Geeks to help set govt innovation policy
THE Turnbull government will throw policymaking over to the public to gain ideas on how to help startups and innovation flourish in Australia.
Breaking News
Bluescope cuts 500 NSW jobs
BLUESCOPE will cut 500 jobs at Port Kembla, freeze pay for three years and suspend a bonus scheme as part of cost savings plans.
Stocks to watch on Thursday
STOCKS of interest on the Australian Securities Exchange on Thursday
Ansell’s year off to a weaker start
CHALLENGING conditions in north America and Europe, and the impact of China’s slowdown, are impacting sales for Ansell.
Dual-listed stocks lead NZ market lower
THE S&P/NZX 50 Index has closed 0.4 per cent lower with dual-listed stocks falling as the kiwi climbed against the Aussie dollar.
NZ dollar slips back below 66 US cents
THE kiwi dollar is almost unchanged over 24 hours after rising to a recent high above 66 US cents in early local tradiing.
Asciano to develop new freight terminal
ASCIANO is investing $100 million on a new intermodal freight terminal in western Sydney, to move freight from road to rail.
Uranium miner’s shares soar
URANIUM miner ERA says it does not know why its share price has gained more than 20 per cent on Thursday.
$A may be low enough to cut unemployment
THE real value of $A is still above its average for the decades before the commodity price boom, but could still be low enough to cut unemployment
Macquarie pays $8b for car finance firm
MACQUARIE Group has struck a huge deal with ANZ to almost double its car financing assets and boosted its half year profit forecast beyond $1 billion.
Drilling boom means more harm
THE US oil drilling boom has left some grazing lands devastated and ground water at risk of pollution, thanks to spills of waste water, say cattle ranchers
Pandora to buy Ticketfly for $45m
MUSIC company Pandora will buy ticket seller Ticketfly for $US450 million, with investors to get $US225 million in cash and $US225 million in its stock.
Collars monitor pets for pain, ill health
TWO US-base companies are expanding the wearable health and activity wearable market – offering medical collars for pets.
Merck invests in local biotech
US-BASED global pharmaceutical giant Merck will buy a $US9 million stake in local biotech Bionomics.
Magazines not just for mobile devices
MOBILE-FIRST entrepreneurs are moving their apps to the PC sphere, in recognition that the desktop, not mobile, is the most-used device during the day
Genex wants to build largest solar farm
GENEX Power has released a feasibility study for a large-scale solar farm it plans to build next to a Queensland gold mine it will turn into a hydro plant.
At ‘home’ in Peru, WBank chief unfazed
JIM Yong Kim, the physician turned chief of the World Bank, will feel right at home in Peru where decades ago he got medication to the poor.
VW unlikely to have allies in Congress
VOLKSWAGEN Group of America president and CEO Michael Horn is unlikely to find allies when he appears before the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee.
Colombia’s coffee production up 16%
COLOMBIA’S coffee production climbed 16 per cent in September, and is up 13 per cent in the year to Sept, compared with the same periods last year.
Why do extremists drive Toyotas, asks US
TOYOTA says it will fully co-operate with the US Treasury Department’s Terrorism and Financial Intel wing regarding the use of its vehicles by militants.
A2 Milk announced $NZ43 mn capital raising
A2, which in July rejected a takeover offer from Australia’s Freedom Foods and US dairy giant Dean Foods, is launching a $NZ43 million capital raising.
Spot gold eases on stronger $US
THE price of spot gold has falled 0.1 per cent on a stronger US dollar, but the metal for December delivery has risen slightly ahead of the Fed minutes.
Base metals end higher
LME base metals have risen, although copper is fairly flat amid expectations of weak demand and oil prices gave back their gains.
Competition for Microsoft lineup
MICROSOFT is targeting professionals – the ‘power’ user and high end of the market – with its latest line-up of products, analysts say.
Chinese tourists to surpass NZ by 2016
LURED by a low Aussie dollar, tourists from China and Hong Kong are flocking to Australia and may overtake NZ as our biggest source of travellers.
