DESPITE pleas for restraint, official figures show pay increases in some sectors racing well ahead of the 4 per cent inflation rate.

AUSTRALIA'S "chardy party" is finally over, with growers in the nation's biggest wine grape-producing district being told to bin chardonnay crops.

SHOPPING mall operator Westfield says it has seen distressed tenants throughout its malls, with director Stephen Lowy noticing a small increase in arrears.

HUGH Jackman says he probably wouldn't have got the green light to shoot X-Men Origins: Wolverine in Sydney in the current economic climate.