THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (www.afr.com)

--Miner Gloucester Coal is set to reveal an updated version of its A$8 billion merger agreement with Chinese-owned company Yancoal Australia that will reduce the merged entity's level of debt and has secured the backing of major shareholder Noble Group. Observers say the alterations give the deal a greater chance of succeeding, but the Foreign Investment Review Board has yet to approve the agreement. Page 19.

--Better than anticipated profit results has caught out some investors who were betting on a drop in share prices, resulting in significant rallies in individual companies. The value of short positions held on the S&P/ASX 200 Index, according to analysts at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, has slumped by A$502 million to A$16 billion since the start of the reporting season in February. Page 19.

--Nine Entertainment Co has reportedly hired investment bank UBS to conduct a formal sales process of its events division, which includes the Ticketek business, in a bid by the media conglomerate's owners to resolve its A$2.7 billion of debt. CVC Asia Pacific, the private equity group in control of Nine, is considering selling off assets, equity injections and a bonds issue in the United States to repay the debt before it matures early next year. Page 19.

--Paul O'Sullivan, the long-term head of Optus, is set to take on additional responsibility at parent company Singapore Telecommunications under a corporate restructure designed to help it secure a greater portion of the mobile content and advertising sector currently dominated by Google , Apple and Facebook. "Our objective is to reinvent the call carriage business," Chua Sock Koong, chief executive of SingTel, said on a conference call. Mr O'Sullivan will remain as the head of Optus. Page 21.

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

--The board of casino operator Echo Entertainment yesterday was reportedly thinking about approaching the Takeovers Panel after rival group Crown Ltd filed a substantial shareholder notice. Crown announced it had taken control of a 9.2 percent stake in Echo and is expected to acquire the shares today after settling an equity derivative contract worth A$254 million with diversified financial institution Deutsche Bank. Page 21.

--A stark reduction in the growth of the Chinese economy has not stopped local coal and iron ore miners from pursuing aggressive expansion plans. According to Paul Young, analyst at diversified financial institution Deutsche Bank, the announcement by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to lower China's growth target to 7.5 percent for 2012, the lowest since 2004, will not affect the mining sector's medium to long-term forecast. He added that global miners like Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton had their own 20-year projection for the country. Page 21.

--Volatility in global markets and continued currency headwinds has not stopped industry from planning billions of dollars of investment into growth ventures over the next 18 months, according to anecdotal evidence from the latest reporting season. Global miner Rio Tinto is tipped to outspend rival BHP Billiton on capital expenditure for the first time in several years, with A$18 billion earmarked for investment into its iron ore operations in Western Australia. Page 21.

--The Federal Court in Melbourne yesterday heard that directors of shopping centre owner Centro were concerned about the group's short-term debt shortly before it wrongly informed investors that A$3.1 billion of debt was listed as "non-current". The group, which is being sued for more than A$600 million in damages by Centro investors, had planned to use the commercial-mortgage backed securities market to refinance its liabilities, but the growing subprime crisis in the United States rendered the plan nearly impossible. The hearing continues. Page 21.

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

--Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has become the first Australian lender to secure a licence to provide retail banking services in the renminbi or yuan, the currency of China. The move by the China Banking Regulatory Commission provides a major boost to the bank's Asia-focused strategy, having received a licence to do business in India 12 months prior. ANZ said it will be able to provide Chinese citizens with mortgages, bancassurance, currency deposits and wealth management products. Page B1.

--The latest business indicators report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics published yesterday has revealed that sales growth in the north-west of Australia has vastly outpaced sales growth in the country's south-east. According to the report, sales growth grew by 14.6 percent in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland over the 12 months to December, while only growing by 2.9 percent in the other states and territories. Page B1.

--Beverage manufacturer Coca-Cola Amatil yesterday said it would continue to work on its business relationship with spirits maker Beam Global, rather than acquiring the ready-to-drink and spirits division of brewer Foster's Group. "We're really happy with the Beam Global arrangements," Terry Davis, managing director of Cola-Cola, said, adding that he was still interested in developing Bounty Rum should the company acquire the Fijian brand. "I think that's got a lot of legs, it's been undermarketed," he said. Page B3.

--A senior judge in the New South Wales Supreme Court yesterday said she was "really troubled" by the animosity shown by the special purpose liquidator for One.Tel to the failed telecommunications group's creditors. Optus, which lost A$65 million when the phone company folded, is seeking either an investigation into Paul Weston's conduct or his dismissal as One.Tel's liquidator. The hearing continues. Page B5.

THE AGE (www.theage.com.au)

--Labor MP Bernie Ripoll yesterday announced his resignation as the chairman of the parliamentary joint committee for corporations and financial services after he was promoted to parliamentary secretary to the Federal Treasurer. Mr Ripoll's new role, which was previously held by David Bradbury before his promotion to Assistant Treasurer in the federal government, will give him responsibility over the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the mint, corporate governance and financial literacy. Page B3.

--A report by technology analysts Telsyte published yesterday has found that discounting is one of the main trends in local online sales. "All the emerging ways to buy online are tied by a single common factor - discounts," Sam Yip, senior research manager at Telsyte, said. The company also noted that consignment shopping models like Graysonline, members-only shopping websites such as brandsExclusive and group buying models like Scoopon and Groupon had appeared in the last two years. Page B3.

--The Federal Government is refusing to cave into demands from local and United States' businesses that it allow controversial dispute clauses to be inserted into the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement. The investor-state settlement clauses will give businesses from one nation the ability to lodge international legal action against the government of another. The federal government, however, last year published a new trade policy that said the clauses potentially gave foreign companies more legal protection than their local counterparts. Page B4.

--Credit reporting firm Dun & Bradstreet yesterday released a survey showing that 37 percent of companies were concerned about the level of the Australian dollar in February, up from 25 percent the month prior. "Clearly, the pressure of a sustained high in the Australian dollar is starting to bite for main-street business  consumers are increasingly savvy and adept at seeking out cheaper alternatives," Gareth Jones, chief executive of Dun & Bradstreet, said. Page B5.

• A Permanent Economic Emergency