Dynamic Business brings you a daily rundown of the most recent business news and developments from Australia and around the world. Here’s the roundup for October 18:
Lockdowns hit Aussie business turnover
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has published its first Monthly Business Turnover Indicator report. Transport, postal, and warehousing saw the greatest increase in business turnover in August (up 2.8 per cent).
However, turnover in the accommodation and food services sector declined the most in August (down 6.5 per cent). The timely indicator is based on business activity statements (BAS) filed to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and includes 13 of 19 industries.
RBA warns of foreign investment risks without sustainable policies
Guy Debelle, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), said Australia risks “international divestments” if policies and banks fail to implement greener policies.
The speech was given at the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Australia Investment Conference, and it discusses the planned Climate Vulnerability Assessment (CVA) and its requirements.
The United Nations COP26 conference comes in two weeks, and the RBA is increasing Australia’s push to produce a comprehensive carbon emissions target. According to the RBA, only 49 of the top 200 ASX businesses have disclosed commitments to zero-net-emission goals.
Small businesses suffer losses after cancelled French subs deal
Hundreds of small Australian businesses have been devastated by the government’s unexpected cancellation of the French-Australian submarine deal.
Brent Clark, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Industry Defence Network, told a Senate committee that small businesses spent an average of $200,000 improving their capabilities for the now-cancelled military submarine project.
In September, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Australia will cancel its submarine cooperation with France. However, the Australian companies involved in the original submarine development, as well as the French government, were completely caught off guard by Mr Morrison’s declaration in September.
Bitcoin tops $60k as investors bet on ETF approval
Bitcoin prices topped $60k, continuing their October climb on hopes that the Securities and Exchange Commission will soon approve a bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund.
A tweet from the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy’s verified account said, “before investing in a fund that owns Bitcoin futures contracts, make sure you thoroughly assess the possible risks and rewards.”
That looked to be a tacit admission by the SEC that “a fund that holds Bitcoin futures contracts” would shortly receive regulatory approval.
Biden raises US debt limit
US President Joe Biden has signed legislation temporarily extending the government’s borrowing limit to $US28.9 trillion ($A39 trillion), deferring the debt default date until December.
Without the debt ceiling rise, the US Treasury anticipated that it would run out of money to pay the nation’s payments on October 18. Biden’s signing of a $US480 billion ($A648 billion) increase in the borrowing limit on Thursday is scheduled to be exhausted by December 3.
Microsoft is closing LinkedIn China
Microsoft announced the closure of LinkedIn in China, citing a “challenging operating environment” as Beijing tightens its grip on technology companies. According to senior vice president of engineering Mohak Shroff, the US-based company will replace LinkedIn in China with an application dedicated to applying for jobs but missing the networking elements.
Amazon India accused of online rigging
A recent media article alleging Amazon of attempting to kill Indian businesses by rigging search results and engaging in other questionable practises has enraged Indian trade associations.
According to the investigation, Amazon’s team in India “secretly exploited internal data from Amazon.in to mimic products sold by other companies, and then offered them on its platform,” as well as “rigged Amazon’s search results” to ensure that the company’s products appeared first.
The business allegedly manipulated search results to boost sales of its proprietary brands such as AmazonBasics.
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