Consumer confidence up despite rates rise (The West Australian)
Increased interest rates have failed to dent Australian enthusiasm for shopping, with consumer confidence lifting this month.

Atlas, Aurox in friendly merger (The West Australian)
Pilbara iron ore players Atlas Iron and Aurox Resources have agreed to a friendly $1.13 billion merger in the latest move to further consolidation in the sector.

Macmahon beds down contract (The West Australian)
Contractor Macmahon has called for a trading halt while it finalises details of a contract.

RBA boss warns on housing shortage, capacity restrictions (The West Australian)
Australia's economic future will be challenged by an under-supply of capacity and housing, despite decades of economic reform shielding Australia from the worst of the global downturn, the Reserve Bank of Australia says.

World must prepare for next crisis: IMF boss (The West Australian)
The world needs to prepare for the next economic crisis, even as it begins to recover from the worst recession since the Great Depression, the head of the International Monetary Fund said overnight.

Board reshuffle on cards at Aristocrat (The West Australian)
Aristocrat Leisure chairman David Simpson is to leave the company amid three board changes at the gaming machine maker.

Warning bells over Perth hotel room shortfall (The West Australian)
Perth's tourism industry faces chronic accommodation shortages if more hotel rooms are not brought onto the market, according to tourism bodies.

Greek PM calls on Obama to crackdown on speculators (The West Australian)
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has met with President Barack Obama seeking not a handout but US action against speculators that he says are deepening his country's financial crisis.

Market looks to extend winning streak (The West Australian)
The Australian stock market received a mostly positive set of leads from offshore trading, with Wall Street and base metals prices trading higher.

Court strips Rinehart of $530m (The West Australian)
A court ruling stripping Australia's richest woman Gina Rinehart of her stake in one of WA's most valuable iron ore assets is tipped to have wiped more than $530 million off her personal wealth and cost her billions more in earnings.