TELSTRA boss Sol Trujillo and his chief lieutenant took home a combined pay packet of more than $24 million last financial year.

A SLIGHTLY better than expected rise in wages will not stop the RBA from cutting interest rates by Christmas, economists say.

CALLS are intensifying for banks to guarantee they'll pass on interest rates cuts, with the powerful RBA and Treasury now weighing in.

EXECUTIVES on multimillion-dollar pay deals face a new level of scrutiny after the tax office and the Reserve Bank yesterday raised concerns about the extravagance lavished by corporate Australia on a chosen few.

A SHARP fall in petrol prices has boosted confidence amongst consumers and lifted sentiment from a 16-year low, a survey shows.

FOXTEL has defied tough economic conditions to post solid full-year earnings.

SIZE, of course, is not everything. But the shift in commercial banking's centre of gravity from Melbourne to Sydney in the past five years has been monumental, and is helping to define the industry's future.

ASSET sales and aggressive cost cutting are likely to push St George to a record full-year profit despite a jump in bad debt charges.

TELSTRA'S profit grew 13.3 per cent in the year to June 30, on a jump in mobile phone revenue as customers took up services with the Next G network.

US stocks closed lower today as several major banks unveiled fresh losses reminding investors that an already lengthy credit crunch is still biting financial firms balance sheets.

COMMONWEALTH Bank has lifted its net profit for the year by 7 per cent to $4.79 billion, slightly above analysts' expectations.

UBS will separate its troubled investment bank from its prized wealth management arm, paving the way to sell the business that made it Europe's biggest casualty of the credit crunch.