Despite impasse, AXA chief confident victory is close

THE French wealth giant AXA SA expects to complete the full buy-out of AXA Asia Pacific "one day or the other" as part of efforts to drive its expansion of its life insurance operations throughout the world's emerging markets, including Asia. Even with the proposed $11.7 billion takeover and carve-up of AXA Asia Pacific appearing to have hit a impasse, the AXA SA chief executive, Henri de Castries, is confident an outcome is close.

ANZ close to Asian asset deal

ANZ and Royal Bank of Scotland are expected to finalise the long-awaited sale of key parts of the troubled British group's Asian assets next week, which will soak up about $1 billion of the Australian bank's newly raised war chest.

BHP falls off the peak facing a sharp profit slump

BHP Billiton is headed for a 35 per cent profit slump despite a better-than-expected production effort in the last quarter of the financial year.

Amcor May Cut Packages Operation

PACKAGING giant Amcor is planning more cost cutting as part of the restructure of its Australian operations.

Pressure Mounts On Charities To Be More Open

Many charities only provide scant details of their operations, writes Brian Robins.

Hammering Out A Deal For Hernandez

CARLOS Hernandez may well, as Melbourne Victory football operations boss Gary Cole insists, be one of the most talented players in the A-League. But he is also one of the most frustrating.

Toyota To Stand Firm In Australia

TOYOTA Australia has said that its operations will not be greatly affected after its parent company in Japan posted its first loss in 70 years.

Christmas In Australia, Luggage In Limbo

MISTAKES and technical problems combined to cripple Qantas's baggage handling operations during Sydney Airport's busiest weekend of the year, leaving scores of passengers without their bags, Christmas presents, and, in one case, two miniature schnauzers.

Christmas In Australia, But Luggage Could Be Anywhere

MISTAKES and technical problems combined to cripple Qantas's baggage handling operations during Sydney Airport's busiest weekend of the year, leaving scores of passengers without their bags, Christmas presents, and, in one case, two miniature schnauzers.

Epping Rail Line Not Working Fully Until November

THE $2.3 billion Epping to Chatswood rail line has finally been handed over to RailCorp from its builders, but full train operations have been delayed until late next year because of many flaws on the project, including excessively high noise levels.

New Broom's Clean Sweep

NEWCASTLE City Council will announce today an organisational review that Lord Mayor John Tate describes as the biggest overhaul of the council's operations for many years.

Nab Chief Seizes Local Control

CAMERON CLYNE, the incoming chief executive of National Australia Bank, has moved early to stamp his mark on the banking giant by taking charge of the lender's flagship Australian operations.

Brebner, Victory Agree On New Deal

SEBASTIAN Ryall and Steve Pantelidis have clinched deals to leave Melbourne Victory. Michael Thwaite is widely reported to be signing with Gold Coast United, although there is no confirmation of his departure. And Victory football operations boss Gary Cole is still negotiating over the future of on-loan Costa Rican midfielder Carlos Hernandez.

Identity Call On Jewellery

JEWELLERY that Waratah police seized in drug-related operations will be shown for the second time at Newcastle police station today.

Edmen To Create 27 Jobs

MINISTER for the Illawarra David Campbell has welcomed a decision by the Edmen Group to expand operations.

Victoria Must Position Itself To Dodge Nsw Fallout

The NSW Government is not in control of its operations, writes Ken Phillips.

Smooth Operators Vital For Survival

Keeli Cambourne examines whether now is the time to invest in streamlining operations.

Miners Face Major Production Cuts As Slowdown Sharpens

MINE suspensions and project deferrals are gathering pace as the mining industry deals with the sharpest slowdown in living memory, with more Australian operations facing cutbacks over the next few months.

Vicforests Looking To Better Times

VICFORESTS, the State Government's commercial forestry arm, made a small profit in 2007-08, but says it has positioned itself for the next decade's operations.

Xstrata Pares Operations As Slowdown Hits

XSTRATA, the aggressive Anglo-Swiss miner that appeared invincible during the boom, is starting to trim its Australian operations as it struggles with lower commodity prices and high debt levels.