AN 18-year-old man pulled from the surf on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula on Sunday after being submerged for five minutes has died.

Suddenly there's a stutter in the surging economy, or so it seems.In the past few days some major statistics & #160;have cast some doubt on the strength of activity in the economy, or suggested that there might be some sluggishness

SYDNEY, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Metcash Ltd MTS.AX, Australia's largest grocery wholesaler, posted a 30 percent jump in first-half profit on Tuesday, buoyed by its distribution business and strong new store sales, and reaffirmed its full-year forecasts.

The Small Retailers Association says business franchises are failing in South Australia because owners are not being given accurate information.

A new report shows the economic boom is continuing in Western Australia with an unprecedented level of construction activity and strong demand for skilled workers.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US auto sales were stuck in low gear in November as soft economic conditions and worries about a housing maelstrom kept consumers cautious.

As Australia reassesses its Kyoto Protocol obligations, local manufacturers will be under increasing pressure to produce more fuel-efficient cars.

WELLINGTON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - New Zealand's non-bank finance sector faces a major shake-up after a wave of company failures, a slide in investor confidence, and looming new regulations, a survey said on Tuesday.

SYDNEY, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell 0.25 percent on Tuesday, as a fall in base metals prices pressured top miner BHP Billiton Ltd BHP.AX, while persistent worries about credit market losses weighed on financial firms.

Marginbet will move away from online gambling to concentrate its efforts solely in the mining sector, announcing the sale of its Portlandbet business.

The federal government's commodity research agency has made modest upgrades to its winter crop forecasts for 2007/08.

SYDNEY, Dec 4 (Reuters) - The Australian dollar held just above 88 U.S. cents on Tuesday, as deepening risk aversion stemming from tighter liquidity conditions prompted investors to stay clear of high-yielding currencies.

THE more politicians smile, the more people distrust them, according to researchers who said 80 per cent of Portuguese think politicians fake their smiles.

A PAMPERED pooch who inherited $US12 million from a late US hotel magnate has fled to Florida "under an assumed name" after receiving death threats, a report says.

PERTH police have found the body of a 20-month-old missing boy in a lake near his home in north-eastern Perth.

ABOUT 200 people armed with spears, sticks and knives rioted through the far north Queensland Aboriginal community of Aurukun overnight, police said.

AUTHORITIES believe a drug courier got "cold feet" and dumped nearly 6kg of cocaine worth $660,000 in the toilet of a Boeing 747 before arriving in Sydney.

Exports from Tasmania have out-stripped national growth.

US stock prices on Wall Street moved lower at the start of the trading week amid caution about the outlook for the US economy, with fresh data suggesting a slowing in the manufacturing sector.

A new report suggests Australian farmers could be the winners from the growing demand for meat in Asia.