BUSINESS

The vendors, who were highly reliant on Coles, Woolworths and Aldi, see their efforts dwarfed by supermarkets' tactics, forcing them to restrict their business to the domestic market, the industry's peak body told the ACCC.

Chinese exports surged last month at their fastest pace in more than two years, data showed Thursday, easily topping forecasts and providing optimism about the economy as officials steel for a potential US trade war after Donald Trump was re-elected president.

Governor Michele Bullock Bullock said the RBA had reviewed some of Trump's policies, including a 60% tariff on China, but it remained uncertain whether he will implement them.

Although its clients were surviving the economic downturn, NAB, the country's biggest business lender and third-largest retail lender, stated that an increase in late loan repayments among residential and commercial borrowers was concerning.

"It is still early days, but there will be change at Nine and individuals will be held to account for behaviour of this nature," interim CEO Matt Stanton said at the annual general meeting. "The Board and management are absolutely united on the need to accelerate change and to support workplace reform."

The consolidation, finalized in December, will combine approximately 1,000 retail stores and 16 distribution centers across Australia and New Zealand.

The government had initially expected to implement the new rules by July 1, 2024; however, industry stakeholders now expect the policy to be introduced possibly by late next year, likely after the next federal election.

ATO data showed that the net super disparity -- the portion of existing unpaid super gap even after the recovery attempts -- has dropped from 6.7% in 2022-23 to 6.3% in 2023-24. However, the total unpaid super has increased to AU$5.2 billion this year, compared to AU$4.8 billion in the previous year.

Major stock markets rose and the dollar remained under pressure Tuesday as the United States votes in a knife-edge presidential election.

Striking workers at Boeing approved a new contract proposal on Monday, ending a more than seven-week stoppage that had cost the beleaguered aviation giant billions.

Energy giant Saudi Aramco reported a 15 percent year-on-year drop in third quarter profit on Tuesday, citing prices which have stayed low despite production cuts and war in the Middle East.

Mark van Dyck, who has previously served as the Asia-Pacific leader at Compass Group, will take over as Domino's chief from Wednesday.

RBA's latest decision to keep interest rates at a 12-year high of 4.35% was met with a silent market reaction, as seen by the Australian dollar's steadying around $0.6595.

Irish budget airline Ryanair reported falling net profit for the second quarter on Monday and revised down its passenger growth target following delays in deliveries of Boeing aircraft.

Even while it mostly impacted Westpac's business and wealth division, the company's profits improved by 13% to AU$2.4 billion because of more lending to businesses in the fields of professional services, health care, and agriculture.

Global stock markets diverged Friday after tame tech earnings and investor jitters less than a week before a neck-and-neck US presidential election.

Qantas and Virgin Australia used carried-forward pandemic losses to dodge taxes in 2022–2023, while Netflix Australia made nearly AU$1.15 billion in the 2023 fiscal year without paying taxes.

While households increased their spending on groceries and healthcare, there was a 1.8% decrease in spending on new clothes and shoes, reversing the 0.2% growth reported in August.

Microsoft delivered solid quarterly results on Wednesday, beating analyst expectations with revenue jumping 16 percent to $65.6 billion, but questions were raised about the company's big spending on the AI boom.

Facebook owner Meta saw net income and revenues top expectations on Wednesday as the company said it would expand investments into artificial intelligence, drawing nervousness from investors.

The eurozone's annual inflation rate rebounded more than expected in October due to rising food costs, official data showed on Thursday, but remains in line with the European Central Bank's two-percent target.

Optus indulged in improper sales practices, including pressuring consumers to buy many expensive products without checking if they had coverage in their area.

The inquiry found that the average price of nine essential items, including penne pasta, beef mince, teabags, carrots, and Weet-Bix, at Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, and IGA across all Australian capital cities was AU$44.70. In comparison, the same items cost AU$99.38 in the four remote communities.

The eurozone economy grew faster than expected between July and September buoyed by Germany's surprise expansion, official data showed Wednesday, but experts warned of slow growth in the months ahead.

A handful of industry funds accounted for most of the spending, with AustralianSuper being the largest marketing spender in the 2022-23 financial year, spending a total of AU$60.2 million. Queensland-based Australian Retirement Trust ranked as the second largest spender on marketing, investing AU$41.8 million.

The company predicted that its earnings from its Australian food division, before interest and tax, to be between AU$1.48 billion and AU$1.53 billion in the December half.

Compared to Q2, Australia's inflation rate declined one percentage point in the September quarter and broadly aligned with expectations of being between 2-3%. The drop in the inflation rate is being attributed to lower fuel prices and energy bill discounts.

Most major global stock markets rose on Tuesday with investors looking ahead to the release of US economic data and the earnings reports of tech titans this week.

Global commodity prices should fall to a five-year low next year thanks to a huge oil glut, the World Bank said Tuesday, pointing to oversupply and to flat demand from China.