News

The economy grew by 0.2 percent in September quarter, well below the 0.4 percent growth tipped by many economists, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows.

US body approves Kraft’s bid for Cadbury US competition authorities have approved a bid by Kraft Foods to acquire UK confectioner Cadbury, the US food giant said in a note to the London Stock Exchange. Earlier this month, Kraft appealed directly to shareholders with details of its cash and shares bid, now worth STG9.9 billion […]

Rudd warns climate talks could fail Just hours after touching down in Copenhagen for the climate change summit, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd warned that the high-profile UN summit could fail. Rudd said with 190 countries involved and more than 100 heads of government attending, it would be hard to seal the deal on a new […]

Westpac still trying to justify rate rise Westpac is still trying to justify its recent increase to home loan rates, after it was slammed for almost doubling the interest rate rise set down by the Reserve Bank at the beginning of the month. Addressing shareholders at the bank’s annual general meeting today, Westpac chairman Ted […]

Google dominates online search market Google has continued to dominate the online search market, with its revenues accounting for almost 90 percent of total paid search market share in 2008-09, a new report has found. The findings were released today in the digital media advertising analysis Australian Online Search and Directories Advertising Market 2009 – […]

German discount supermarket chain Aldi, is quickly proving itself to be a favourite with shoppers, topping the Australian consumer satisfaction rankings for supermarkets during the month of October 2009.

The Federal Government yesterday announced further plans to improve safety on the internet for Australian families.

RBA says interest rates ‘too low’ The Reserve Bank has claimed that interest rates were raised for the third straight month in December because they were ‘‘too low for an economy that had resumed expanding.” The minutes of the December board meeting revealed that the decision to raise interest rates was “finely balanced” between board […]

Less than half of Australia’s small businesses are prepared to deal with the latest family friendly workplace laws under the Fair Work Act, expected to take effect from next month, a new survey shows. The CompliSpace survey of 352 small and medium businesses found that fewer than half of the businesses surveyed know of, understand […]

SMEs more concerned about economy than debt Concern about debt is at the bottom of the list of issues worrying Australia’s two million small and medium businesses (SMEs), according to new research from DBM Consultants. The company’s Business Financial Services Monitor (BFSM) found that of the 18,000 businesses surveyed, concern about debt ranks fairly low […]

NSW Government still out of favour with voters The NSW Government has taken a beating in the latest opinion poll after a tumultuous month, which saw a dramatic reshuffling of party members, and a new leader sworn in. The Newspoll, published in The Australian, shows primary support for the NSW Government fell four percentage points […]

Electricity prices to soar 62 percent by 2013 NSW electricity prices are set to soar 62 percent by 2013, according to the state’s pricing regulator. The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has today recommended that electricity prices rise by up to 62 per cent, including inflation, over three years. IPART says the biggest impact […]

Petrol prices rise in time for Christmas Australian consumers have received an early, but somewhat unwelcome, Christmas present this week, in the form of rising petrol prices. Fresh numbers from the Australian Institute of Petroleum show the national average price of a litre of unleaded fuel rose 0.4 cents in the last week. The cost […]

More than 60 countries around the world are expected to record lower output in real terms in 2010 than in 2008, according to Dun & Bradstreet’s (B&B) latest risk report.

Over the past year, the popularity of applications on social networking websites has increased dramatically, which has led to a new wave of phishing attacks targeting the users of these applications, Symantec reports.

The Queensland Retailers Association (QRA) expects shoppers in the state will spend up big this Christmas.

Thousands of passengers may find themselves stranded this Christmas, as British Airways (BA) cabin crew threaten to strike over Christmas. About 13,000 crew voted in favour of the 12-day strike, beginning on December 22, which will cripple the airline’s scheduled flights between Britain and Australia. The proposed strike is over workplace conditions introduced last month. […]

Lending commitments down in December Lending commitments fell to an eight-month low in October, as consumers and business felt the pressure of rising interest rates. According to the latest ABS figures, total lending finance commitments – including leases – fell by 9.7 percent to $50.766 billion in October, the lowest amount since the $49.272 billion […]

The health of some of Australia’s top businesses declined during the financial crisis, according to the Australian Corporate Health Index. The index, conducted by 333 Consulting, found that of the 200 ASX-listed companies excluding those from the financial services sector surveyed, more than 70 percent went backwards during the financial crisis. A further 49 percent […]

Postal workers around Australia are taking part in industrial action against Australia Post from today in the hope of getting a new wage deal. Postal workers around Australia say they will deliver unstamped mail from today until Christmas Eve. New South Wales union secretary Jim Metcher says workers are fed up and have waited three […]