Precious Time Could Be Lost In Fight Against Disease

THE change in her daughter's eyes gives Tracy Banks comfort and strength. "The sparkle . . . she's got that pretty much all the time now."

Guarantee Scheme Settles Jitters

THE Government's deposit guarantee scheme has helped stem the loss of funds among some smaller and offshore-owned banks that had come under pressure at the height of the global banking crisis.

Australian Banks Pressured To Lower Their Dividends

THE global financial crisis will force Australian banks to lower their dividends in the next six months, a leading strategist has warned.

Report Queries Bank Moves

A GOVERNMENT-backed committee has raised doubts over whether major banks are actively competing with each other in the nation's mortgage market, as smaller lenders fall away after being squeezed by funding markets.

Babcock, Banks Continue Crisis Talks On $3.1 Billion Debt

BABCOCK & Brown was last night locked in talks aimed at convincing its banking syndicate to restructure the company's $3.1billion debt.

Banks For Waterfronts

I'D love to live on the waterfront. You know, boat bobbing on the water, a strip of sandy beach, oysters getting fat on your own jetty and the smell of salt and seaweed.

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Nurturing The Family Vine

I GREW up in Griffith, NSW, and the winery and vineyard were my playground. My three brothers and I would climb the olive trees, stuff our faces full of figs from the enormous tree in our backyard and go yabbying along the channel banks.

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Banks Nervous As Centro Deadline Looms

LONG-SUFFERING shareholders of Centro Properties Group will get their day in the sun this week when the directors face the annual investors' meetings - if the group survives the next few days.

Home Truth Is Banks Must Bite The Bullet

NOT that I want to go on about it but until the banks bite the bullet on their dividends the sharemarket will be all over the shop.

Get The Look ... Reality Chic

Technically, uber-conservationist DrJane Goodall (pictured) ticked all the same frock boxes as Nicole Kidman, Tyra Banks, Kate Bosworth, Sarah Michelle Gellar et al before last week's Glamour magazine Women of the Year Awards in New York. Like them, she wore the requisite fancy formal floor-grazer ensemble, the "bit o' bling" (in her case, a brooch), the hairdo with a wisp or three left to wiggle nonchalantly free. (Note to slavish frockwatchers: three strands short of perfection is the celebrity ...

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Banks Circle The Piggybank With A Hammer, And There's Worse To Come

One of the sure signs a company is on the brink of being placed into administration is when the battle moves from being one between the company and its banks to a war between banks. The Babcock & Brown story has entered this phase.

Just Say It: In A Recession A Deficit Is Not Necessarily Bad

IF BUSINESSES remain focused on the long-run opportunities; if markets and commentators do the same; if banks remain willing to lend on reasonable terms for good proposals; if governments are able to so order their affairs as to continue supporting worthwhile - and I emphasis worthwhile - public investment (even if that involves some prudent borrowing); then Australia will come through.

Babcock To Cut Itself In Two

EMBATTLED investment company Babcock & Brown will slash 850 jobs by 2010, hive off half its business and refocus as a specialist infrastructure company - all while trying to keep the banks at bay.

As Bigger Banks Deflate, Smaller Cousins Have Cause To Celebrate

AUSTRALIA'S regional banks are in excellent condition, having outperformed the Big Four over an immensely difficult period.

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Will Babcock & Brown 'mini-me' Be Enough To Stave Off Administration?

But the banks will need to take a deep breath to recast their exposure.

Banking On Value Of Human Capital

BANKS risk losing talented younger staff and future leaders by cutting too deeply during the economic downturn. The warning from human resources and banking experts comes amid forecasts that as many as 10,000 jobs could be cut from Australia's big banks in the next year.

Csr Raising Looks Sweet

INVESTMENT banks handling the $482 million capital raising for diversified company CSR have reported good support from existing and new shareholders.

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Deposit? You're Dreaming

THE "no deposit" home loan is about to become a thing of the past, as the big banks tighten the screws on new borrowers.

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China Leans On State Banks To Power Economy Through The Crisis

A thriving informal financial system is causing regulators to sweat, but they should save their concern for the state-controlled banks.

Foreign Banks Retreat From Our Shores

A SIGNIFICANT retreat of foreign banks from the Australian corporate lending market is under way, which will leave the "Big Four" domestic institutions scrambling to pick up the slack in a mass refinancing of company debt due to happen over the next 12 months.

