Kil the competition: BP chief flees ... $8.7bn Ford loss ... HBOS break-up$
July 25, 2008
Welcome to today's round-up of business news from The Times: what we're
saying, what they're saying
Australia's Commonwealth Bank eyeing BankWest: report (Reuters)
Reuters - Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) , the country's No. 2 bank by assets, may offer over A$6 billion ($5.2 billion) to British bank HBOS for its Australian unit BankWest, the Australian newspaper reported on Monday.
Australia's Westpac offers $14B for bank rival St. George
Westpac Banking Corp. said Monday it has approached rival St. George Bank Ltd. with a $14 billion takeover offer that could lead to the biggest shakeup of Australia's banking sector in years. 
ANZ Bank pipped in Hong Kong bank bid
China Merchants Bank pips ANZ Bank as the preferred bidder for Hong Kong's Wing Lung Bank.
05/23/08
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ASX high at noon as Wall St soars
The Australian stock market was up at noon as News Corporation Ltd reported robust fourth-quarter and full-year results.
08/06/08
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Westpac expect 8% cash earnings growth
Westpac Banking Corporation says it is on track to deliver 2008 cash earnings growth of between six and eight per cent.
Westpac ups its rate
Westpac raised its lending rates by 0.10 percentage points today, following the lead of ANZ Bank and NAB.
04/28/08
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Babcock in Tricom recapitalisation
Investment bank Babcock & Brown says it has joined ANZ Banking Group in the recapitalisation of troubled stockbroking firm Tricom Equities.
04/08/08
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Fortescue chair loses $20m in Opes saga
Fortescue Metals Group chairman Herb Elliott appears to have lost more than half of his $38 million fortune after the Opes Prime collapse.
Investors await surprises in Westpac earnings
Investors will be watching for surprises when Westpac releases its half year results, a week after ANZ Bank revealed nearly $1 billion in provisions against potential losses.
Westpac approaches St. George in major shakeup of Australian bank sector
Westpac Banking Corp. said Monday it has approached rival St. George Bank Ltd. with a 15 billion Australian dollars (US$14 billion; €9 billion) takeover offer that could be the biggest shakeup of Australia's bank sector in years. 
Westpac Aims To Buy Way To Top In...
Bank says it's in talks to acquire smaller rival St. George, making it biggest in country by market cap.
Westpac cash profit expected to rise
Westpac Banking Corporation is expected to sidestep the bad debt troubles faced by the ANZ Bank and report a healthy rise in first-half cash profit.
Westpac Aims To Buy Way To Top In...
Bank says it's in talks to acquire smaller rival St. George, making it biggest in country by market cap.
Westpac's ray of light
Westpac has so far managed to avoid big problem credit exposures, and should it successfully swallow St George, will become Australia's biggest bank.
Westpac momentum tipped to continue
Analysts say Westpac Banking Corporation Ltd is a "safe haven" in the finance sector and are tipping its strong profit momentum to continue.
Orica to demerge consumer products
Orica Ltd plans to demerge its consumer products business into a separate company and raise up to $900 million through an entitlement offer.
ANZ says provisions seen rising to A$1.2 bln in H2 (Reuters)
Reuters - ANZ bank , Australia's third-biggest lender, issued a profit warning on Monday, forecasting more than $1 billion in bad debt charges, as the global credit crisis started to hurt the country's previously buoyant banks.
Commonwealth Bank hikes home loans
Commonwealth Bank has ramped up its benchmark mortgage rate by 0.14 per cent a week or so after the RBA said there was no need to lift official rates higher.
Gloomy outlook for commodities
Commodities prices may drop faster next year, pressured by slumping global demand and a strengthening US dollar, according to ANZ Bank.
08/20/08
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Australian merchant bank Babcock and...
Babcock & Brown Ltd., Australia's second-largest merchant bank that last week lost half its market value, is accelerating an examination of its listed funds as it faces its...
Babcock plunges further
Babcock & Brown, Australia's second-largest investment bank, plunged further, falling almost a third in early trading.
Red Wings reward Babcock for winning...
AP - Mike Babcock's new contract allows the oldest of his three children to graduate from the same high school she's attending. And if all goes well with the Detroit Red Wings...
CSL to acquire Talecris for $3.4b
Blood products and vaccine firm CSL will acquire Talecris Biotherapeutics Holdings for $3.48 billion to boost its presence in the plasma therapeutics market.
08/13/08
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Gunns shares drop on ANZ pullout reports
Gunns' shares have fallen sharply in early trade on the back of reports the ANZ Bank will not fund the controversial $2 billion Tasmanian pulp mill.