PRESS DIGEST-Australian Business News - Jul 21

Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (www.afr.com) -- Primary Health Care (PRY.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has offloaded the consumer business it acquired through this year's takeover of Symbion Health, and is evaluating offers for Symbion's former pharmacy distribution assets. French-based Sanofi-Aventis will pay A$560 million for the consumer business, allowing the vendor to pay off loans used to fund its A$2.7 billion purchase of Symbion. The consumer assets include dietary supplement brands Bio-Organics, Cenovis, Nature's Own and Betadine. Page 15. -- National Foods is one of three bidders for New South Wales cooperative Dairy Farmers, owner of the Coon and Cracker Barrel cheese brands and Dare and Oak flavoured milk. The National Foods consortium, including Victorian-based Warrnambool Cheese and Butter, is competing with Victorian cooperative Murray Goulburn and Canada's Saputo, which lodged rival bids last Friday. National Foods has flagged a 23 percent rise in earnings before tax for fiscal 2008, despite going backwards in calendar 2007. It is expected to fetch A$900 million. Page 15. -- Fortescue Metals Group (FMG.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is close to gaining approval for an expansion of its Pilbara iron ore project in Western Australia, having committed to a practical completion agreement under which it must mine and ship 2 million tonnes of ore in a four-week period. This pertains to the terms of Fortescue's A$2.7 billion bond financing, and allows the company to secure more debt funding. It is believed the expansion could be approved within weeks. Page 17. -- Xstrata Coal (XTA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) chairman Peter Coates says the mining and agricultural sectors will suffer under a national emissions trading scheme, which the Federal Government plans to implement within two years. The Government intends to compensate those affected by the scheme with free carbon permits, 30 percent of which have been earmarked for industry. 'Our only concern is there will not be enough to properly protect industry,' Mr Coates said yesterday. Page 18. THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)

-- Australia's 'two-speed' economy will become more apparent as the mining states continue to outperform non-commodity based sectors, Access Economics has warned. Its June quarterly outlook report, released yesterday, describes consumer and business confidence as 'kaput.' While lingering inflation will see interest rates remain on hold in the short term, recent tax cuts and 'strikingly strong' business investment will help Australia ride out a United States-led downturn, Access says. Page 29. -- A recent advertising slump in capital cities may have put the metropolitan advertising market in decline in 2008. While early expectations were for growth of 4 to 5 percent following a strong performance last year, audited figures could show a 2 percent slide in the first half of this year, media buyers say. OMD managing partner Peter Horgan still expects 6.2 percent growth for the broader sector this year, although this will mostly be due to a 23 percent increase in online advertising. Page 29. -- Woodside Petroleum (WPL.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has reaped the benefit of a 10 percent rise in gas prices over the last three months, following a pipeline explosion at Apache Energy's processing plant in Western Australia at the beginning of June. Woodside's production for the quarter to June 30 was up 14 percent to 19.3 million barrels of oil equivalent, compared with the previous corresponding period. JPMorgan has forecast a further 20 percent increase in gas prices over the next three months. Page 30. -- Telstra (TLS.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) as rehashed an 'emotional' marketing strategy with its latest mobile-phone commercial, using the Bruce Woodley song, I am Australian, to promote its mobile coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games. Telstra executive Bill Obermeier said the company had exhausted a technology-focused campaign for its Next G network, and 'people needed to feel good about Telstra' again. Telstra used the song in an advertising campaign four years ago. Page 31. THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au) -- Westfield shopping centre tycoon Frank Lowy has rejected a United States (US) Senate report claiming he took steps to 'hide ownership of assets from Australian tax authorities for the purpose of avoiding...tax obligations.' At issue is the Lowy family's use of a Liechtenstein financial institution, the LGT Bank, with a tax trail dating back to 1995. Peter Lowy, an American citizen who heads the US arm of his father's global business, will appear before a Senate sub-committee on Thursday. Page 17. -- A court has questioned the outstanding accounts of failed broker Opes Prime, saying the appointment of receivers and administrators on March 27 did not constitute an 'event of default' and accounts may not have been 'closed out.' This could result in the reevaluation of an estimated A$514 million owed to clients of the margin lender. Receivers warn the delay in resolving the matter 'has already allowed client debtors to avoid repaying their debts.' Putting the company into liquidation may resolve the matter, they say. Page 19. -- The Australian stockmarket is expected to bounce back today on a stronger lead from the United States, although second-quarter consumer price data, due on Wednesday, will have the most influence on local investors. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index shed another 60 points on Friday to finish the week down 2.8 percent, despite gains on Wall Street stemming from a better-than-expected result at Citigroup. Macquarie Group analysts said Wednesday's consumer data would indicate an inflation rate above 4 percent. Page 19. -- Media stocks are expected to slide today after John Singleton's Macquarie Radio Network lowered its earnings forecast due to a softer market in Sydney. Macquarie Radio, which includes Sydney's number-one radio station 2GB, said its operating profit could be 20 percent lower in 2008 than in 2007. Nonetheless, chairman Max Donnelly described the business as 'solid' given weaker economic conditions. Earlier this month, star 2GB host Alan Jones accounced he had prostate cancer and would be off air indefinitely. Page 19. THE AGE (www.theage.com.au) -- Department store Myer will open its first international store in Dubai next year, and has plans to open another four in the United Arab Emirates before launching an assault on the growing Eastern European market. Chief executive Bernie Brooks said Dubai was a logical choice because it was a shopping hub of the region, where retail was growing at 12 percent annually. Mr Brooks said the store would resemble its premier Australian stores such as Myer Bondi. Page B1. -- Ethiopia has granted BHP Billiton (BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) a potash exploration licence for a 17,000 square-km area, its Mines Ministry said yesterday. The government has also undertaken to protect BHP employees against attacks by ethnic Afar or troops from neighbouring Eritrea. Three British and two French nationals were kidnapped in the Afar region in March by rebels. Analysts expect potash prices to nearly double over the next three years amid higher food demand and limited supplies of the soil nutrient. Page B3. -- Melbourne's property auction market yielded mixed results at the weekend, with a slight rise in the clearance rate to 63 percent but erratic demand overall. The Jas H. Stephens agency said properties in the city's west were taking an average of 59 days to sell, compared with 47 days at the same time last year. Other agents including Hocking Stuart and Woodards reported pockets of interest at select suburbs but indifference at most auctions. Page B4. -- Fledgling miner Syndicated Metals (SMD.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) could benefit from an updated resource estimate by joint-venture partner Kings Minerals (KMN.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), whose copper-molybdenum-gold project is mostly covered by Syndicated's Kalman South deposit near Mount Isa, northwest Queensland. A preliminary study at the site returned a 23.4 percent copper grading, which could imply a value of A35 cents a share for Syndicated, analysts say. Syndicated's shareprice closed at A22.5 cents on Friday. Page B.