THE share price gap between Rio Tinto and its rejected suitor BHP Billiton has shrunk to just $5.

OZ Minerals has been burning through its cash, leaving the company with total debts of $1.0834 billion as it remains locked in negotiations with lenders over critical refinancing.

SHARES in Crown surged 10 per cent yesterday after the company revealed it had refinanced its debt early.

QANTAS has been accused of taking the easy option with its $8 billion merger plan with British Airways even as growing competition concerns threaten to block the runway.

CRISIS, what crisis? Paint on a smile, pour a toast to tough times and find comfort in a chocolate or two.

OIL prices tumbled to their weakest levels in nearly four years overnight as investors fixated on mounting signs of recession in the global economy.

LEADING European central banks took historic action overnight to ward off spreading recessions, slashing their key lending rates to boost businesses and consumers.

THE dollar opened marginally firmer after US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said more government funding was needed to prevent home foreclosures.

BILLABONG, the world's biggest listed surfwear company, has been dumped by US shoppers, forcing it to slash 2009 earnings forecasts.

EMBATTLED investment bank Babcock & Brown said yesterday it had secured emergency funding to stave off bankruptcy and allow a restructure to cope with its huge debt burden.