VW emissions scandal hits Australia
VOLKSWAGEN says more than 77,000 cars sold in Australia are affected by the company’s worldwide diesel emissions cheating scam.
Origin Energy scraps CEO’s equity grants
ENERGY producer and retailer Origin Energy has withdrawn a plan to grant equity incentives to two top executives following its forced capital raising.
Turnbull-backed IPO app aims to open ASX
PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull has helped launch the OnMarket mobile app, which gives investors free and open access to IPOs and placements.
Tesco earnings plunge by 70 per cent
TROUBLED British supermarket Tesco has announced a further big fall in profits as it struggles to turn its business around.
Telstra retail boss to depart
TELSTRA Retail group executive Gordon Ballantyne, who had been a contender for the chief executive position, will leave the company in December.
Glencore prepared to make tough decisions
GLOBAL resources giant Glencore says its Australian coal operations remain under review as prices remain under pressure.
Time for investors to be patient
A LISTED investment fund says short-term share market returns are very volatile, but investors will still build wealth over the long term.
New IAG CEO to maintain Asia focus
INSURANCE giant IAG has appointed the leader of its digital innovation efforts to replace CEO Mike Wilkins when he steps down in November.
LBT shares jump 23pc on trial results
LBT’S automated culture plate analysis technology has been successfully tested against a panel of three microbiologists.
NZ shares fall on profit-taking
THE S&P/NZX 50 Index has closed 0.3 per cent lower, but is still ahead for the week as volatility remains in the market.
NZ dollar climbs to six-week high
THE kiwi dollar has gained against the greenback and other major currencies after prices lifted for dairy products and other commodities.
Aussie e-tailors break ground
THE founders of online men suits retailer InStitchu plan to open more showrooms and a specific online store for the US.
Property makes rich Aust families richer
MANY of Australia’s richest families have moved into property to boost their already considerable wealth.
Atlassian hits back at ASX snub claims
THE chief of Aussie tech heavyweight Atlassian has blasted claims that a mooted public listing on Wall St would hurt the local industry.
Tech coding school to open in Sydney
A POPULAR London and New York-based coding school will open up in Sydney in 2016 to help local professionals engage with ‘the language of the future’.
Turnbull echoes Abbott’s call to have a go
MALCOLM Turnbull says entrepreneurs should not be afraid of failure as they try to modernise Australia’s economy through innovation.
Weaker exports prompt Aust GDP downgrade
SOBERING outlooks for Australia’s major Asian trading partners could lead to weaker economic growth in 2016, JP Morgan says.
KFC parent sees slow recovery in China
YUM Brands, the parent of KFC and Pizza Hut, has had to cut its profit forecast because of a slow recovery in China after scares over food quality.
AOFM sells $900m of Treasury bonds
THE AOFM has sold $900 million of April 21, 2025, Treasury bonds.
Stocks to watch on Wednesday
STOCKS of interest on the Australian Securities Exchange on Wednesday
Construction grows again in September
THE construction industry expanded for a second month in September, thanks to Australia’s hot property market.
Ford seals local supply deals
CAR maker Ford Australia has sealed deals to source vehicle parts from 63 local suppliers as it switches its focus to design.
Dozens of deaths poss from VW emissions
EXPERTS and an AP analysis of computer modelling calculate that dozens of people could have died as a result of the VW emissions.
Indigenous trust fund hopes to raise $100m
A NEW trust fund hopes to capitalise on federal rules that will see three per cent of contracts go to indigenous businesses.
Aust company warned over cartel behaviour
CONSOLIDATED Alloys NZ is under the microscope after the Commerce Commission formally warned the Australian-owned company over cartel-like behaviour.
Lower Aussie dollar boosts tourism sector
THE number of foreign tourists hitting Australian shores jumped by nearly two per cent in August, aided by the weaker dollar, ABS data shows.
Veda Group opens door to US takeover
THE board of Australian data analytics firm Veda Group is backing an increased $2.5b takeover offer from US rival Equifax.
Rates tipped to stay on hold until 2016
THE RBA has left the cash rate unchanged at its October board meeting, and several leading economists expect no moves until at least 2016.
