News
Following in the wake of Starbucks job losses, meat-processing company Don KRC is set to make 640 staff redundant by January. The smallgoods manufacturer will close two plants in Melbourne and Perth and reopen in Castlemaine, central Victoria, to keep the business viable. “In the past few months we’ve investigated 20 different options to ensure […]
Trade talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO) have failed due to disagreements between the USA, China and India over farm import rules. The multilateral negotiations, called the Doha Round after the city in Qatar where the 2001 agenda began, have suffered repeated collapses over terms of access to markets. Developing countries asked for special […]
Sixty-one of the 84 Starbucks locations in Australia will be closed by August 3, due to underperformance. The closures are part of the new Starbucks structure, which will focus on profitable growth in three core cities; Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. “In January 2008, we developed strategies to transform the company for the future,” said Howard […]
Sleek and stylish, the BlackBerry Bold has made its way to Australian shores. Building on the previous BlackBerry platform, the BlackBerry Bold also supports tri-band HSDPA high-speed networks and includes built-in GPS and Wi-Fi support. The fashionable smartphone comes with an LCD display, a new design full-QWERTY keyboard, and its black exterior is finished off […]
While news of potential reductions to petrol prices is being welcomed by all, businesses are still changing the way they do business to subsidise increased costs. Findings from 3 Mobile research show petrol prices are impacting 93 percent of businesses. To solve the problem at hand, SMEs are turning to alternative approaches to doing business, […]
One third of Australians expect higher debt levels in the coming months, and as a result, are turning to credit. “Over the last four quarters we have seen fears of increased debt levels continuing to escalate across the board,” says Christine Christian, CEO of Dun & Bradstreet. “However the latest survey reveals that a clear […]
A two-week truck driver strike, beginning this morning, will virtually shut down Australia’s transport industry in a matter of days, says organiser Mick Pattell, from the National Road Transport Forum. The stoppage is a response to state and federal government changes including increased registration fees, fuel excise and new fatigue laws. “Hopefully the government will […]
Finally, after being available in the US for almost a decade, TiVo is coming to Australia and will go on sale on July 29. Interestingly, the television networks, which worked bitterly hard to keep Personal Video Recorders (PVR) off the shelves (due to their ability to skip advertisements), are now the ones releasing the products. […]
Labor should take responsibility for inflation says Deputy Opposition leader Julie Bishop, who believes the Federal Government has blamed the former Howard government long enough. June quarter results showed inflation rise to 4.5 percent. Bishop criticised Labor’s first budget. “They introduced $19 billion of new taxes and revenues, and that, inevitably, leads to an increased […]
Fees and other bank charges have added to the rising cost of living to become another burden on businesses and consumers. Among the increases are financial services costs, an almost 10 percent hike, and the cost of loans and deposit fees, rising by 16.2 percent. The banks justify the rise as an offset to higher […]
Apple’s MobileMe application is now available, so you can keep your iPhone, iPod touch, Mac, and PC up-to-date and in sync. The application stores emails, contacts and calendars on an online server, and when you make a change on one device, they’re all automatically updated. Visit https://secure.me.com/wo/WebObjects/Signup.woa to sign up for your free 60-day trial.
June quarter results are expected to show a consumer price index rise of about one percent, bringing the yearly rate to 4.3 percent: significantly higher than the Reserve Bank’s target band of two to three percent. Petrol prices contributed approximately 0.25 percent to inflation and are expected to continue in the September quarter. The rise […]
Rising petrol prices have seen consumer sentiment hit a 16 year low. Consumer sentiment, in July, is at 79 points; a drop of 6.7 percent from June, according to the monthly Westpac-Melbourne Institute survey. “The most probable explanation for the sharp fall in the index is likely to be petrol and oil prices,” says Bill […]
Walk confidently into the room; plug your USB key into your mobile professional projector and your presentation lights up for your waiting audience. Whether it’s sales, training, a conference, or a new business pitch, delivering high quality presentations has never been easier than with the new generation of mobile professional projectors. No need for road […]
Almost 50 percent of employees are afraid of losing their jobs, as a result of building recessions concerns, found a Talent2 survey. “Over half of the respondents were in the workforce during the last major recession in Australia during the early 1990s,” says John Banks of Talent2. “So it is understandable that the prospect of […]
BP chief economist Christof Ruehl has endorsed the Federal Government’s support for a carbon emissions trading scheme over a carbon tax. Having examined data from world energy markets, Ruehl says the scheme can later integrate with other financial markets. “If you have these trading markets they’re much easier for them to link up with each […]
The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has issued a reminder to businesses that June quarterly statements and super contributions are due by July 28. The easiest and securest way to lodge activity statements is through the online business portal, says Geoff Robinson, deputy commissioner. “Businesses may be eligible for a two week extension on their activity […]
The Federal Government admits their Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, which includes a target of a 60 percent reduction in current carbon emissions by 2050, will increase inflation, but the cost of not acting would be greater. “It is about taking responsibility and preparing for the future,” said Climate Change Minister Penny Wong. “We cannot continue […]
When it comes to shopping online, Australian and New Zealand consumers are twice as likely to proceed to checkout, in comparison to their international counterparts. Findings from a Coremetrics study show Australian consumers place 4.4 orders every 100 sessions, while this number drops to 3.3 in the US and 1.7 in the UK. “The question […]
The Geek In High Heels GeekIT Group With more than 15 years in sales and marketing, Mary Henderson is an expert in business development and implementing marketing strategies in the IT and digital media spheres. As CEO and founder of web development company, GeekIT Group, Mary has a passion for technology and the way it […]
