LONDON, Sept 14 AFP - US investment giant Lehman Brothers was heading for possible liquidation late today after the front-runner to bail out the embattled firm, Barclays, pulled out of negotiations.
WASHINGTON - The United States is mired in a “once-in-a century” financial crisis which is now more than likely to spark a recession, former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan said today.
ZURICH- Switzerland’s biggest bank, UBS, is set to write down a further $US5 billion ($A6.24 billion) in assets amid continuing financial turmoil, Swiss weekly SonntagsZeitung reported Sunday.
LAGOS - The most prominent militant group in oil-rich southern Nigeria on Sunday said it had declared an “oil war” and threatened all international industry vessels that approach the region.
HOUSTON - Federal officials say it appears Hurricane Ike destroyed a number of oil production platforms and damaged some of the pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico.
LONDON - A second British vacation company has gone bust, the country’s aviation regulator said Sunday, the same week the UK’s No 3 tour operator collapsed.
LOCAL NEWS
SYDNEY - Oil and gas giant Santos is facing a ten-fold cost blow-out in its clean-up of the world’s largest mud volcano in East Java, a new report shows.
SYDNEY- Eastern Star Gas Ltd chief executive David Casey said the hidden value of coal seam gas reserves was that coal beds ran for considerable lengths, with embedded gas resources possibly far larger than presumed.
SYDNEY - Forty per cent of Australians say their income fell between 2001 and 2005, despite the former federal government claiming the period was a golden age.
PERTH - Conservative parties - with the help of independents - are set to control both houses of Western Australia’s parliament for the first time in 12 years.
STOCKS TO WATCH ON THE AUSTRALIAN STOCK EXCHANGE TODAY:
STO - SANTOS LTD - closed on Friday at $19.37
Oil and gas giant Santos is facing a ten-fold cost blow-out in its clean-up of the world’s largest mud volcano in East Java, a new report shows.
ASL - AUSDRILL LTD - up 15 cents to $2.15
MAH - MACMAHON HOLDINGS LTD - up 3.5 cents to $1.835
Takeover target Ausdrill has blamed a fall in the company’s share price on hedge fund selling after comments from suitor Macmahon Holdings that its bid was unlikely to succeed.
RPG - RAPTIS GROUP LTD - suspended from trading at 40 cents
Shares in Surfers Paradise-based property developer Raptis Group have been suspended from trading on the Australian stock exchange, pending an announcement about a potential funding injection into the company.
HWI - HOUSEWARES INTERNATIONAL LTD - up two cents to $1.26
Housewares International has appointed Stephen Audsley as its chief executive officer.
BSL - BLUECSOPE STEEL LTD - up 38 cents to $8.25
BlueScope Steel says an emissions trading scheme must allow the company to remain competitive so it is able to generate cash and fund individual carbon reduction initiatives.
ALL - ARISTOCRAT LEISURE LTD - up 19 cents to $7.00
Poker machine maker Aristocrat Leisure has appointed a new head in North America, replacing its previous boss with its head of European, Middle Eastern and African operations, Nick Khin.
WHS - THE WAREHOUSE GROUP LTD - up one cent to $2.63
Dual-listed shopkeeper The Warehouse Group has posted a 21 per cent fall in annual net profit to $NZ90.8 million ($A74.63 million), hit by economic slowdown and pressure on household budgets.
CWN - CROWN LTD - up 19 cents to $9.00
The Packer-controlled Publishing and Broadcasting Limited pays rent of just $1 a year for its Crown casino complex in Melbourne.
NWS - NEWS CORPORATION - up 25 cents to $17.75
NWSLV - NEWS CORPORATION NON-VOTING - up 42 cents to $17.45
French outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux SA says it is negotiating to buy Russian rival News Outdoor Group from global media giant News Corp.
CHN - CHALICE GOLD MINES LTD - up one cent to 12 cents
PEM - PERILYA LTD - up 12.5 cennts, or 60.98 per cent, to 33 cents
Perilya is to gain a 73 per cent interest in Chalice Gold Mines after the unior gold explorer agreed to issue the lead and zinc miner with 200 million new shares as consideration for Perilya’s Mount Oxide copper and cobalt project in Queensland.