Gay marriage an economic boon for Aust
AUSTRALIA’S economy could benefit by half a billion dollars a year if same-sex marriage is legalised, ANZ economists estimate.
RBA stays on hold and on message
THE RBA’s anticipated decision to leave the cash rate on hold was accompanied by a statement virtually unchanged from the previous month.
TPP agreement boosts NZ shares
THE Trans Pacific Partnership deal and Federal Reserve delaying interest rate rises have given some confidence to NZ sharemarket investors.
Kiwi slips against Aussie dollar
THE kiwi has fallen against the Aussie dollar after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept its benchmark interest rate on hold.
Takeover panel faults G8’s Affinity bid
THE Takeovers Panel has found links between G8 chairperson Jenny Hutson and entities which traded in the failed bid.
40% of millennials pay for news
FORTY per cent of people aged 18-34 pay for some of the news they read and another 13 per cent rely on someone else paying for it, a survey shows.
$A rises as RBA leaves rates on hold
THE RBA’s decision to leave the cash rate unchanged at a record low has pushed the Australian dollar above 71 US cents.
RBA rates announcement – full text
THE full text of the RBA’s announcement confirming the cash rate would stay at 2.0 per cent, as widely expected.
VW tells MPs 8million cars in Europe hit
CARMAKER Volkswagen has told German MPs that eight million of its diesel cars in Europe had the emissions-testing ‘defeat devices’.
Stocks to watch on Tuesday
STOCKS of interest on the Australian Securities Exchange on Tuesday
Trade balance in deficit in August
THE Australian Bureau of Statistics has released international trade figures for August.
US tech giant bids $428m for UXC
AUSTRALIAN-LISTED tech services provider UXC intends to support a $428m takeover offer from global giant CSC.
Techies input at ancient Indian festival
TECHNOLOGY innovators have launched a digital information platform at an ancient Hindu riverside festival.
Twitter endorses Jack Dorsey as CEO
CO-FOUNDER Jack Dorsey has been named as Twitter’s new CEO, with the company hoping the move will reverse financial losses.
Takeovers Panel frowns on share deals
SHARE trades between companies associated with former G8 Education chair Jenny Hutson and Affinity Education have been slammed by the Takeovers Panel.
Data hack at seven Trump hotels confirmed
HACKERS breached security at seven Trump hotels in the US and Canada for more than a year, and stole customer credit card numbers, the chain says.
Treasury Wine outlines fresh cost cuts
THE winemaker behind Penfolds, Treasury Wine Estates, will cut costs from its supply chain by divesting infrastructure and consolidating vineyards.
Auckland house prices rise to record
A REAL estate firm says Auckland house prices may have surged because of buyers getting in ahead of new regulations to cool the market.
Consumer confidence slides again
CONSUMER confidence has continued to slide, with a weekly index giving back almost half of the record bounce made after the change in prime minister.
Orion shares jump 9% after US contract
ORION Health says it is in a syndicate that will provide off-the-shelf electronic health record software for the US Department of Defense.
Veda backs $2.5b takeover offer
US credit information provider Equifax appears to have won over local rival Veda with an increased $2.5 billion takeover offer.
Firms downbeat on economy: NZIER survey
ALTHOUGH business confidence fell in the NZIER’s latest quarterly survey, firms were more upbeat about their own trading.
Copper fumps 1.5 per cent
COPPER prices jump as expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate rise diminish following disappointing US jobs data.
Gold is little changed
GOLD prices have changed little amid reduced expectation of a US Federal Reserve interest rate rise.
Business feeling positive
AUSTRALIAN businesses are feeling optimistic that economic activity in the three months to December will be better than the same time last year.
Kiwi gains as traders digest weak US data
WITH traders pondering whether US interest rate rises will be delayed and NZ rates won’t be cut as deeply as earlier thought, the kiwi dollar has gained.
Kathmandu speculation spurs NZ shares
A BROKER report suggesting Briscoe may bid again for Kathmandu has boosted Kathmandu shares 4.3 per cent in an improving market.
Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/breaking-news/page/199