More Australians are expected to be disappointed if not angry at ANZ Bank. The bank announced on Monday a cut - not in interest rates, but in jobs
Despite the labor dispute between Qantas and the unions being under Fair Work Australia for arbitration, a word war erupted between Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce and the pilots union.
All is well with BHP Billiton, this according to BHP chief executive Marius Kloppers despite the 5.5 percent profit slide the mining giant had recorded in the first half of financial year 2011-2012.
Australian stocks are trading lower in the early session, as investors focus on the local reporting season rather than positive offshore moves. US and European markets moved higher overnight after Greece reached a new deal to secure additional funding. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 19pts or 0.5pct to 4337.4.
Telstra Corporation's investments on new technology started paying off as the company reported on Thursday a significant boost of more than 22 percent on its half-year net income for fiscal 2012.
Australian stocks have eased on open, following a mixed offshore lead and generally lower commodity prices. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is lower by 27.8pts or 0.6pct to 4335.9.
The Australian stock market is perceived to maintain its current bouyant status thugging within its comfort zone range between 4,200 to 4,300 with the absence of catalysts to bring forth a major boost, analysts said.
By end February, residents and travellers plying the routes of China's municipality of Beijing will slowly get to experience inhaling cleaner air as the municipality government undertakes to introduce the first batch of liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered public buses.
Aussies are vacationing in droves overseas with New Zealand, the U.S. and Indonesia as their favourite destinations. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that in 2011, Australians made 7.8 million international trips.
The soon-to-be merged groups already agreed on a name, Glencore Xstrata International, and executives have settled their corporate positions and roles but the planned marriage appeared to have overlooked an important detail - the expressed consent of independent investors.
BHP Billiton said on Wednesday that its latest half-year results deviated from previous performances, achieving only a net income of $9.9 billion for the last six months leading to the end of December 2011.
National Australia Bank (NAB) announced on Wednesday a strategic review of its U.S. business after the latter suffered from high levels of bad debts.
New research has revealed that workers and managers at the coal face have both the skills and experience to innovate and navigate through change, but are seldom provided the opportunity to do so.
The local share market is trading slightly higher in the early session, on the back of modest gains on Wall Street overnight. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) has added 7.6pts or 0.2pct to 4352.5.
Workers in BHP Billiton's (ASX: BHP) Queensland coal mines will hold a week-long strike likely to begin Friday to protest the latest enterprise agreement offer by the mining giant. The workers, members of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), are against some of the pay and work condition provisions of BHP's offer.
After a flat start, the Australian share market is posting modest gains at lunch, thanks to positive moves from telecommunication, industrial and energy stocks. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 11.3pts or 0.3pct to 4375.9.
With China's economy expected to weaken to 8.5 per cent this year, global luxury goods and branded items will most likely take also a beating as Chinese shoppers most definitely will trim on big-ticket item purchases in a bid to maintain and preserve wealth inside their hands and pockets.
Job security in bank posts continue to be placed on the line as Westpac announced the axing of up to 400 positions. Most of those who would be laid off are engaged in back office and IT roles, of which 150 would be outsourced to India.
The blockbuster 'merger of equals' between Xstrata and Glencore is nearing completion, media reports said, which indicated too that barring further glitches, the deal will be finalised by Tuesday this week.
Latest inflation levels appear to be within the mark set by central bank authorities for the current year, according to the January edition of the TD Securities-Melbourne Institute measure of consumer prices.
While New Zealand has not felt the brunt of recession, the Treasury has slashed its forecast for economic growth for 2013 in view of volatile and weaker global economy.
Optimism rose as New Zealand shares climbed, and hope springs that global economic growth is possible. Exporting manufacturers Fisher & Paykel Appliances and Methven topped the list of gainers even as the kiwi dollar rose as well, consistent to a five-month high against the greenback.
January marked the significant growth of Australia's service industries, pushing up by 2.9 to 51.9 points in the month, according to the new survey jointly conducted by the Australian Industry Group (AIG) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA).
After encountering turbulence in 2011 due to a prolonged labor dispute with three labor unions, flag carrier Qantas Airways is set to soar in 2012.
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.
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.
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.
