Banks raise rates and throw a party

THE BEST OF THE MORNING’S STORIES

Banks take CBA lead on raising home loan rates – Melbourne Age

Banks have gouged on interest rate guarantees: ALP – The Australian

Commonwealth Bank celebrates lifting mortgage rates with lavish party – Melbourne Herald Sun

Malcolm Turnbull rebounds as rival Peter Costello quits – The Australian

POLITICS AND ECONOMICS

Australia

Interest rates

Banks take CBA lead on raising home loan rates – Melbourne Age

Banks have gouged on interest rate guarantees: ALP – The Australian

Which bank parties as mortgages soar? – it seems jacking up interest rates is worth celebrating – with Krug and caviar reports the Sydney Daily Telegraph about a planned CBA end of financial year staff gathering

Commonwealth Bank’s 5-star party – Adelaide Advertiser

Commonwealth Bank celebrates lifting mortgage rates with lavish party – Melbourne Herald Sun

Economic matters

Opposition claims on debt dismissed – Melbourne Age

Queensland Treasurer Fraser opposes NSW protectionist policy on Chinese imports – Brisbane Courier Mail

Budgets

Caravan stamp duty rolls awayin State Budget – Sydney Daily Telegraph

Brace for budget slash and burn: Andrew Fraser sees sacrifices before surplus returns – Brisbane Courier Mail

Industrial relations

Caucus unrest over coercive powers – The Australian

Race relations

Islamic school divides western Sydney suburb – Sydney Daily Telegraph

Indian rioters are hypocrites – Harpeet Bhagrath in the Sydney Daily Telegraph

Public service

Pressure to let SA Public Service heads hire, fire – Adelaide Advertiser

Education

Robbing Rudd to pay Rann: Liberals accuse Premier Mike Rann of skimming stimulus funds – The Australian

Kevin Rudd’s local school gets $3m for double-ups – The Australian

Opinion polls

Coalition closing as Labor lead falls – The Australian

Political life

Suleyman elected to key ALP body – The ALP has responded to the Brimbank Council controversy by elevating one of the central players to the party’s supreme decision-making body – Melbourne Age

Standoff on Rudd ‘pugilist’ remark – a Tasmanian union leader has publicly rebuked Kevin Rudd over his attacks on Senate hopeful Kevin Harkins, and warned against federal intervention to nobble his preselection – The Australian

Senate holds key to early election – Adelaide Advertiser on the current state of play

Peter Costello to quit politics; Mal Brough may replace him – Brisbane Courier Mail

Political death

Malcolm Turnbull rebounds as rival Peter Costello quits – The Australian

Costello clears the way for Turnbull – Melbourne Age

Dancing his last fandango, he still had star quality – says Tony Wright in the Melbourne Age

Some words for the Member for Higgins – Melbourne Age

A political life in pictures – Melbourne Age

Howard damns Costello with faint praise – Sydney Morning Herald

End of an era as Costello goes – Sydney Morning Herald

A hint of strange things

Rudd close-lipped on RBA millions – the Melbourne Age reports that the Prime Minister is silent on the millions of dollars in payments to foreign middlemen by the Reserve Bank of Australia’s banknote printing subsidiaries.

You caught me, admits RailCorp manager – the Sydney Morning Herald reports from ICAC

Card rort findings sent to regulator – an audit report and legal advice to the Health Services Union has suggested there were financial irregularities and possible breaches of industrial law while the union’s national office was headed by the Labor MP for Dobell, Craig Thomson – Sydney Morning Herald

Human rights

Human rights laws ‘too weak’ – Human Rights Commission wants constitution amended to remove sections that are racially discriminatory, and to specifically recognise indigenous people in a preamble – Melbourne Age

Opinion

Tough-talking deputy stakes her claim – Malcolm Colless in The Australian on Julia Gillard and her dealings with unions

A capital idea to cut company tax – Michel Stutchbury in The Australian is all for cutting company tax and increasing the GST rate

Dr Peter and Mr Costello – Tim Colebatch in the Melbourne Age says there are two sides to Peter Costello, and they have not been equally admirable.

Thwarted in his singular goal, golden boy opts to write finis – Shaun Carney in the Melbourne Age

The almost-leader bows out from his half-world – Michelle Grattan in the Melbourne Age says Peter Costello is wise to be leaving politics

Regret, relief for right decision – Paul Kelly in The Australian on Costello’s departure

Labor’s work laws key: compromise – Gerard Henderson in the Sydney Morning Herald

What will we do now that he’s no longer not there for us? ponders Annabel Crabb in the Sydney Morning Herald

He gave much, promised more – Sydney Morning Herald editorial

Commonwealth Bank rate hike shellacking is unfair – Paul Syvret in the Brisbane Courier mail

Elsewhere

Iran

Hardliners open fire as tension grips Tehran – London Times

Shots fired as more than 100,000 Iranians defy march ban – At least one person killed at opposition rally in Tehran; Defeated reformist leader Mousavi urges fresh election – The Guardian, UK

Economic matters

Eurozone banks face $283bn writedowns – Eurozone banks face additional losses of more than $283bn this year and next as continental Europe’s severe recession intensifies strains on its financial sector, the European Central Bank has warned – Financial Times of London

Opinion

Leader Emerges With Stronger Hand – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory demonstrated that he is the shrewd front man for a clerical, military and political elite more unified than at any time since the 1979 revolution – New York Times

Stay the Course – Paul Krugman in the New York Times writes that the debate over economic policy has taken a predictable yet ominous turn: the crisis seems to be easing, and a chorus of critics is already demanding that the Federal Reserve and the Obama administration abandon their rescue efforts

BUSINESS

Rates may rise later this year, warns CBI – The CBI has sharply upgraded its growth forecasts and given warning that the Bank of England may begin raising interest rates by the end of the year, much sooner than widely expected – London Daily Telegraph

German credit crunch deepens – Germany’s top industrial group has warned that credit conditions are going from bad to worse across much of the country’s manufacturing base, dashing hopes for a swift recovery – London Daily Telegraph

Bank loan guarantee a ‘barrier’ – Productivity Commission chief has singled out the Government’s bank borrowings guarantee as an impediment to competition – Melbourne Age

Aluminium price up as China increases demand – The Australian

Humphrey B Bear’s real debt revealed – Sydney Daily Telegraph

ENVIRONMENT

Senator hears a science lesson on climate – Senator Steve Fielding gets advice on climate change – Sydney Morning Herald

Proposed Queensland planning laws to push through development – Brisbane Courier Mail

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MEDIA

BBC accuses Iran of trying to block Persian service – The Guardian, UK

Even Forbes Is Pinching Pennies – New York Times

LIFE

Swine flu

State suffering swine flu effects – Victorian employers are reporting high levels of absenteeism and tourism operators a reduction in visitor numbers – Melbourne Age

Far too many potential swine flu cases to test – Melbourne Herald Sun

Gardening

Demand for Vegetable Seeds Is Rooted in Recession – Washington Post