South Australia's biggest lender Bank SA is considering whether to lift its variable interest rates independently of the Reserve Bank.

MELBOURNE, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Australian shares are expected to open firmer on Friday, after Wall Street stocks gained on news of a deal to buy troubled mortgage lender Countrywide and after the Federal Reserve said it was prepared to

Halfway through the six month ban on most take-away alcohol in Fitzroy Crossing, a senior police officer has labelled it a success.

Wall Street has rallied after the head of the US Federal Reserve signalled another cut in interest rates.

The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) says Perth's house prices have risen marginally in the three months to December.

The company which operates the large undersea electricity cable connecting Tasmania and Victoria says problems which shut the cable down for a week have not happened anywhere in the world for almost two decades.

Electricity network ElectraNet says South Australia has broken its record for the most amount of power used in one day, and will probably break it again before summer is over.

The Tasmanian Government has finalised contracts with architects and building services engineers to work on the Royal Hobart Hospital redevelopment.

Sydney's Star City Casino is proposing a & #36;3.9 million redevelopment for outdoor gambling in response to the New South Wales smoking bans.

WELLINGTON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Westpac New Zealand Ltd, a unit of Australia's Westpac Banking Corp WBC.AX, became the second bank in the country to raise its mortgage rate due to tight global credit conditions.

The New South Wales south coast is experiencing a boom season, with some businesses reporting their best ever year.

SYDNEY, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The Australian dollar was up near two-month highs against a battered U.S. dollar on Friday having surged on speculation of more aggressive U.S. rate cuts.

TransAdelaide says track buckling across Adelaide's rail network will continue to be a problem until a re-sleepering program is completed.

MELBOURNE, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Australian shares opened up 0.3 percent on Friday, breaking a four-day losing streak, on hopes an aggressive cut in U.S. interest rates will help mitigate an economic slowdown.

SYDNEY, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Shares in Australian property investor Centro Property Group CNP.AX, which is struggling to refinance its maturing debt, were placed on a trading halt on Friday pending an announcement from the company.

Guantanamo Bay- 6 years too many

DEMOCRATS SLAM VIC ENVIRONMENT LAWS

REFORM OF ELECTORAL FUNDING SYSTEM ESSENTIAL

A MAN and a woman in Germany lost their jobs after pretending to be on a training course while taking an S&M sex holiday at their employer's expense.

THE days of taxpayers sending large cheques to perennial election candidate Pauline Hanson may be nearing an end, with the Rudd Government promising yesterday a review of the public funding laws.