Downer elected SA Liberal party president

Former foreign minister Alexander Downer has been elected president of the Liberal Party in SA. Source: AAP

FORMER foreign minister Alexander Downer has been elected unopposed as the president of the South Australian Liberal Party.

Mr Downer replaces Grant Chapman who has held the position for the past three years.

His appointment was confirmed at the party's annual meeting in Adelaide on Saturday.

Mr Downer said the challenge for the party was to ensure the election of a Liberal government in South Australia in March next year.

"In the last few months this party has shown rather surprising, but very welcome, unity," He said.

"If we can maintain this sense of unity, focus on a single goal and a determination to achieve that goal then we'll have a great victory."

Mr Downer said the election would not be easy and the party had to ensure it retained its marginal seats and picked up marginal seats from the Labor government.

At the last election in 2010 the Liberals won the popular vote but failed to win a number of key seats it needed to form government.

"So it's not about the number of votes, it's about the number of seats," Mr Downer said.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott congratulated Mr Downer on his appointment, describing the former minister as one of the great performers in former prime minister John Howard's government.

"I know he is absolutely the man to lead and guide the party as you approach the vital (state) election in March of next year," Mr Abbott told the annual meeting.

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Vic march for women calls for funding lift

A SECOND rally on the Melbourne street where murder victim Jill Meagher was last seen alive has heard passionate calls to boost funding for women's shelters and support services.

More than 1000 people gathered outside Brunswick Town Hall on Sydney Road, close to where Ms Meagher was last seen walking before being raped and murdered in a nearby laneway.

It's the second Reclaim the Night rally to be held in the street since the high-profile September 2012 murder case drew widespread attention to violence against women.

Co-organiser Sarah Brocklesby told the crowd that funding for community services for women needed to be lifted with so many being victimised.

"It is important that we start to change the current culture of victim blaming and shaming of women who experience harassment and violence," she said.

The Saturday night event in Brunswick is part of the long-running Reclaim the Night movement that began in the 1970s.

An earlier anniversary peace march for Ms Meagher and other victims was held on September 29 and drew thousands.

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Dr Martens set for sale

CLASSIC British boot brand Dr Martens is poised to be sold to private equity firm Permira for about STG300 million ($A506 million).

The Griggs family, which owns the majority of the business, is in advanced talks about a deal that could be announced by the end of this month, sources confirmed.

It would means the boots, footwear of choice for generations of skinheads, punks and students, joining the Permira stable of brands, which also includes Hugo Boss and New Look.

Dr Martens has enjoyed a revival in fortunes in recent years as a new generation of stars such as Miley Cyrus, Emma Watson and Agyness Deyn took up the "bovver boots" whose popularity - once espoused by the likes of The Who's Pete Townshend - had been on the wane.

The deal comes amid reports that the Griggs family is looking to exit the business after more than 50 years running the brand that last year made STG15.3 million pre-tax profits on revenues of STG110 million, following an abortive sale attempt last year.

Permira is thought likely to try to expand Dr Martens' online and store presence into new international markets.

The Northamptonshire-based Griggs family have been making shoes since 1901 and started producing the new boots in 1960 after the development of a revolutionary new air-cushioned sole by the Germans Klaus Martens and Herbert Funck.

Any deal will have to involve a separate royalty fee paid to the family of the inventors, according the Daily Telegraph.

The brand was a hit with a series of fashion subcultures from the skinheads and punks to the Brit Pop fans of the 1990s, but has also suffered due to changing tastes.

Production was moved to Asia but the original Northamptonshire factory was reopened in 2007 to produce vintage styles.

A Permira spokeswoman declined to comment on reports of a deal. The Griggs family could not be reached for a response.

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Activist Malala meets Queen at reception

The Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban met with the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Source: AAP

SCHOOLGIRL Malala Yousafzai, who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban, spoke to the Queen about the importance of education when they met at Buckingham Palace.

The 16-year-old was shot in the head in Pakistan last October after campaigning for the right of girls to go to school without fear, in a part of the country where Islamic fundamentalists were trying to impose a strict form of Sharia law.

Malala was one of the guests at a reception for commonwealth, youth and education hosted by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on Friday.

She was reduced to laughter by a comment from the Duke, who quipped that in the UK, people want children to go to school to get them out of the house. Malala covered her face while in a fit of giggles at his joke.

The teenager, accompanied by her father Ziauddin, gave the Queen a copy of her book, I Am Malala, during their meeting in the palace's White Drawing Room, telling her: "It is a great honour for me to be here, and I wanted to present you with this book."

Accepting the gift, the Queen replied: "That's very kind of you."

Malala told the Queen she was passionate about every child having a right to an education, everywhere around the world.

She added: "Especially in this country as well.

"I have heard about many children that can't go to school, and I want to continue our work."

Ziauddin Yousafzai also spoke to the Queen and Duke about their past visits to his home country.

Malala was flown from Pakistan to the UK for emergency treatment after the attack. Surgeons who treated her said she came within inches of death when the bullet grazed her brain in the attack on a school bus.

She was treated at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and has now settled in the city with her family. Since the attack, she has addressed the United Nations and been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Princess Beatrice and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were also present at the reception, attended by 350 guests from academic institutions around the world.

It included a performance from the Commonwealth Youth Orchestra and choir.

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Morgan Stanley 3Q profit almost doubles

Worker allowances lost, unions warn

UPDATE: A union leader has warned that state public servants stand to lose regional allowances under workplace reforms introduced to parliament this week.

One Direction, where are you?

