Term Deposit Rates Take A Dive

THE big banks might be playing coy on whether they will pass on an interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank, but they have been quick to drop term deposit rates enjoyed by their customers.

Lifting Rates Just Before Cup

Michael Evans once saw God in a piece of toast and Vegemite.

Das Double-quick, And Not Just Its Own

DEVELOPMENT applications: who said they could not be done?

Cricket Faces Testing Times From A Series Of Quick Deliveries

DO YOU know Phil Jaques and Michael Hussey have scored back-to-back centuries? More importantly, do you know it's day three of the second Test of the summer? Who are we playing again? Ah yes, Sri Lanka is here and Murali is on the verge of breaking Shane Warne's Test wicket-taking record. Does anyone apart from that "miserable man" Warne really care? Hello, is anyone interested? It's cricket season!

No Quick Fix To The Affordability Crisis

HOUSING affordability has worsened in recent years as first-time buyers have been hit by a double whammy: escalating prices and rising interest rates.

Warne Skews Waugh Rating

That Shane Warne rates Steve Waugh poorly says as much about the bowler as the batsman.

Reserve Under Pressure To Leave Rates Alone

THE Minister for Finance, Nick Minchin, has taunted the Reserve Bank about an expected interest rate rise this week as the Government moves into election campaign mode on the issue.

Children's Obesity Rates Keep Rising

TEENAGE girls from wealthy homes are defying national trends by losing weight, while overall childhood obesity rates continue to rise.

Back To Fair And Flexible For Boss And Worker

A federal Labor government will create a new workplace relations system that is simple, fair and flexible. We will abolish Australian workplace agreements. We will return the right to basic working conditions - like penalty rates, overtime and public holiday pay.

Stepping Out Of Line

HE SAID LAST week we were in Melbourne as part of the studio audience to watch the No. 1 show on Australian television being made. It's not hard to see why Dancing With The Stars rates its socks off.

Robert Walls Rates The Great 8

1 GLENN ARCHER

Illusion Cops A Beating From Reality

Times are getting tougher for John Howard - and I'm not referring to a few embarrassing resignations from his ministry. No, it's the economy. It's growing so strongly the Reserve Bank is contemplating raising interest rates again. And that brings us to housing. The factor that contributed so much to Howard's victories in elections past may start costing him votes.

Early Care Crucial After Heart Attack: Study

SURVIVAL rates for people who have a heart attack away from hospitals are very low, but two studies show that early treatment and having an intensive care paramedic on the scene can be life-saving.

Mare Too Quick For Her Rivals

THE Gai Waterhouse-trained Strada will get every chance to win his first Group One in the Coolmore Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Moonee Valley today.

Bracken Bounces Back To Be Mane Man

Hard work has helped the NSW quick come into his own at the international level, writes Daniel Lane.

Hickey Rates The Councils

THE latest NSW Department of Local Government report into the operation of the state's 152 local councils opens with a forward from Local Government Minister Kerry Hickey, who reminds readers that the statistics within the report "do not, on their own, give the full picture of a council's performance".

Betting On A Sure Thing

The Western Australian public servants who were able to make a quick buck, risk-free and without much effort, due to the slack procedures of their super fund, probably couldn't believe their luck.

Rates Decision Will Leave First-home Buyers On The Outer

FIRST-HOME buyers were deserting the Victorian housing market before the Reserve Bank's decision to lift interest rates another 25 basis points, official statistics show, and the outlook could worsen for that key part of the market.

A Grown-up's Car, Sport

Deceptively quick, the Peugeot SV HDi 407 is one to keep an eye on, says Jim Kellar.

Pm Tips New Fund In Plans To Remedy Skills Shortage

PRIME Minister John Howard has blamed past intakes of unskilled migrants and high school drop-out rates in the 1970s and 1980s for leaving 3.5 million Australians of working age without a complete school education.