No RBA rate cut expected this month

THE Reserve Bank of Australia is widely expected to keep the cash rate unchanged when its board meets on Tuesday.

All 13 economists surveyed by AAP said the central would not reduce the cash rate from its current level of three per cent.

HSBC Australia chief economist Paul Bloxham said business spending figures, released last week, showed there was a lot of investment in the pipeline that would stimulate the economy for months to come.

"The continued rise in mining investment, as (the building of) large LNG (liquefied natural gas) projects continue, should support growth, which should give the RBA more time to see the impact on the non-mining sectors of the cuts it has already delivered," he said.

Nine of those economists surveyed by AAP expect a rate cut some time in the next six months.

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Bruce 'ignored' as Gillard goes west

The Newman Government has accused Prime Minister Julia Gillard of ignoring much-needed work to Queensland's major highway. Source: The Courier-Mail

THE Newman Government has accused Julia Gillard of ignoring the Bruce Highway after she offered $1 billion for a motorways network in western Sydney.

Ms Gillard's offer - part of the next major round of federal infrastructure funding known as Nation Building 2 - has been rebuffed by the NSW Government because it comes with too many conditions.

But the offer has sparked an outcry from Queensland Transport Minister Scott Emerson, who said he had been waiting for months on an answer from Canberra for a joint $5 billion upgrade to the Bruce Highway in the next decade.

Editorial: Julia Gillard's Sydney campaign circus

The state in October offered a $1 billion investment to be matched with $4 billion from the Federal Government under a typical 80/20 funding split.

"We presented our Bruce Highway Action Plan to the Federal Government in October but have yet to hear of any funding commitment from the Commonwealth," Mr Emerson said.

"The plan was undertaken by engineers, not politicians, and will provide a safer, more reliable Bruce Highway reducing the impact of flooding."

"Ms Gillard needs to commit to the safety of Queensland motorists, not just look after her own political fortunes."

The Federal Government is still negotiating the projects to be funded in the Nation Building 2 program, which would begin in mid 2014.

Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese's spokesman said the Bruce Highway would be included in the program, but the funding model had not been agreed.

The Federal Government has allocated $2.7 billion to the highway in the six years to mid 2014, compared with $1.3 billion spent over 12 years by the Howard government, he said.

Queensland councils have also complained they are missing out on funds as Ms Gillard concentrates on western Sydney.

Chairman of the Southeast Queensland Council of Mayors Graham Quirk said there were at least three infrastructure projects in this region with business cases.

"The Toowoomba second Range crossing, the Pacific Highway upgrade from Mudgeeraba to Varsity Lakes and the Cunningham Highway from Yamanto to Willowbank all have completed business cases and are key national highways projects," Cr Quirk said.

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Fake bishop tries to sneak into Vatican

AN Italian man dressed up in fake ecclesiastical robes has been escorted out of a meeting of Catholic cardinals by Swiss Guards after trying to sneak into the closed-door Vatican meeting.

The man told reporters his name was "Basilius" and he was a member of the "Italian Orthodox Church", which does not exist.

Before he was discovered, the "bishop" told reporters that Catholic bishops had "made a mistake by moving priests" who were accused of pedophilia around different parishes.

He was wearing a purple scarf around his waist that was similar to the sashes warn by senior Catholic prelates and he shook hands and chatted with priests and cardinals arriving at the meeting on Monday.

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US stocks slip after launch of budget cuts

US stocks have opened modestly lower as traders remained cautious after Washington moved into austerity mode with the launch of the steep sequester spending cuts.

Ten minutes into trade on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 40.63 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 14,049.03.

The broad-based S&P 500 lost 2.68 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 1,515.52.

The Nasdaq Composite slipped 4.98 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 3,164.76.

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Frostbitten explorer Fiennes back home

BRITISH explorer Ranulph Fiennes showed off a heavily bandaged hand as he returned home following his evacuation from Antarctica with severe frostbite, and vowed to help the team he left out there.

The 68-year-old said it was "extremely frustrating" to be pulled off the trip, which if successful would have meant him had become among the first people to ski across the world's coldest continent in winter.

He insisted the remaining five members of his team would succeed in their quest to be the first men to conquer Antarctica in winter, and said he would focus on helping them raise their target of $US10 million ($A9.85 million) for charity.

"I'm not good at crying over spilt milk or split fingers," Fiennes told journalists at London's Heathrow Airport on Monday after flying in from South Africa, where he received several days of treatment on his frostbitten left hand.

"I started work on this expedition five years ago. I've been working on it, and nothing else, full time and unpaid - so it is definitely frustrating, but unavoidable," he said.

"I will make the best of it by putting my focus full time onto the expedition team - which of course is going on."

The team are making the epic trek in a vehicle dubbed the Ice Train, made from two snow tractors dragging carriages for scientific research, storage and accommodation.

They are set to start the winter crossing on March 20. The six-month journey via the South Pole will be mostly in darkness.

Fiennes told AFP he will probably not attempt to ski across Antarctica again.

"I probably won't because it takes a long time to set up," he said, adding that he would be unlikely to get fresh permission for the challenge because he could "die and become embarrassing to the British government".

The explorer, who is taking strong painkillers for his injuries, said the pain of frostbite "has to be experienced to be believed".

He famously sawed off the fingertips of the same hand himself after suffering severe frostbite on an expedition more than a decade ago.

"I had every reason to suspect that the damage from 13 years ago had completely gone," he told AFP.

He explained he had had no problems with the hand on recent expeditions, so the new bout of frostbite "was very bad luck indeed".

