Erik Pineda

The flooding that ravaged crops in New South Wales resulted to estimated harvest losses of up to $850 million, according to the projections issued by the NSW government on Thursday.

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.

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.

Out of the disasters that ravaged Australia in the past three years, remarkable feats emerged and buoyed the spirit of the nation and Prime Minister Julia Gillard is bent on conferring honours to these modern day heroes.

A Victorian bookkeeper had a luxurious lifestyle for more than four years but not on her salary as an employee of Comunicom Group but on her skills in ‘handling’ the finances of the company.

Kimberly-Clark Australia (KCA) said on Tuesday that its ongoing global business review forces it to put two ageing tissue machines at the Millicent mill out of commission by May this year.

Former federal treasurer Peter Costello believes that the government has enough revenue bases and in-place taxes to fund its rehabilitation program for areas heavily damaged by the recent flooding, that imposing a flood levy may prove to be an overkill.

A bank raising its interest rates to follow a competitor’s move is tantamount to price signalling, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

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.

While Australians are still smarting from the damages left behind by the Queensland floods, another deluge may be forthcoming as the federal government sent warnings of rising food costs, particularly for fruit and vegetable prices.

Gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd sent out its financial report on Tuesday, with varying results, where the company outlined its record production for the December quarter and its decision to nudge back a bit the firm’s full year gold production guidance.

Australian Greens Senator Bob Brown expressed his support on the federal government’s proposal of a one-off levy that will fund a big chunk of its rehabilitation program for a large swathe of areas hit hard by the flooding disaster.

Even Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd appears as susceptible to the recent flood disaster that had hit Australia as the company echoed emerging sentiments of sliding profit guidance among the country’s major firms.

Ten years ahead and Australia will be a sporting a new identity as a new report predicts of radical changes in the way the average Australian earns a living, chooses a house and whiles away leisure time, if that moment is still a possibility by the next decade.

Australia is fast-gaining a reputation as a global hub for online shopping, with no less than US giant internet retailer eBay reportedly alluding to the Aussie market as a viable and standout business consideration for web retailers.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard urged the country’s corporate giants to go the extra mile in helping the federal government on its efforts to rehabilitate areas badly damaged by the recent flood disaster.

Economists said that soft import prices brought about a weaker than expected producer price index (PPI) in the December quarter, which according to the latest figures furnished by the Australian Bureau of Statics (ABS) on Monday merely jumped by 0.1 percent, en route to an annual rate of 2.7 percent.

Global mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd gets further push on its aim to corner a sizeable chunk of Africa’s coal resources as the resource firm’s $3.9 billion takeover proposal won the stamp of approval from Riversdale Mining Ltd’s board of directors.

Giant grocery operator Woolworths Ltd announced on Monday a likely retreat on its earnings guidance for fiscal 2011 as it cited that shaky disposition in consumer spending and volatility in inflation levels, interest rates and uncertainty in the global economy pushed down the prospects of the retail sector.

Westpac head Gail Kelly told a Senate committee on Friday that while banking reforms proposed by the federal government is welcome, the industry as it is already rolls on stable wheels and further strength could only be attained through active client participation.

Queensland’s mining and agricultural industries bore the brunt of the worst flood disaster that hit Australia in the past weeks and as the situation slowly gains normalcy, apprehensions rule the atmosphere for both sectors.

Amidst calls by Prime Minister Julia Gillard that insurance companies should exercise extra leniency in dealing with flood-related damage claims, reinsurers appear ready to be more accommodating but the industry insisted that those who do not have flood coverage are beyond their capacity to help.

The South Australian government has announced on Friday that additional workers were recruited by Holden for further deployment in the company’s Adelaide assembly plant.

Bank account portability appeals to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) as a bright prospect for encouraging the entry of more competition in the banking industry.

The flood disaster that had hit Australia in the past weeks provided some form of relief for the heated debate on the country’s banking reforms but the senate probe looking into the matter appears ready to resume hearing testimonies, this time though in Sydney.

Finding itself hard-up on scouring for resources to finance the gargantuan task of rehabilitating the regions devastated by the recent flooding is Australia, the federal government looks to a possible lift on Medicare levy surcharge so it could fund the massive cost of recovery efforts.

Giant telecommunication firm Telstra Corporation Ltd sets its sight on fresh sales and marketing approach following the impending departures of the telco’s two senior executives.

Australia’s two major airports on Thursday reported spikes on the number of passengers traveling through Melbourne and Sydney in 2010, with both terminal managements attributing the rise to record influx of Chinese and other Asian visitors flocking into the two Aussie cities.