Vic govt should consider sell-off: VECCI

THE Victorian government could sell off state-owned assets such as sporting grounds and public housing estates to fund key projects such as the East West Link road and Melbourne Metro rail tunnel, a business lobby group says.

The Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) has also urged the coalition government to consider taking on more debt, as long as the state's triple-A credit rating is preserved.

Executive policy manager Steven Wojtkiw said new ways of financing infrastructure such as the East West Link and Melbourne Metro rail tunnel must be examined, including selling off under-used public land.

"It's really about exploring some new options or approaches to potentially raise some additional money for the government in what is a very tight fiscal context," he told AAP as VECCI launched its May budget submission.

"We've mentioned some of the sporting precincts. There is potentially also surplus public land that's yet to be released."

Mr Wojtkiw said one option would be the privatisation of public housing commission sites.

"That obviously brings with it some social and equity issues for the wider community to discuss," he said.

Treasurer Michael O'Brien has vowed he won't use his first budget to go on a "debt-fuelled spending binge", stressing the importance of maintaining the state's triple-A credit rating.

Mr Wojtkiw said there were plenty of examples of countries, including Singapore, Canada and Germany, that maintained solid credit ratings while lifting net debt.

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Wild winds and tornado hit Victoria

TEN people have been hospitalised after a tornado swept across Victoria's northeast and fierce winds lashed the rest of the state.

Roofs have been ripped off houses and buildings damaged as the tornado hit about 8pm (AEDT) on Thursday, an SES spokesman said.

The tornado swept along Murray river townships near Bundalong, Rutherglen and Yarrawonga.

The SES fielded 60 calls for help in the region with 10 people hospitalised for injuries.

It comes as strong winds felled trees and damaged buildings across Victoria.

The spokesman said the greatest trauma risk was from falling buildings and roofs.

"It becomes dangerous and deadly debris," he said.

While the weather appeared to be a tornado, authorities had not yet officially confirmed it, the spokesman said.

"It definitely has tornado-like patterns. Certainly that's what it looks like," he said.

He said powerlines in the area are likely to be down.

SES volunteers have responded to more than 750 calls across the state since midnight on Wednesday amid wind gusts exceeding 100km/h.

Strong winds had hit Healesville, Nunawading and outer eastern metropolitan Melbourne, but the damage has been widespread.

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Abbas tells Obama no talks without freeze

PALESTINIAN president Mahmoud Abbas has told US President Barack Obama there can be no talks with Israel without a freeze on settlement construction.

"A resumption of negotiations is not possible without an Israeli settlement freeze in the West Bank and east Jerusalem," Abbas's political adviser Nimr Hammad quoted him as telling Obama during a two-and-a-half-hour meeting.

"Abbas, during his meeting with Obama, was very clear, telling him that settlement construction was an obstacle on the path to peace and to the resumption of talks, and that this was not possible without a settlement freeze," Hammad said.

Obama met Abbas in Ramallah in the West Bank on Thursday as part of a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The US president condemned Israel's ongoing settlement building as unhelpful to the pursuit of peace.

"We do not consider continued settlement activity to be constructive, to be appropriate, to be something that can advance the cause of peace," he said in a joint news conference with Abbas.

But Obama dodged a question about pushing for a freeze on settlement construction, simply saying: if each party "is constantly negotiating about what's required to get into talks in the first place, then we're never going to get to the broader issue, which is how do you eventually structure a state of Palestine."

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US stocks drop on concerns about Europe

US stocks have opened lower on growing concerns about the European economy and the Cyprus crisis.

Five minutes into trade on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 64.29 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 14,447.44.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 7.46 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 1,551.25.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sank 20.15 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 3,234.04.

Markets were on edge over the continuing crisis in Cyprus, after the European Central Bank warned it may halt emergency funding for the tiny island-nation's banking system unless policy makers clinch a bailout deal by Monday.

A fall in the Markit eurozone purchasing managers index, to 46.5 in March from 47.9 in February, also reinforced the worries over the region's economy.

"The concern is that the downturn has gathered pace again," said Markit's chief economist Chris Williamson.

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Rosneft completes $54bn TNK-BP takeover

RUSSIA'S state oil giant Rosneft has completed a $US56 billion ($A54 billion) acquisition of the British and Russian stakes in the TNK-BP joint venture.

"Congratulations on the completion of this deal," President Vladimir Putin told Rosneft chief Igor Sechin at a special ceremony at the Kremlin chief's suburban Moscow residence.

"In my opinion, this was a very successful deal," news agencies quoted Putin as saying.

The takeover's terms allow BP to acquire up to 20 per cent of Rosneft's shares and give the British group an additional $US17 billion in cash.

Rosneft completed the all-cash acquisition of the Russian stake held by four Soviet-born tycoons earlier in the year.

The state-owned company says that TNK-BP's takeover makes Rosneft the world's largest public oil company by production and reserves.

TNK-BP - Russia's third-largest oil company - was hit by years of infighting between its British and Russian owners though it has generated around $US19 billion in dividends for BP since the company's formation in 2003.

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Irish economy grows by 0.9% in 2012

IRELAND'S bailed-out economy grew by 0.9 per cent in 2012 but stagnated in the final quarter of last year, official figures show.

"Preliminary estimates indicate that GDP (gross domestic product) in volume terms increased by 0.9 per cent for the year 2012," said a statement from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Thursday.

"This is the second year in succession in which GDP showed an increase over the previous year following three years of declines ... during 2008 to 2010."

The annual figure was in line with the eurozone country's own government forecast.

The Irish economy meanwhile recorded zero growth in the fourth quarter of last year, compared with the previous three months, according to the CSO.

It managed to grow by 1.4 per cent in 2011 after it was rescued by an 85 billion euro ($A106 billion) bailout from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union in late 2010.

Ireland, once known as the 'Celtic Tiger' economy for its double-digit growth spanning a decade from the mid-1990s, has contracted sharply in recent years, hit by soaring state debt, a property market meltdown, the global banking crisis and surging unemployment.

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Double deckers return to Harbour Bridge

DOUBLE decker buses are set to return to the Sydney Harbour Bridge for the first time in 25 years.

The O'Farrell government said the two-storey buses would run regular services across the iconic structure to test whether they can be used to reduce traffic congestion.

The government says two double deckers will cross the bridge on route 270 between Terrey Hills and the CBD, with other routes to open in coming months.

Double decker buses are already operating along the North West T-Way in Sydney's outer suburbs.

Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said the tall buses were "one of a number of strategies being employed by the NSW government to improve services for customers".

"Double decker buses can carry around 110 passengers, twice the number that normal buses carry, and they take up less road and depot space," she said in a statement.

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