THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (www.afr.com)

Store chain Target appears to be losing ground to its Wesfarmers stablemate Kmart. The rise in customer numbers and increased sales for Kmart in the six months to December 31, however, did not translate into higher earnings for the department store chain as prices had fallen at the group by 10 percent over the same period. Target's sales fell 3.1 percent but Wesfarmers managing director Richard Goyder believed new Target managing director Dene Rogers could turn the business around, similar to Kmart managing director Guy Russo's success. Page 40.

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A licence approval for its Malaysian rare earths refinery has seen mining company Lynas Corporation post a 19 percent gain on the sharemarket yesterday. Lynas closed at A$1.59 after the Malaysian Atomic Energy Licensing Board granted a temporary operating licence to the rare earths hopeful who will now be able to ship concentrates from its Mount Weld mine in Western Australia. Opposition member of Parliament for the Pahang state, where the refinery will be built, Fuziah Salleh, was unhappy with the ruling and said she was "disappointed but expected this from the Malaysian government". Page 41.

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Paul O'Sullivan, chief executive of telecommunications giant SingTel Optus, praised the decision by the Federal Court that will allow Optus to continue with its TV Now service. The court found that Optus was not in breach of copyright by allowing users to record free-to-air broadcasts to watch, sometimes only minutes later. Optus used the "time-shifting" provisions in the Copyright Act to argue its case but the ruling has placed a question mark over the value of internet broadcast rights. Page 42.

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Digital media company Yahoo!7 have appointed former E*Trade boss Stuart Sayers as their new chief operating officer, ending a search of nearly a year. The Yahoo! And Seven West Media joint online venture began leadership succession plans nearly 12 months ago and the appointment of Mr Sayers puts him into the mix as a potential candidate to replace chief executive Rohan Lund if he were to move on. "Part of what makes Yahoo!7 so attractive is that is the best bits of E*Trade on steroids," Mr Sayers said. Page 42.

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THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)

Swiss miner Xstrata has been approached with a merger proposal by commodities trader Glencore. If accepted, the move would result in a giant A$76.4bn resources company. Glencore, already a 34 percent owner of Xstrata, had been required to announce any move by march 1, but an extension may be granted. "Any merger would clearly greatly strengthen Glencore's presence in commodity markets - particularly thermal coal, copper and ferroalloys - but also raise conflict of interest concerns due to the size of the combined entity and likely influence on prices," Numis Securities equity analyst Cailey Barker said. Page 21.

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For the 10th straight quarter, Wesfarmers-owned Coles has outperformed rival Woolworths in sales from existing stores as the company renewed its vow to continue with discounting prices in spite of falling returns. "To fix the business you have to fix the customer offer, and customers would not be forgiving of us if, having done a lot of work to regain and rebuild their trust on value, we then changed our strategies," chief executive of Wesfarmers, Richard Goyder, said. Page 21.

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There is speculation building that billionaire Gina Rinehart will seize control of Fairfax Media with the aim to combine it with good friend John Singleton's Macquarie Radio Network. The pair have known each other for many years and even teamed up in 2010 against the mining tax proposed by the Labor government. "We have been able to overtly and covertly attack governments  Because we have people employed by us like Andrew Bolt and Alan Jones and Ray Hadley who agree with her thinking about the development of our resources, we act in concert that way," Mr Singleton said recently. Page 21.

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Chief executive of Australia's fastest-growing internet service company iiNet, Michael Malone, is a step closer to his goal of a billion-dollar organisation after the recent acquisition of the Canberra-based TransACT. The move will give the company a sizeable boost to its footprint and bring aboard fellow internet entrepreneur Simon Hackett, who Malone believes will strengthen the organisation. "I have the strangely optimistic feeling that this one will turn out to be the best deal we have done in the last decade," Mr Malone said of the TransACT purchase. Page 21.

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THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au)

In the strongest sign yet that goldminer Newcrest was looking at its West African assets for future development, chief executive Greg Robinson has announced in an address to the Melbourne Mining Club that Newcrest would spend up to A$30 million exploring the region inherited with its Lihir Gold takeover in 2010. Mr Robinson said there was "every chance to build a substantial business there," and also predicted that gold could reach US$2500 an ounce in the next five years. Page B1.

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The fall-out from the Federal Court ruling in favour of telecommunication company Optus' mobile TV Now service has started with the competitors of Telstra, owner of several sports internet broadcast rights, promoting services that undermine the value of Telstra's investment. Relying on broadcast rights for revenue, the National Rugby League and Australian Football League will next week appeal the decision that could see them lose hundreds of millions of dollars. Page B2.

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Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the slump the housing industry is currently experiencing is worse than at any time previously during the global financial crisis. "Building approvals in late 2011 imply that housing starts will fall to a level below that experienced during the depth of the GFC, which would clearly be a very unhealthy outcome," Harley Dale, a Housing Industry Association economist, said. Page B3.

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Research by Experian Marketing Services has revealed that half of online department store retailers, visited by Australians, are overseas. The information is used by companies to determine where to spend their online marketing budgets, with Experian selling the information to clients such as Gold Coast Tourism and real estate group Raine & Horne. Matt Glasner, general manager for Experian, said the data clearly showed that Australian customers were willing to shop around for the best buy. Page B5.

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THE AGE (www.theage.com.au)

Resources giant BHP Billiton has spent over US$2 billion on precommitment to Australian growth projects following the latest decision to expend US$917 million on the outer harbour at Port Hedland in Western Australia. Analysts Deutsche Bank said it could be 2023 before shareholders could expect any returns from the investment. "Current shareholders will undoubtedly lament that they have to suffer ongoing lower returns in order to benefit future shareholders," the report from Deutsche said. Page B1.

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Major shareholders of media company Fairfax Media have been urged by director Geoffrey Cousins to deny billionaire Gina Rinehart a seat on the board. Mr Cousins, a Telstra director and former Pay TV boss, has concerns Mrs Rinehart might attempt to exert her influence over its radio stations and newspaper divisions. "Quite clearly there are a lot of people in mining companies, and Gina Rinehart seems to be one, who don't like anybody placing any restrictions on their activities," Mr Cousins said. Page B4.

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US mining giant Newmont is preparing to sell A$120 million worth of coal assets in Queensland, acquired when they completed the takeover of Normandy Mining ten years ago. The two "non-core" thermal coal assets between Toowoomba and Millmerran have a resource yield estimated at 1.2 billion tonnes. Indian companies Adani, GVK and Aditya Birla, have all been mentioned as potential buyers with the Indian government keen to secure long term energy needs for the nation. Page B8.

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Marketing and communications services company Photon Group will face another legal claim of deceptive and misleading conduct. Centred around the 2006 acquisition of iMega, an internet marketing business, the claim by former chief executive at iMega, Ari Klinger, is that Photon set up a subsidiary, Geekdom, that they used to divert assets and earnings, thereby undermining the likelihood of any 'earn out' payments. Page B8.

• A Permanent Economic Emergency