David Olsen

Woolworths has had the rezoning of its planned Woolworths hardware big-box store with US hardware giant Lowe’s rejected by Victorian Planning Minister Justin Madden.

Australia’s construction industry continues to contract, with the latest AiG/HIA Australian Performance of Construction index at 43.2 for the month of August.

Western Australia Police and Consumer Protection are warning investors to stay away from ‘Ponzi’ schemes after police charged two people with allegedly scamming investors out of $9.5 million on the promise of high returns.

ANZ Bank has announced an assistance package for Victoria flood victims, joining rival NAB in offering assistance in the wake of the Victorian floods.

Job ads in Australia are up 36.1 percent in the year to August, with the latest ANZ Job Advertisements Series data showing the total number of jobs advertised up to an average of 176,239 per week (seasonally adjusted).

Virgin Blue will undertake a complete overhaul of Virgin Blue Holdings’ brands (including V Australia) with Hans Hulsbosch the brains behind Qantas’ flying Kangaroo logo, hired as creative director for the airline.

Qantas appears likely to stop flying into Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires in favor of Brazil’s booming resource economy with flights to either Sao Paulo or Rio de Janiero.

Getprice.com.au the Australian online price comparison/shopping site co-founded by Jared Oken in 2005 has been bought by News Digital Media for an undisclosed sum.

In the latest Dun and Bradstreet Business Expectations survey finds the confidence of Australia’s executives on the way up, with expectations for five of six key indicators of business strength rising significantly.

New car sales in Australia are on track to reach record numbers, with VFACTS data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries showing that vehicle sales are on track to hit 1 million this year.v