Daily Dispatches: have staff been forgotten in the battle for AXA?

Much of the publicity around the announcement of the National Australia Bank bid for AXA Asia Pacific last month centred on concerns about competition, since the bank would considerably increase market share should the deal go ahead. However, Leon Carter, the national secretary of the Finance Sector Union, said the Treasury and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission should pay more attention to the repercussions for Australian jobs. (Money Management)

AXA Asia-Pacific telegraphed higher than expected profits, putting pressure on rival bidders to raise their offers in a $13.3bn battle for the company. (Sydney Morning Herald)

Australia's leading bank analyst is concerned that National Australia Bank is considering a partial float of its British banking operations to help fund a big UK acquisition later this year. (Courier Mail)

According to Macquarie Infrastructure Group's partially independent directors, there is some downside for investors voting tomorrow to split MIG: the loss of ''Macquarie branding'' for the safely solvent and internally managed part. (Business Day)

Morgan Stanley, still struggling to rebound from the credit crisis, yesterday reported that a steep drop in trading revenue damped fourth-quarter profits. (The Australian)

The "dumb blonde" stereotype is alive and well in workplaces, with young blonde women being paid less than their non-blonde counterparts when it comes to starter salaries. Dr Geni Dechter, an Australian economics lecturer, has researched the role of hair colour and the effect physical appearance has on earnings, while she was working at Rochester University in the United States. (Daily Telegraph)