scott Perkins. Page 1.
--Tighter credit markets and increased bidding costs are putting public private partnerships (PPPs) in Australia under increasing pressure, according to a new report by accounting firm KPMG. The report advises that federal and state governments shoulder some of the associated risks by providing PPPs with debt finance on projects worth over $1 billion and allocating grants to projects costing between A$500 million and A$1 billion.
However, KPMG's Graham Brooke maintains that there is a 'very strong future' for PPPs despite the current difficulties. Pg 1.
--Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has defended the Government's stimulus measures ahead of an expected 0.2 percent decline in the nations gross domestic product for the March quarter. Mr Swan said yesterday that the Government's A$8.7 billion pre-Christmas cash payments had helped 'cushion Australians from the worst the world can throw at us.' However, Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull claimed that the stimulus payments had been 'economically ineffective,' arguing that the nation's expected debt level of A$315 billion in 2012-14 was unsustainable. Pg 1.
--Car maker GM Holden, the Australian arm of troubled United States company General Motors, is expected to continue trading even if its parent company files for bankruptcy, according to Federal Industry Minister Kim Carr. GM Holden has undergone a radical restructuring, including pay freezes and production cuts, and is in 'a good position to deal with whatever General Motors announce in the coming days,' Mr Carr said yesterday. Page 3.
THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)
--Australian Property Monitors (APM) reports that monthly auction clearance rates for the year have returned to 2007 levels. 'All the action in the market this year has come from first-home buyers and demand from first-home buyers is definitely still very strong,' says APM's head of research Yvonne Chan.
However Ms Chan warns that investors were sceptical of the market, believing prices were being artificially inflated by the first-home buyer's grant. There is 'an expectation that house prices will fall after the grant expires,' Ms Chan says. Page 3.
--Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has indicated that the strategy of quarantining people with possible exposure to swine flu could be abandoned in favour of identification and treatment of those at risk. The possible change in strategy comes as Australia's tally of confirmed cases last night rose to 303, with 212 cases confined to the state of Victoria. 'We are seeking advice on whether we can move jurisdictions at different rates, to different levels? the situations are quite different in different states and territories,' Ms Roxon said yesterday. Page 3.
--The expected retirement age of baby boomers is now 64.3 years according to research from the University of Tasmania. The results of the study also reveal that blue-collar workers expect to retire at a median of 66.1 years, although their preferred retirement age is 58.3. In comparison, white collar workers expect to retire at 63.3 years, with their preferred retirement age at 61.1. According to study co-author Natalie Jackson, 'the research shows we could target particular professionals to help them transition to retirement in a way that keeps them engaged in the workforce.' Page 3.
--Alcohol company Diageo Australia has cut 60 jobs and placed its Huntingwood plant, in Sydney's outer-west, on extended shutdown following falling sales and a tax increase on sweetened premixed drinks. Managing director Tim Salt said it was difficult shedding staff based on a tax policy that was 'not achieving its stated intention of addressing alcohol misuse.?
The Federal Government raised its excise on alcopops by 70 percent to curb binge drinking among teenage girls in particular.
Page 3.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au)
--New South Wales Government-owned transport provider Railcorp has backed a ban on an Animal Liberation campaign planned to be advertised on Sydney trains. APN Outdoor, the company that manages Railcorp's advertising, deemed the campaign on the fate of caged chickens too distressing for children. Lynda Stoner, of Animal Liberation, yesterday questioned why the public can see 'anti-smoking ads with pus-filled lungs on the sides of buses,' but had to be shielded from 'anything to do with the food we eat.' Page 1.
--The New South Wales Government is set to amend the Residential Tenancy Act this week to allow tenants in repossessed homes 30 days rent free in order to find new accommodation. The Minister for Fair Trading, Virginia Judge, said yesterday that tenants that fall victim to a landlord's inability repay their mortgage will also have all advance rental payments returned to them and called on banks to 'act swiftly' to ensure tenants receive their bonds back faster than usual. Page 2.
--A New South Wales policeman was shot yesterday following an armed siege at the Lakes Hotel in Rosebury. An alleged armed robber shot Sergeant Stephen de Lorenzo, 52, in the shoulder before taking hostages. The gunman eventually released all the hostages and surrendered to police four hours later. Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said that the injured policeman, who has since been released from hospital, went 'above and beyond the call of duty.' Page 3.
THE AGE (www.theage.com.au)
--A protest by Indian students in Melbourne ended in missiles being thrown at the windows of Flinders Street station and the arrest of one man for riotous behaviour. The crowd of around 2000 people had taken to the streets to protest against the recent rise in violent assaults on Indian students. The march was intended to be peaceful, however, 'there were some agitators there, stirring things up,' said Gautam Gupta, of the Federation of Indian Students of Australia. Page 1.
--Victorian Premier John Brumby has defended his Government's move to clear the way for the removal Labor Member of Parliament George Seitz from his seat following an Ombudsman's report into alleged corruption in the Brimbank area. Union leader Jeff Jackson, a senior figure in the Labor Right faction, has questioned Mr Brumby's decision, saying it cast doubt on his ability to 'steer an above-board government.' However, Mr Brumby maintained the Government has acted 'decisively' on the report's recommendations. Page 4.
--A Melbourne blinds factory has been forced to backpay 53 current and former workers A$420,000 after it was found the company had underpaid the workers for shift work over 4.5 years.
Contract Blinds had paid its shift workers only half the amount they were entitled to under the legal penalty rates. Kevin Reidy, a solicitor for the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, yesterday described the decision as an 'excellent outcome' for the employees, many of whom came from overseas. Pg 4. --
Keywords: DIGEST AUSTRALIA GENERAL (Sydney Newsroom +61-2 9373 1800; sydney.newsroom@reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.