Every U.S. broker wants China Investment Company as partner.

Environment / water pollution Fiji is currently playing host toa coastal fisheries management forum, welcoming 12 countriesfrom across the Pacific. The Food and Agriculture Organizationof the United Nations (FAO) and Secretariat of the PacificCommunity (SPC) have been working together since 2001 on thechallenging task of strengthening coastal fisheries managementin the Pacific.

Everyone in Taiwan will be given more than & #36;US100 ( & #36;A154) in shopping vouchers to boost the economy amid the global credit crisis, the prime minister says.

Borrowers will be hoping that the Reserve Bank & #39;s apparent haste to lower interest rates this month spills over to the next board meeting on December 2.

Demographics Development strategies thatare sensitive to cultural values can reduce harmful practicesagainst women and promote human rights, including genderequality and womens empowerment, affirms The State of WorldPopulation 2008 report from UNFPA, the United NationsPopulation Fund.

Mount Gibson Iron says the iron ore market slump and contract defaults will have a material impact on its profitability but its first quarter profit is strong.

The operator of 43 childcare centres in NSW, CFK Childcare Centres, has gone into voluntary administration over a failed asset sell-off to ABC Learning Centres.

Singapore

Australia & #39;s second largest brewer, Lion Nathan Ltd, says its offer to buy Coca-Cola Amatil is & quot;compelling & quot;, as it looks forward to earnings growth next year.

Retailers are cautiously optimistic about the coming Christmas trading period, with just under half expecting sales to be the same or better then last year.

Transport South Korean trading companyHyundai Corp. (KSE:011760) said Tuesday that it has signed aUS & #36;300 million preliminary deal with the city of Almaty, thecapital of Kazakhstan, to provide subway trains andequipment.

Demographics The number of South Koreans withreligious beliefs increased at a steady pace over the pastdecade, with Catholicism growing the fastest, a governmentreport showed Tuesday.

There is no guarantee that one of world & #39;s largest uranium mines will be expanded, despite the discovery of fresh deposits, the Northern Territory govt says.

The chiefs of the & quot;Big Three & quot; US car makers have gone to Congress to plead with lawmakers to save their industry, despite fading hopes for a quick bailout.

Transport SkyAirworld says it is excitedand is prepared to commence work once an agreement is signedwith the Solomon Islands Government and landowners to redevelopAnuha, reports Solomon Star.

Transport Two Qantas (ASX:QAN) planes,including one damaged in a mid-air explosion in Manila in Julythis year, have collided at a maintenance base.Qantas general manager of engineering David Cox said the twoBoeing 747s had "come into contact with each other duringtowing this morning" by a tug on the Avalon maintenance basesouth of Melbourne."Both aircraft did sustain some damage and the extent of thisis being assessed," Mr Cox said in a statement.Qantas has stood down an undisclosed number of workers involvedwhile an investigation into the incident is conducted.A spokeswoman for the airline refused to comment on the extentof damage sustained to the planes and would not say how closethe aircraft damaged in Manila was to returning to the air.However, television pictures showed one plane had suffereddamage to its wingtip."I understand that repairs were being undertaken in Manila byBoeing and Qantas - further work was being done in Avalon priorto its return to service," the spokeswoman said.

Environment / water pollution South Korea's largest automakerand key parts suppliers agreed to implement broad carbonreduction measures at the production level that can help cutback on greenhouse gas emissions, the government saidTuesday.

Trade / foreign investment

NRMA Insurance Queensland-based customers have lodged around 1,300 claims with the Insurance Australia Group unit following Sunday night & #39;s storm in Brisbane.

The administrator for ABC Learning says the company has more than & #36;1.6 billion in liabilities in Australia alone.