AN Australian financial wizard who sacrificed a $330 million bonus so he could set up his own business has caused such a sensation in London he has had to hire a team of spin doctors.

ANZ has slapped homeowners with more mortgage pain after the bank lifted its variable mortgage interest rates to nearly 9.5 per cent.

A SIX-YEAR-OLD Mt Isa girl with brain and nervous system injuries allegedly linked to lead exposure has launched legal action against mining giant Xstrata through her mother.

A RUDD Government plan to reduce food prices has drawn fire from economists and retailers.

ANZ chief executive Mike Smith conceded that the Opes debacle had left him "pissed off" because the bank should never have been involved in securities lending.

SWITZERLAND'S second biggest bank Credit Suisse is expected to post writedowns running into billions of dollars overnight amid the ongoing fallout from the US subprime crisis, analysts said.

BOSSES at Britain's second biggest bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland, overnight defended their decision to launch the country's biggest cash call as they met shareholders to explain themselves.

THE prospect of more interest rate hikes emerged yesterday as inflation, buoyed by soaring fuel prices, rents and food price hikes, hit a 17-year high.

SEVEN Network chairman Kerry Stokes has signalled his brawl with the directors of West Australian Newspapers Holdings isn't over.

AUSTRALIAN Greg Coffey has walked away from a lump sum of $263 million in share options and benefits by quitting his job at a London hedge fund.

BREWING giant Tooheys delighted a group of workers when it offered them almost $350,000 each in redundancy. They snapped them up immediately.

ABC Learning lost its market appeal yesterday, with investors selling off shares and a call for founder Eddy Groves to resign.

AUSTRALIANS can expect to pay more at the bowser amid long-term upward pressure on petrol prices, the boss of Caltex Australia said today.