Beneath the politics and struggles over the regulatory framework
that are central to the T3 process, another fiercely contested
high-stakes process is under way, says Stephen Bartholomeusz in The Age. The participants are the global
investment banks, anxious to share in the rivers of fees and
mountains of prestige available to those who play a role in what
could be the world’s largest single share offering.

Bluescope Steel is ramping up the expansion of
its steel products business as rising raw material costs and lower
market prices put the squeeze on margins for steel making, reports The Australian. Australia’s biggest steel producer reported a record full-year profit
of just over $1 billion, up 72% from $584 million a year
earlier as its upstream steel operations capitalised on record high
steel prices.

The 2005 profit season is less than halfway through but it’s
already clear that there is plenty to like about the current crop
of Australian management teams, says Alan Kohler in The Smage. While The Fin Review
reports that company directors have been warned to link executive
salary packages more closely to performance and curb the size of
termination payments or face a shareholder backlash during this
year’s AGM season.

The Age reports that executives at National Australia Bank have dramatically extended
a self-imposed deadline to entrench cultural change, saying it
might take as long as five years to restore the bank’s battered
reputation.

On Wall Street, US stocks closed lower overnight, following an
indecisive session during which investors assessed a
larger-than-expected drop in monthly existing-home sales, fluctuating
energy prices and more management turmoil at Citigroup. The Dow Jones
closed down 50.31 points at 10,519 – MarketWatch has a full report here.