BUSINESS

The fruit and vegetable price war between Australian supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths may be a boon to consumers, but a bane to farmers.

Australia's trade surplus further expanded in December, adding up $366 million in the month to reach $1.709 billion, creating a wide margin that according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) was mostly delivered by commodity shipments.

Media attention to Australia's richest woman, Gina Rinehart, has shifted back to her family feud from her recent foray into Fairfax Media.

By Peter Switzer, Switzer Super ReportLast year the economy grew at a 2.6% pace, well below the 3%-plus rate expected by Treasury and the Reserve Bank.

Who would have thought the US could get to a position where it could even think of getting investors to pay the government to lend it money.

Its 25 years since the turnaround at Woolworths was kicked off by retailing legend Paul Simons who decided to use the phrase: 'The fresh food people" to tag the struggling retailer to make it different from the then dominant Coles Myer.It worked, kick starting a comeback from Woolies that is part of Australian corporate lore as Simons' successors, especially Roger Corbett revamped not only the retailer, but the entire supermarkets business by chasing gains from suppliers to stores. ...

Trade data out yesterday for December, the second quarter and the first six months of the 2011-12 financial year put the lie to suggestions that our minerals boom has been derailed or is sagging as a result of the drop in iron ore and coal prices late last year.

More Australian workers would likely lose their jobs in the coming weeks amid fears of another round of global financial crisis. A day after major Australian firms such as BHP Billiton, Holden, Manildra and Reckitt Benckiser announced layoffs, more companies made similar announcements.

In part two of our feature on Goldman Sachs, we look at Goldman's networks of power in Europe and consider the ways in which Goldman is using the same dangerous financial products, which caused the 2007 crisis, to bet against Europe's floundering economies whilst governing, or advising those countries. Finally, we ask what can be done to reduce Goldman's power.

The Australian stock market is off to a slow start on Friday with commodity-related stocks led by Lynas Corp (ASX: LYC), Aquarius Platinum Ltd (ASX: AQP), Atlas Iron Ltd (ASX:AGO) hitting some gains as of 10:00 AM (AEST).

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 9 points or 0.1% while the S&P rose 0.1% to 1325 and the Nasdaq rose 0.4%.What a rollercoaster ride.

Global productivity generally spiked in the first month of 2011 amidst the lingering financial woes battering much of Euro economies and the slowdown predicted by economists to hound China this year.

The battle between retail giants Coles and Woolworths went up a higher level beyond grocery aisles into company books. On Thursday, Coles reported a 6.7 per cent hike in its December quarter sales which hit $9.4 billion.

Australian authorities have ordered on Wednesday the destruction of some 24,000 ducks in Victoria to contain the spread of the avian flu detected in the southern region of the country.

The bank fee class action lawsuit filed by Australians has expanded with the complainants now questioning $216 million exception fees collected by the lenders.

The new generation of Nokia smartphones have been envisioned to tread more on the path of aesthetics.

The worsening unemployment forecast feared in Australia as a result of another round of global crisis appears to be unfolding as early as the second month of 2012.

Holden announced on Thursday the immediate implementation of new measures that it said will allow the carmaker to sustain its current production capability while bringing down costs at the same time.

The Federal Government is urged by the Actuaries Institute in its pre-budget submission to address two national priorities in the coming Budget: removing barriers to allow ageing Australia to better prepare for retirement with realistic annuity options; and creating a temporary national insurance pool for high flood-risk properties.

By Ejaz Ghani, Economic Advisor at the World BankMention China and India to economists and their first thought will be rapid growth.

Apple's iPhone could extend its holiday cheer as recent figures show that it was the highest selling smartphone in the market for the last holiday season.

Consumer electronics company Foxconn wished to double the size of its manpower in its branch in Zhengzhou, China. Is the hiring spree due to the launching of the iPhone 5?

Electronics retailer Dick Smith could wind up significantly cutting underperforming sites among 66 New Zealand stores in Australia and New Zealand, according to an analyst.

For some, it’s like winning the lottery. Workers at Melbourne-based Grenda bus company were surprised to receive bonuses reaching up to $30,000 after the company owners sold off its transit operations and allocated $15 million to its loyal staff.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 83 points or 0.7% while the S&P gained 0.9% to 1324 and the Nasdaq added 1.

FROM MORRISON SECURITIES PTY. LTDU.S. stocks rose broadly, moving to within striking distance of a multi-year high, as investors were bolstered by solid manufacturing reports around the world.

We've all known that 2011 wasn't a good year for housing or house prices, and this week we have had that confirmed in spades.

Australian shares had a very solid month, among the best of major markets and outperformed the US and some European bourses.

Just as we had mixed news from the Japanese and Australian economies on Tuesday, yesterday we got the same story from China with two surveys of the country's manufacturing sector producing very different results.