Banks Yield To The Inevitable

YET more proof the banks aren't quite the pillars of strength they insist came with National Australia Bank's $3 billion capital raising.

10,000 Banking Jobs At Threat

UNIONS urged the Federal Government to save banking jobs, amid fears the big five banks could soon shed up to 10,000 positions. The Age reported yesterday that ANZ was set to cut 3000-3500 jobs - 10% of its workers - in weeks, responding to the economic slowdown.

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Aggrieved Does Not Begin To Explain It

Until now Australian banks, the Federal Government and the regulators have been extremely busy patting themselves on the back for the relative health of the local banking system and how their prudent lending policies have allowed them to avoid the calamities befalling the US and Europe.

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If you're not interested in credit card rewards and just want a basic low rate credit card, the Aussie MasterCard credit card offers just that.

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Notional Amounts Aren't Real

THE article "Banks face challenge on off-balance sheet exposure" (BusinessDay, 4/11) contains several inaccuracies and misrepresents the nature of Australian banks' exposure to derivatives activities.

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Save more with a RaboPlus Savings Account

You want an online savings account, consider the RaboPlus savings account. Learn more here.

A Is For Abc, B For Banks, C For Collapse

Directors and bankers are pondering how many companies will fall with the end of the equity boom.

Cheques And Balances

Banks that cling to free-wheeling ways should pay the price in the bad times, writes Andrew Ross Sorkin.

Eight Banks Going All Out To Hold Abc Together

EIGHT banks with exposure to ABC Learning have banded together to ensure the failed child-care company keeps operating as normal, in part because they hope for a sale of ABC as a complete entity.

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The Commonwealth Bank has lowered the interest rates on a range of their credit cards, including the CBA Low Rate credit card.

Banks Turn Their Guns On The Zombies As Things Get Nasty

Yesterday's midyear budget update marks the official start of the protracted economic downturn the financial market meltdown has spawned.

Big Four Cut Rates

AUSTRALIA'S big four banks have moved to reduce their variable home loan interest rates, with Westpac, ANZ and National Australia Bank announcing cuts yesterday.

Tips to help survive the economic downturn

The lending practices in the USA that resulted in the sub prime fiasco and subsequent problems with the international credit markets have contributed to the current global economic downturn. This is having an impact on Australia. Banks.com.au has put together some Tips to help you survive an economic downturn.

Major Banks Refuse To Give Full Rate Cut

WESTPAC and NAB have closed ranks with the Commonwealth Bank in refusing to pass on the full benefit of this week's surprise 0.75 percentage point cut to the official cash rate.

Banks Play Ducks And Drakes With Reserve's Rate Cut

The decision by the Reserve Bank to lower interest rates by three quarters of a percentage point was a bookmaker's delight, in much the same way as the four-legged Viewed which was not the favourite to win the Melbourne Cup.

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It's Do Or Die, Embattled Allco Tells Its Banks

THE directors of the embattled Allco Finance Group are looking for assurances from its banking syndicate that it will continue to support the debt-stricken company - or they may be forced to bring in a voluntary administrator.

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Allco Thrown Another Lifeline

THE TROUBLED Allco Finance Group is expected to announce today that it has again secured another temporary lifeline from its banks, saving it from collapse but under an ever-increasing tightening of its debt repayment schedule.

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Has Power Gone To Bully Boys' Heads?

HAVE we created a monster? We've guaranteed the safety of banks and now they're going to turn around and cut 10,000 jobs in 2009.

Banks Cool On Plan To Free Up Funds

THE nation's banks have given a cool response to a Federal Government proposal for them to buy the assets of frozen mortgage funds, fearing such a move could increase the risky assets sitting on their balance sheet.

Banks Cool On Rudd Plan

'Canberra may be out of step in its response to the global financial crisis.'

Swan Pressures Banks To Cut Rates

THE federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan, has toughened his stance against the banks, saying they must explain any decision not to pass on in full an expected interest rate cut next week.

Swan Pressures Banks To Pass On Expected Rate Cut

THE federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan, has toughened his stance against the banks, saying they must explain any decision not to pass on in full an expected interest rate cut next week.