Warne the king money-spinner as Rajasthan Royals strike gold off the field

SHANE WARNE the Musical might be closing prematurely due to dire financial times, but songs honouring the spinner will be ringing loudly in Lachlan Murdoch's office amid a titanic rise in the value of the Rajasthan Royals cricket franchise.

The Great Footy Stock Crash

In a "bear" player market, draft picks are being seen as the way for a club to become a "bull".

Experts Find The Flaws In Melbourne 2030

An audit of the strategy shows it is time for a radical overhaul of state planning.

Developers Look South For New Opportunities

THE sale of Austinmer Bowling Club for $1.8 million reflects a trend in the Wollongong property market, according to Colliers International sales and leading agent Travis Machan.

Nbl Faces Crunch Time

While the national football, rugby league and Aussie rules competitions are rating through the roof, TIM KEEBLE reports that basketball is struggling to keep pace and find its place in the Australian sporting landscape. THE financial woes of NBL glamour clubs Sydney and Brisbane might be cause for mirth among Wollongong Hawks supporters, but basketball's troubles in Australia are no laughing matter.

Take Two Partners

When Bryan and Val Edwards left the rat-race and purchased a Bark Busters franchise nine years ago their lives changed dramatically. Now they're the directors of Bark Busters Australia. Bryan Edwards I hadn't even heard of Bark Busters until I was told there was a franchise for sale in the Illawarra nine years ago. Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd be running a dog training business.

Cricket's Ticking Time Bomb

The lure of the rupee is tempting Australia's best cricketers to reconsider their playing futures, writes Daniel Lane.

Us Chain Moves To Cash In On Ebay Second-hand Rows

Customers can simply drop off their goods for sale, then wait for the cheque, writes Rebecca Urban.

Court Halts Property Group Advertising Its `franchises'

Madison Pacific has been stopped in its tracks by the Australian Securities Commission for advertising, without a prospectus, interests in a Sydney property management service through the sale of franchises. The ASC said the franchise offer was designed to get around provisions of the Corporatio

Broker Bzw Up For Sale

The Australian broking industry is set for further radical change after the surprise decision last night by the UK-based Barclays plc to sell its BZW broking and corporate advisory businesses in Australia and New Zealand. Based on recent prices paid for broking houses and corporate advisory busin

Transport Break-up Puts Privatisation On Track

The break-up of the Public Transport Corporation for sale has begun, with the creation of two metropolitan rail and two tram divisions. The Transport Minister, Mr Robin Cooper, confirmed the blueprint for change yesterday after releasing the latest PTC performance results showing growing patronag

Britain Paves The Way For Sell-offs

London Britain is well down the path of privatising its transport systems, ending nearly 50 years of nationalised rail transport. The latest privatisation to be announced is of London's dilapidated underground, starved for years of investment by governments anxious to cut taxes and reduce bor

Garden Knockout For News Shares

Shares in Mr Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation fell sharply yesterday as rumours spread that the company was considering bidding for a 50 per cent stake in the famous New York sporting venue Madison Square Garden. News Corp's ordinary shares were cut back 20c to $6.48 while the preferred stock tu

Melbourne's Big Property Players

They are the prime-movers of their industry, the leaders of the pack. Angela O'Connor reports on the big names in Melbourne real estate. THEIR names are on for-sale signs all over the city. But who are the people behind the big names in property? For a start, they're men. While there are many

Pca Refutes Claims That Australian Distribution On The Block

The managing director of Porsche Cars Australia (PCA), Mr Michael Winkler, has refuted last week's Auto Age story that the Australian distribution business and the Hamilton's retail franchises are up for sale. The story said PCA had signed heads of agreement with Mr John Pascoe, principal of Southe

Why Keating Dumped Packer For Murdoch

The atmosphere in the office of Mr Michael Lee, the Minister for Communications, was electric. It was a late November night last year, and he had just told four of the country's most high-powered media executives that their detailed plans for a $3 billion investment by their consortium, Optus Visio

Family Links Can Secure Franchises

FRANCHISES in Australia are predominantly family-run businesses, which is a significant factor in their success, according to the national chairman of the Franchisors Association of Australia and New Zealand, Mr Bob Peterson. Mr Peterson said more than 70 per cent of Australia's 25,000 franchise

Shop Window Can Talk Up A Sale

A 24-hour, push-button, ``talking" window may be coming to a real estate agency near you. Angela Noel reports on the latest way to find out about properties for sale. IF YOU have ever pressed your nose against a real estate agent's window late at night, scanned the properties for sale, mad

Chocolate For Every Course

TERESA MURPHY Yields to temptation and visits the Melbourne mecca for chocolates. A RESTAURANT that serves one course only would seem to have limited appeal, unless that course happens to be desert - chocolate dessert to be precise. Melbourne's only ``dessert restaurant", Death by Chocola

Sale A Snack At The Right Price

Coca-Cola Amatil has certainly vindicated its stubborn stance not to entertain any low offers for its snack foods business after the operation yesterday notched up a solid interim result. The interest among CCL's senior management to consider flogging the division as the obvious way to low