Economy

Young people love to drink. While that stereotype may have been brought on by a general whiff of truth, it turns out older Aussies are actually the ones likely to drink more.

Prospects seem brighter for Australia’s SME sector as it shows its strongest performance of the last four years, while the proportion of businesses experiencing diminishing revenue stands at a five year low.

Small Business Minister Bruce Billson introduced an amendment to the laws surrounding employee share schemes, a move he said will boost Australia’s start-up sector and drive innovation.

As cases of rorting and exploitation of workers on 457 visas continue to surface, the Senate has voted in favour of an inquiry into the working visa system.

A new report released by Deloitte Access Economics has calculated that Australia’s digital economy is now valued at $79 billion, passing the $70 billion estimate forecast to be hit in 2016.

South Australia’s Saturday penalty rates will be abolished and Sunday rates cut in half as a result of a landmark agreement between the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association (SDA).

17.1 per cent of Australian employers are planning to boost their permanent staff numbers between April and June this year, a slight drop from Q1 and a boost from the 11.2 per cent registered a year ago.

Industry Super Australia is calling for banks to be penalised for offering business banking deals aiming to see employers switch their employees’ superannuation contribution to bank-owned funds.

The February Business Sales Indicator from the Commonwealth Bank has revealed a modest growth of 0.1 per cent for the second month in a row, highlighting a decline in the growth rate during the last five months.

In Australia, fraud costs business and government a mind-bending $5.8 billion each year, making fraud responsible for one-third of the nation’s overall crime costs.

The Commonwealth Government has announced an extension of the unfair contract protections currently available, a move to further protect the nation’s small businesses from imbalanced agreements brought on by big business.

Australia’s manufacturing sector is cautiously optimistic about the nation’s business climate, according to the latest Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI)-Westpac Survey of Industrial Trends.

A handful of Aussie tech companies are proving that it’s not just the big companies who can cut it on the ASX.

Former banker Lukas Kamay and former ABS analyst Christopher Hill were found guilty of “the worst instance of insider trading” Australian courts had ever seen.

A new report by Microsoft has revealed almost 70 per cent of the country’s SMEs are not reaching their potential because innovation is being stifled by workplace culture.

Australia’s medium-size businesses are expected to boost their productivity spending by 12 per cent over the next year, according to new research released by Bankwest.

Australia’s future university graduates are set to benefit from a new strategy being brought to life by the country’s university and business leaders.

SMSFs continue to be the most popular type of fund in terms of satisfaction with financial performance, according to the latest findings from Roy Morgan Research.

SEEK’s latest Labour Market Report has revealed a strong growth in the Banking and Financial Services industry, which saw a 17 per cent year-on-year growth in the amount of job ads for the sector in February 2015.

Ensuring CEO payments are capped and monitored could make businesses more profitable, according to a new study from the University of Melbourne.