Leighton Holdings Ltd (ASX: LEI) says its Thiess Sedgman joint venture has been awarded a $145 million contract to expand the Coal Handling and Preparation Plant at Lake Vermont coal mine near Dysart in central Queensland.
National Australia Bank (ASX: NAB) says its telephone and internet banking services which were interrupted earlier today have now been fully restored and are functioning as normal.
Contracting firm Downer EDI gradually sees the recovery of the market values it lost last week when it admitted last week that cost blowouts of the Waratah train project in New South Wales forced it to absorb losses of up to $250 million.
Origin Energy Ltd (ASX:ORG) has reported record production of 68.2 petajoules equivalent (PJe) and sales revenues of $424 million for the half year to 31 December 2010.
Australian agriculture looks set for a positive 2011 with agri-commodity prices expected to stay at elevated levels, but the sector must be prepared to manage a number of challenges, including increasing price volatility, according to a new industry report.
Major Australian supermarkets have given consumers some form of relief when bread and milk products sitting on their shelves saw significant reduction on prices but the initiatives appear to have been cancelled out by soaring petrol cost currently in effect.
Murchison Metals Ltd (ASX:MMX) has appointed Wayne Zekulich as chief financial officer of Oakajee Port & Rail (OPR), developer of port and rail infrastructure for the mining industry in Western Australia’s mid-west.
Queensland Gas Corporation (QGC) tapped Motorola Solutions to build its $14.4 million digital radio network that will service the communication requirements of the company’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in southern and central Queensland.
Optimism among Australian SMEs declined as private business owners assessed the domestic economy for 2011, according to new research.
National Australia Bank (ASX: NAB) has suffered an outage of its Internet and telephone banking systems today, only two months after a computer system glitch delayed the processing of payments and transactions of thousands of customers.
Coles-operator Wesfarmers Ltd announced on Monday that sales of the retail firm saw spiking numbers in the first six months of the current financial year despite cautious consumer behaviour seen for the most part of the period.
Major investors of giant mining firms BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd reportedly asked the two companies to prioritise share buyback schemes for now prior to launching plans of actively pursuing takeover deals.
The Australian Open has been focused around tennis since it began in 1905, but according to one sponsorship expert, the Melbourne event is now as much about sponsors leveraging branding opportunities as it is about the game.
Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (ERA) says it will commence an orderly suspension of plant processing operations as a precautionary measure to help ensure that levels in the Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) remain below the authorised operating limit throughout the remainder of the wet season. The suspension is intended to be for a period of 12 weeks.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) has announced a major fundraising initiative for Queensland’s flood affected cricket clubs.
Retail veteran Roger Corbett has been appointed chairman of pharmaceutical company Mayne Pharma Ltd. He joined the drug firm’s board in November 2010 and accepted the position on Thursday.
Global mining firm Rio Tinto Ltd nears its goal of acquiring Africa-focused collier Riversdale Mining Ltd following the announcement on Thursday by Indian consortium International Coal Ventures Ltd (ICVL) to drop its planned rival proposal on the mining giant’s $3.9 billion takeover bid.
Leading Japanese and Chinese electronics firms NEC Corporation and Lenovo on Thursday announced a strategic partnership to create the largest PC group in Japan. The agreement aligns NEC, Japan's number one PC company, with Lenovo, the fastest growing top-five PC maker in the world. The new joint venture gives both Lenovo and NEC a unique opportunity to grow their commercial and consumer PC businesses in Japan, the third largest PC market in the world, through a stronger market position, enhan...
Giant telco Telstra Corporation announced on Thursday its decision to axe 79 employees at the Ballarat call centre in Victoria, saying that the function of the centre would instead be outsourced to an overseas firm.
Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX:TLS), Australia's biggest telecommunications company, will make an accounting gain of up to $150 million on an agreement to restructure its troubled 50:50 Hong Kong joint venture Reach.
Building and mining products provider Alesco Corporation Ltd (ASX:ALS) has posted an 82 per cent decline in net profit to $1.76 million for the six months to 30 November 2010.
Australia’s economic activity has been on a moderating mode as early as November last year as the latest annualised growth rate from Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Index released on Thursday flashed a slowdown but still in line with long-term trend.
The initial explosion during the Pike River coal mine disaster in New Zealand last year possibly killed the 29 miners trapped underground almost instantly and those who first survived eventually died within minutes as the blast created a condition that humans would not withstand.
Leighton Contractors (ASX: LEI) has been awarded a $110 million contract by multinational packaging company Amcor (ASX: AMC) for the design and construction of civil & building infrastructure at the Botany B9 Paper Mill in Sydney.
Downer EDI informed the Australian Stock Exchange on Thursday that it is set to take a hit of up to $250 million on its Waratah train project, apart from the $190 million provision the company had previously booked in June 2010.
Australian dairy farmers expressed concerns following Coles’ decision to slash the price of their home brand fresh milk by up to 33 per cent.
Real estate investment company Mirvac Group (ASX:MGR) says it will take a $215 million provision against inventories because of slower than expected sales and oversupply and heavy discounting in regional markets.
Up to 99 passengers aboard a Qantas Airways en route to Melbourne got the scare of their lives when the aircraft’s suddenly depressurised mid-air and sent the plane rapidly plunging from its cruising altitude of 36,000 feet, down to 10,000 feet.
Juice maker Charlie's Group has reported $21.9 million gross sales for the six month period ending 31 December 2010.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) says its Australian subsidiary has signed a Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Kyushu Electric Power Co. for a portion of Chevron's offtake of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Gorgon Project.
