NSW: Main stories in today's Sydney newspapers=3

AAP General News (Australia)
04-01-2009
NSW: Main stories in today's Sydney newspapers=3

THE AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: The Reserve Bank has conceded Australia cannot escape a 2009 recession, with
the OECD dramatically downgrading its forecast for the developed world's economy to a
4.3 per cent fall this year. Wayne Swan approves $644.8 million investment by Chinese
steel company Hunan Valin in Fortescue Metals group. Former PM Bob Hawke's love affair
with China continues to be unabated. A drop of 5 per cent in the number of overseas students
at Australian colleges and universities would cause 6300 Australians to lose their jobs
as the economy sheds more than $600 million in export revenue. An international drug company
made a hit list of doctors to be "discredited" because they criticised the anti-arthritis
drug the pharmaceutical giant produced.

Page 2: Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon says he was surprised that many core ADF assets
could not be deployed in a conflict but argued it was a problem he inherited from the
Howard government.

Page 3: Heavy rain and rising flood waters in northern NSW on Tuesday night threatened
to leave 4000 people stranded as fears rose of the worst flooding in the state in 13 years.

World: French president Nicolas Sarkozy threatens to wreck the Group of 20 summit in
London if Paris' demands for tougher financial regulation are not met.

Finance: Chinalco has secured cheap bank loans from state-owned institutions to pay
for its $US19.5 billion investment in Rio Tinto.

Sport: Tim Cahill unlikely to start in Wednesday night's World Cup qualifier against
Uzbekistan at ANZ Stadium.

AAP bc/wf

KEYWORD: MONITOR FRONTERS NSW 3 SYDNEY

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.