ONE Direction fever has hit Brisbane ... well, a contingent of young girls, at least ... as the Brit boy band prepares for shows in the city this weekend.

Count stalls as 50,000 votes challenged

CLIVE Palmer will wait at least another week to find out if he's made it into federal parliament, with more than 50,000 ballots challenged in the Fairfax recount.

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Nestle posts 4 per cent rise in sales

Nestle has posted a modest four per cent increase in sales for the first nine months of 2013. Source: AAP

SWISS food and drink giant Nestle has posted a modest four per cent increase in sales of dozens of its household name brand products for the first nine months of 2013.

The Vevey, Switzerland-based company, whose business reflects the global economy, said on Thursday it had sales of 68.4 billion Swiss francs ($A78.22 billion) through September, up from a restated 65.7 billion Swiss francs during the same period in 2012.

The world's biggest food and drink company had previously reported its nine-month sales in 2012 as 67.6 billion Swiss francs through September, up from 60.9 billion during the same period in 2011.

"Our real internal growth has regained momentum and is broad-based across categories, price points and geographies. Most notably, Europe continues to grow and Asia and Africa have picked up speed," Nestle Chief Executive Paul Bulcke said.

The news sent shares in Nestle up by more than two per cent to 63.30 francs in Thursday morning trading.

But the maker of Nescafe, Jenny Craig and Haagen-Dazs, which last year at this time reported that its sales growth had slowed to 11 per cent in the first nine months of 2012, acknowledged some headwinds in a statement issued before the opening of the Zurich exchange.

"Today's challenging environment is the right time for us to further reinforce the fundamentals of our business: those which drive growth like innovation, distribution and consumer engagement, and those which drive operational performance like strengthening our portfolio, improving our resource allocation and increasing our structural efficiency," Bulcke said.

"We expect our continued growth momentum to enable us to deliver around five per cent organic growth for the full year," he added, "together with an improvement in margins and underlying earnings per share in constant currencies."

Earlier this year, Nestle had cautioned that it might not be able to meet its usual target of between five to six per cent annual organic growth, a measure that removes the costs from recent acquisitions and fluctuations in currency.

In its biggest market, North America, Nestle said sales continued to grow particularly for frozen meals, pizza and snacks, despite the tough economic environment. It said cereals, Kit Kat bars, Nescafe and pet care were doing well in Latin America, despite the economic slowdown from inflationary pressures.

Europe's weak consumer demand and deflationary pressures were affecting sales, and poor summer weather resulted in a short season for ice cream, Nestle said, though Britain, Austria, Germany and Switzerland were holding up better than other areas.

There was a continuing general economic slowdown across emerging markets in Africa, Oceania and the Middle East, where local conflicts and civil disturbances disrupted several markets though Central and West Africa, and Indonesia saw strong sales growth, Nestle said.

China's sales also continued to grow, the company said, but in a somewhat slower trading environment.

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NSW braced for loss of homes, if not life

HUNDREDS of homes are feared destroyed and the NSW premier believes it will be a miracle if no lives are lost in the most grave bushfire crisis to hit the state in a decade.

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Verizon 3Q profit soars

VERIZON is reporting a 40 per cent jump in third-quarter net income after adding more than 1 million new wireless devices to its network.

The largest US mobile phone carrier earned $US2.23 billion ($A2.34 billion), or 78 US cents per share, up from $US1.59 billion, or 56 US cents per share, in the same quarter of 2012. Excluding one-time items, the company posted an adjusted profit of 77 cents per share for the recent quarter.

Revenue rose 4 per cent to $US30.28 billion from $US29.01 billion.

The results on Thursday beat Wall Street predictions.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected a profit of 74 US cents per share on $US30.15 billion in revenue.

The company added 1.1 million net retail wireless connections during the quarter.

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. are up 3 per cent to $US48.80 in premarket trading.

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NSW MPs votes to disband Game Council

A CONTROVERSIAL body that licensed amateur hunters will be formally disbanded after legislation passed NSW parliament.

State Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson introduced the legislation last month, which abolishes the controversial Game Council and transfers the responsibility of licensing to the Department of Primary Industries.

The bill passed the upper house on Wednesday night.

The O'Farrell government moved to scrap the council in July, after a scathing review by public servant Steve Dunn found it was poorly governed and had an "inherent conflict of interest".

Ms Hodgkinson said the bill to disband the council will restore confidence in hunting as a recreational activity.

Game and feral animals cost the agricultural sector $70 million of losses each year across NSW and must be controlled, she said.

"We believe in the role of volunteer hunters in contributing to co-ordinated pest management programs," Ms Hodgkinson said in a statement.

Greens MP David Shoebridge said the bill's passage was an important blow to the developing gun and hunting culture in NSW.

"The government was pushed by the community of NSW, with the support of the Greens, into abolishing the pro-gun Game Council and tonight's vote finally achieved that," he said in a statement.

The Game and Feral Animal Control Amendment Bill 2013 now awaits royal assent.

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Bank of America Q3 profit up sharply

BANK of America Corp says its third-quarter profit surged as it saw increases from investments and interest charged on loans.

The second-largest US bank reported on Wednesday that it earned $US2.5 billion ($A2.63 billion) in the July-September period, up from $US340 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, earnings were 20 US cents, beating the 19 US cents expected by financial analysts.

Bank of America has been slimming down and cutting jobs since chief executive Brian Moynihan took over in early 2010. The strategy is meant to make the bank easier to manage and to reduce riskier businesses.

Third-quarter revenue slipped to $US22.2 billion from $US22.5 billion, coming in close to the analysts' forecast of $US22 billion.

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