With the economic downturn affecting the travel industry, Flight Centre has forecast its profits will fall by more than two-thirds in the next year. In a statement on Tuesday, the travel agency network said it expected to report a net profit of between $36 million and $44 million for the year to June 30 2009, […]
The Government’s proposed $43 billion national broadband strategy has come into question, with the Opposition sceptical of the Government’s ability to raise so much money in a global recession, along with making broadband affordable for Australians. The Government abandoned its plan for a smaller, privately built network, instead opting to deliver a super-fast broadband to 90 […]
A study conducted by the University of Melbourne has found that surfing the web at work makes employees more productive, as it sharpens their concentration. In a blow to employers everywhere, the study found that people who use the Internet at work are nine percent more likely to be productive than those who don’t. According […]
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has predicted that unemployment will reach 9 percent by mid 2010. The news comes as the business group released their latest survey of investor confidence. Sales and profitability have fallen to 11 year lows, and business conditions have slumped to an all time low. The chamber’s directory of […]
The National Australia Bank (NAB ) has signalled it won’t pass on the recent cut to interest rates made by the Reserve Bank on Tuesday, with the bank keeping its standard variable mortgage interest rate at 5.74 percent. The Reserve Bank yesterday cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to a 49 […]
In its board meeting today, the Reserve Bank of Australia lowered interest rates for the fifth consecutive time since October of last year, by 25 basis points, taking the interest rates down to 3 percent. RBA Governer Glenn Stevens said in a statement that the interest rates were lowered as a result of a deteriorating […]
The second round of the Federal Government’s $900 stimulus payments to 8.7 million taxpayers have started flowing into bank accounts, with the first cheques to arrive in the mail on Wednesday. According to Australian Tax Office second commissioner Jenny Granger, payments will be made in random order based on postcodes. The ATO has received more […]
As the RBA meets today to decide whether interest rates will be reduced, following their decision last month to keep rates steady at 3.25 percent, Treasurer Wayne Swan has urged banks to pass on any cut in official rates today to struggling homeowners. “We do acknowledge there’s a complex set of factors out there and […]
As the economic crisis takes home, companies are looking to reduce their spend on fixed salary and short-term incentive budgets over the next 12 months, according to a survey conducted by global consulting provider Mercer. The survey of 352 companies, indicated that national salary budgets have declined from five to four percent in the past […]
Japan have announced a stimulus package worth $140 billion, to rescue the economy from its worst crisis since World War II. The package comes on top of stimulus measures unveiled in October worth 75 trillion yen. Japan’s economy logged its worst performance in almost 35 years in the last quarter of 2008, shrinking at an […]
