Sol Trujillo told the
Government last week it was in trouble, and needed regulatory
reform — even if it meant that the T3 sale had to be
postponed. So if the reform isn’t happening, will Telstra’s board still be
happy to sign off on the sale prospectus? asks Malcolm Maiden in The Age. And will Sol Trujillo put
it all behind him and tour the world’s capitals singing Telstra’s
praises to potential investors? Watch this space.

It looks like Trujillo and his so-called three amigos
overplayed their hand by threatening to torpedo T3, says
Alan Kohler in the
Smage. This team of four is now running
Telstra. They seem to have come as a package: there were no executive searches
for the positions occupied by Greg Winn, Bill Stewart and Phil Burgess. No real problem with all
that, but it would be interesting to know whether the board understood exactly
what was coming. They bring an aggressive approach to
dealing with the Government and regulatory agencies — already in evidence — and
perhaps a belief that regulation can be rolled back, says Kohler. There are already signs that such an
approach will backfire in Australia, but it will be fun for those of us watching in the front
row.

Private equity firms are gearing up for the
long-awaited sale of department store chain Myer and bankers are
jostling to back the firm they think will win, reports The Australian. With more than $20 billion of private equity money looking for a home
in Australia, all the major private equity firms are likely to slide
their rule over Coles Myer’s department store chain.

The Fin Review reports that taxpayers may face another costly trial
in the five-year saga of former senior tax officer Nick Petroulias
after a jury failed to reach a verdict on charges of fraud, corruption
and disclosing secret information.

And a growing appetite for Chinese homewares, food and textiles
means that China is poised to overtake the US as Australia’s main
source of imports, reports The SMH.

On Wall Street, US stocks closed sharply
lower at four-week lows overnight, as fresh economic data and earnings
results from Wal-Mart Stores added to worries about high energy prices affecting growth. The Dow Jones

dropped 120.93 points to 10,513 – MarketWatch has a full report here.