News

The new financial year is upon us, and as a result the Australian Tax Office have said they will be keeping a watching eye on over-zealous taxpayer claims.

Well the Bruno movie is officially out in cinemas tomorrow, and Bruno himself, the gay Austrian fashion journalist (a creation of English comedian Sasha Baron Cohen) has been in town this week doing a bit of promotion for it. He made a particular funny appearance on Rove last Sunday night, pushing the boundaries of social decency (with hilarious results) using a lot of shock tactics to get laughs out of people. (Rove in a naked suit anyone?)

In a clear sign that the Federal Government’s $900 stimulus payments are still flooding into the economy, retail sales grew a further 1 percent in May, after a 0.3 percent increase in April and a 2.2 percent increase in March.

Business information analysts IBISWorld has revealed a list of the top ten best performing industries for 2009/10, along with the five worst.

The Federal Government has introduced a new wave of tax relief measures that will come into play from today, which will help businesses face the global recession and boost the economy, says Treasurer Wayne Swan.

The Federal Government’s new Fair Work Act will come into effect from today, replacing the Howard Government’s controversial WorkChoices laws.

The National Sales Academy is offering Australian businesses in need of sales and communication skills, access to over 20 scholarships programs, worth up to $7500 each, in a measure totalling $150,000.

The Federal Government’s changes to the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code will result in more job losses, says Shadow Small Business Minister Steven Ciobo.

Research conducted by Robert Walters has found that Australian employees view up-skilling to be the most important strategy to remain employable in the current climate.

HTC Corporation has today unveiled three new handsets to add to their growing family of handsets – the HTC Snap, HTC Touch Diamond2 and HTC Touch Pro2.

With social networking proving to be a great drawcard for business, the Australian Businesswomen’s Network is set to hold a month long Twitter event to ensure businesses get the most out of the social medium.

The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Julia Gillard, has today announced that funding offers have been made to community, employee, employer and small business organisations under the Fair Work Education and Information program; to help small businesses understand their rights and responsibilities under the new workplace relations act to commence on Wednesday 1 July.

Dell has just announced the finalists in its 2009 Small to Medium Business Excellence Award and it struck me that half of them are from Victoria. Sydney has always held the reputation as the big business hub of Australia, but could it be that Melbourne is winning the race in the SME stakes?

Debate will no doubt rage for years to come whether the “Kev 07” stimulus package worked for Australia. I must admit that I queried the benefit of it when it was announced on 3 February. I struggle to find the benefit of giving someone $900 if they are at risk of losing their $50,000 job.

Many of my clients are asking me how they can retain and reward high performing staff whilst remaining financially secure. Businesses need to look carefully at their plans to financially reward employees in 2009.

Australian retailers trying to reach and retain consumers online will underperform if they fail to learn from the mistakes made by their counterparts in the US, according to the Executive Director of Salmat DigitalForce, Paul Marshall.

Toga Hospitality, one of Australia’s largest accommodation providers, has unveiled two new properties in Darwin, the Media Grand Darwin Waterfront and the Vibe Hotel Darwin Waterfront.

Last week saw the deaths of iconic American stars Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, and as a result spamming levels have increased dramatically according to Symantec.

Dell, EXCOM Education and the Small Enterprise Association of Australia and New Zealand (SEAANZ) have selected ten finalists for the 2009 Dell Small Business Excellence Awards with the winner to be announced in September.

Research by Market Intelligence Strategy Centre (MISC) has found that small businesses are utilising high interest-earning online savings accounts as a source of spare cash.