NSW: The main stories in today's Sydney newspapers=3

AAP General News (Australia)
12-18-2008
NSW: The main stories in today's Sydney newspapers=3

THE AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: Treasurer Wayne Swan says he is prepared to go beyond the Rudd government's
$22 billion of economic stimulus measures after the US central bank slashed interest rates
to near zero; National security concerns about Chinese espionage could threaten Singtel
Optus, the new frontrunner for Australia's $15 billion publicly-backed national broadband
network.

Page 2: Permanent migrants with the promise of a job or who possess critically needed
skills will given priority entry into Australia in an overhaul of the program.

Page 3: Political correctness in the playground is the theme of the nation's first
curriculum for childcare centres, which makes no mention of practical targets such as
learning colours and numbers or building with blocks.

World: The White House has prepared more than a dozen contingency plans to guide president-elect
Barack Obama through an international crisis in the opening days of his administration.

Finance: The Commonwealth Bank's $2 billion capital raising has become a fiasco, with
UBS raising most of the funds on Wednesday while CBA and Merrill Lynch traded blows over
responsibility for a catastrophic failure to disclose a profit downgrade.

Sport: Andrew Symonds began to restore his own credibility and Australia's flagging
fortunes before holing out on a wildly frustrating opening day of the first Test against
South Africa in Perth.

AAP cjb/it

KEYWORD: MONITOR FRONTERS NSW 3 SYDNEY

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