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Slim, Gates, Ortega are world's richest

MEXICAN tycoon Carlos Slim, Microsoft's Bill Gates and Zara fashion house boss Amancio Ortega of Spain have topped the Forbes list of the world's wealthiest billionaires.

Gina Rinehart is the highest-ranked Australian, coming in at number 36 with $US17 billion ($A16.75 billion), followed by Rupert Murdoch at 91 with $US11.2 billion.

James Packer ranks 198th with $US6 billion, Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest is 211th with $US5.7 billion, Frank Lowy is 229th with $US5.3 billion and Harry Triguboff is 276th with $US4.5 billion, according to the business magazine.

Slim, who controls Latin American telecommunications power America Movil and retail/industrial group Grupo Carso, came in first among the mega-rich for the fourth straight year, with a fortune estimated at $US73 billion, up $US4 billion from a year ago.

Microsoft chairman Gates, a perennial top finisher in the list, placed second with $US67 billion, up $US8 billion from 2012.

Ortega, whose Inditex fashion group includes the popular Zara chain, vaulted from the seventh position into the third spot. His wealth is now estimated at $US57 billion, rocketing from $US31 billion a year ago.

Slim and Gates were also in the top two spots last year.

Warren Buffett, chief of US conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, ranked fourth with $US53.5 billion, and Larry Ellison, chief executive of US technology company Oracle, rated fifth with $US43 billion.

Asia's richest man, Li Ka-shing, came in eighth with $US31 billion. He owes his fortune to his sprawling transportation, trading and energy businesses.

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New York car crash 'miracle baby' dies

A NEW York baby who was safely delivered after a car accident that killed his parents has also died, police say.

The baby was dubbed a "miracle" in the US media when he survived an emergency C-section delivery after his parents, Orthodox Jews from Brooklyn, were struck in a fatal hit-and-run accident on Sunday.

However the boy, who was delivered prematurely at seven months, also died early Monday, a spokesman for the New York Police Department told AFP.

Police were searching for the driver and passenger who abandoned their BMW after smashing into the expectant parents' car and fled the scene on foot.

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Record British offshore energy investment

BRITAIN'S offshore oil and gas sector will invest a record STG13 billion ($A19 billion) in 2013, boosted by the impact of taxation changes in the previous year, an industry survey shows.

Overall investment is expected to surge by 14 per cent this year, compared with STG11.4 billion in 2012, industry body Oil & Gas UK said in a statement detailing its latest activity survey. Last year's figure had already been a 30-year high.

"Here is some really good news for the UK," said Oil & Gas UK chief executive Malcolm Webb.

"After two disappointing years brought about by tax uncertainty and consequent low investment, the UK continental shelf (UKCS) is now benefitting from record investment in new developments and in existing assets and infrastructure, the strongest for more than three decades."

He added that last year's changes in the taxation regime, which were aimed at promoting the development of a range of difficult energy projects, had prompted many companies to reassess their plans and sparked a new wave of investment.

Oil & Gas UK, which represents more than 300 firms, added that output was forecast to surge over the next three to four years thanks to the recent surge in investment.

Production was expected to jump to approximately 2.0 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) by 2017, it said.

However, the industry body noted production sank to 1.55 million boepd in 2012. That was 14 per cent lower than 2011 and 30 per cent lower than 2010.

And output was forecast to decline in the current year to 1.45-1.5 million boepd.

"Recent collaborative work between government and industry is now bearing fruit in terms of investment and job creation right across Britain and recovery in production and tax revenues will certainly follow," added Webb in the statement.

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World powers have 'good offer' for Iran

WORLD powers will present Iran with an updated and "good" offer at talks this week on its nuclear program, an EU official says, although hopes for a breakthrough are slim.

Talks aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear drive start in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, with the so-called 5+1 world powers represented by the European Union sitting down with an Iranian team led by its top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.

"We have prepared a good and updated offer for the talks, which we believe is balanced and a fair basis for constructive talks," said the spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

"The offer addresses international concerns ... on the nature of the Iranian nuclear program, but is also responsive to Iranian ideas," said the spokesman, Michael Mann.

"We hope that Iran will seize this opportunity and come to the talks with flexibility and commitment to make concrete progress towards a confidence-building step."

A source close to the negotiations said the offer would still insist that Iran halts enriching uranium to 20 per cent, shuts down its controversial Fordo uranium enrichment plant and sends abroad all uranium already enriched to 20 per cent.

"This still forms the basis of the demands of the 5+1 group," said the source who asked not to be identified.

Another Western source said the powers could discuss lifting sanctions on Iran in exchange for specific concessions, although the source provided no further details.

Earlier reports said the powers could consider easing sanctions on Iran's gold and precious metals trade.

Jalili said at the weekend Tehran would not go beyond its obligations or accept anything outside its rights under the non-proliferation treaty.

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Fiennes pulls out of Antarctic expedition

BRITISH explorer Ranulph Fiennes has pulled out of the expedition to cross Antarctica during the region's winter after developing a severe case of frostbite.

The 68-year-old and his five-member team had hoped to conquer what has been called one of the last great polar challenges - traversing nearly 4000km in a place where temperatures often dip as low as minus 70C.

The expedition, dubbed The Coldest Journey, said in a statement on Monday the team is working toward evacuating Fiennes from Antarctica, but the evacuation is being hampered by a blizzard.

The rest of the team plans to continue on.

Expedition organisers are trying to raise $US10 million ($A9.75 million) for the charity Seeing is Believing, which seeks to prevent blindness.

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