GLOBAL oil giants are preparing to return to Iraq after being chased out of the oil-rich country 36 years ago by the late dictator Saddam Hussein.

TWO former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers were indicted today as officials unveiled charges against more than 400 people in a wide-ranging probe of mortgage abuses during the US housing boom.

GLOBAL commodity prices are likely to remain high thanks to continuing demand from Asia, the Reserve Bank of Australia says.

OIL prices are approaching the levels that plunged the world economy into chaos during the 1970s, the Rudd Government has warned.

IT MAY not have a name yet, but Australia will have a new domestic airline this year, possibly by November, thank to Cenap Kahyaoglu.

SHARES in childcare giant ABC Learning were in free-fall yesterday as founder and chief executive Eddy Groves was forced to defend accusations of anti-competitive behaviour by the competition regulator.

THE counsel assisting the coronial inquiry into the death of American diver Tina Watson has called for her husband Gabe to face trial for murder.

US STOCKS stocks rose yesterday as a drop in oil prices fuelled investor optimism about consumer spending.

Accused child killer posted regularly on parenting site Posted that she couldn't cope with motherhood Said it was killing her

ONE of the embattled Babcock & Brown satellite funds yesterday disappointed investors, cutting its full-year profit forecast and saying it would not pay a second-half dividend.

THE deaths of twin toddlers is a timely reminder for neighbours to report possible cases of neglect or abuse to the relevant authorities, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says.

QUEENSLAND police are investigating whether a body found in a NSW mid-north coast forest is that of a missing Hervey Bay woman.

TRANSURBAN has cut dividend payouts by more than 60 per cent, saying borrowing to pay shareholders isn't sustainable.

A BRISBANE couple have been charged with murder and torture over the deaths of their 18-month-old twins.

THE findings of an inquest into the 2003 honeymoon death of an American diver off the north Queensland coast will be handed down today.

ACCC alleges Richard Pratt misled a commission hearing Pratt denied knowledge of alleged price-fixing plot Faces up to four years' jail

BILLIONAIRE cardboard king Richard Pratt could face up to four years in jail after being charged with lying to the corporate watchdog over his knowledge of price fixing.

A SPEED camera operator escaped with only a cut finger after he was attacked by an axe-wielding man in Melbourne's south.

A FUNERAL for a toddler whose remains were found more than four years after he went missing will be held today.