The State Government should mark the Solar Cities Congress by moving to stop residential mansions and high rise buildings from overshadowing solar panels says Democrat MP Sandra Kanck.

POLICE have denied reports that former AFL star Wayne Carey is set to be charged over an incident in Port Melbourne last month.

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd says it took some time for him to realise that having dinner with disgraced former Western Australian premier Brian Burke was a bad idea.

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd had a "chatty, intimate" relationship with disgraced former Western Australian premier Brian Burke, the Federal Opposition says,

THE usual rules of the company earnings reporting season, now under way, are being blown away by a variety of new factors.

MOST Australian companies are in good financial shape to withstand further market shocks although a worrying number are still vulnerable, an industry survey has found.

BRITAIN has announced the nationalisation of troubled bank Northern Rock, in a highly embarrassing twist for PM Gordon Brown's government.

THE Commonwealth Bank has sent the corporate doctors into two troubled companies as the bank faces an escalation in bad debt.

CBA chief executive Ralph Norris has refused to "ring the bell" on the bank sector's 10-year golden run, despite last week's lacklustre CBA interim results.

ALLCO Finance Group is believed to be considering a partial asset sale as a possible solution to its refinancing woes.

A MIXED opening is expected for the Australian share market today as investors prepare to digest a barrage of earnings results through the week.

Opus International Consultants has reported an annual net profit after tax up 6.5 per cent to & #36;14.2 million ( & #36;A12.36 million).

SYDNEY, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set for a lacklustre start on Monday, after worries about weaker consumer spending in the world's biggest economy pushed U.S. stocks lower at the end of last week.

Mitsubishi workers are being offered an employment and training service to help them find long-term replacement jobs.

SYDNEY, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The board of Allco Finance Group Ltd AFG.AX, an Australian asset manager which last week opened its books to potential suitors, was seeking a cash injection, The Australian Financial review said.

SINGAPORE, Feb 17, 2008 (AFP) - Fighter jets, commercial planes and unmanned drones will jostle for attention at Asia's biggest airshow this week as titans Boeing, Airbus and other manufacturers take their wares to the booming Asian market, organisers said.

SYDNEY, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Centro Properties Group CNP.AX, which owns 700 U.S. shopping malls, has convinced its banks to extend refinancing deadlines, giving the company more time to sell assets to raise cash and repay its debts.

The Gold Coast Public Transport Alliance has met the Queensland Transport Minister to outline its concerns about a proposed rapid transit system.

Farmers in the South Australian Mallee region are concerned that sand mining is destroying the environment.

Analysts say the Australian share market is poised for a subdued opening today, after concerns about weaker consumer spending in the United States pushed Wall Street lower on Friday.