Erik Pineda

The separation of its beer and wine business has yet to be finalised but Foster’s Group is not leaving anything to chance and named ahead people that it said would be leading its business’s divided operations.

It appears that rich people don’t do charity anymore and Australian businessman Dick Smith admits disappointment as he realised that much of Corporate Australia’s major players are not up to donating a fraction of their incomes at least even only during the holiday season.

The federal government suffered a major setback on its mineral resource rent tax stance as the Policy Transition Group (PTG) pushed forward its major recommendation of calling on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to credit all current and future royalties to the MRRT accounts of giant mining firms.

Iron ore miner Giralia Resources Ltd’s board of directors gave its go signal on the $828 million off-market takeover bid tossed by Atlas Iron Ltd and prodded its shareholders to put their stamp of approval on the proposal.

Global mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd formally dangled an acquisition offer to Riversdale Mining Ltd that news reports said could reach a high of $3.78 billion.

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) decision to pause for a rate hike in December was largely influenced by the prevailing financial troubles besetting the European continent, which it noted had markedly deterioarated.

Treasury Secretary Ken Henry ended his long public service career on Tuesday as the federal government announced his resignation from office following more than 25 years of tax reforms advocacy in Australia.

Budget carrier Jetstar Airways reabsorbed a pilot it fired in November for publicly criticising the company’s safety standards and cabin staff hiring measures.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) may have to step in and help resolve the rising tension between the country’s biggest resources firms, the governments of Queensland and Western Australia and the federal authorities over the controversial mineral resources rent tax.

Taking the cue from the inquiry conducted by the Productivity Commission on executive pay in Australia, the federal government is floating a draft legislation that empowers company shareholders to expel firm directors that are deemed collecting undue high compensation.

The new delay suffered by Adelaide’s desalination plant project in South Australia would not jack up its overall cost, despite the initial four-month setback caused by a worker’s death.

Touting a much-reduced cost of under $36 billion from the original $40 billion plus estimates, the federal government hails the national broadband network initiative as workable and reasonable as per the NBN plan unveiled on Monday.

Some quarters are out to make money by duping unsuspecting individuals and the competition watchdog is urging the Australian public to be on guard as holiday-induced scams proliferate at this time of the year.

Miners found an ally on Queensland Premier Anna Bligh, who declared on Monday that the federal government needs to honour its royalty deal with BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata, regardless of the contentious issue on the agreement’s time frame.

Weeks after the federal government allowed some glimpses on the $36 billion national broadband network business plan, its full contents would be finally revealed on Monday, which experts said should contain the project’s actual scope, viability and profitability.

The federal government may mean well on its intention to bolster the competition environment of Australia’s banking industry but an overarching federal intervention could backfire on aims to further enhance its economic viability.

The Australian banking industry is competitive enough, according to Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) chief executive Ralph Norris, who testified before the Senate inquiry on banking competition that enough players are currently engaged in the market.

The country’s consumer shopping mood grew steadily in December despite expected declines due to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) decision in November to lift its policy rate.

A full bench ruling by the Federal Court affirmed an earlier judicial decision that effectively stripped Telstra Corporation-subsidiary Sensis the right to exclusively own and publish the telco’s telephone directories’ contents.

The federal government is not headed on a collision course with Australia’s mining giants as Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan insists that the current debate on royalty taxes amount to nothing but minor dispute, which should see a quick resolution.

The first hurdle against the $8.4 billion Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) merger proposal has just been overcome as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) made known its clear intention to allow the acquisition deal.

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan earned a high mark of eight from consumer group Choice for his efforts in improving Australia’s banking system but his recently revealed banking reform measures got only a dismal five.

Some 600 hundred Chinese miners are set to fly in to Queensland and work on Clive Palmer’s $8 billion Galilee Basin coal development joint venture project with the Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC).

Number one global carmaker Toyota Motors Corporation is on a recall mode anew as the Japanese firm announced on Monday that close to 100,000 units of Sienna minivans would be pulled out from American roads in January 2011 for some minor switch replacements.

Confusion now arises as the federal government and three giant mining firms appear to disagree on a crucial provision of the minerals resource rent tax, in which resource companies insist that all state royalty payments are subject for refund by the commonwealth.

Synthetic gas producer Cougar Energy Ltd expressed optimism that the Queensland government would decide on its favour in January and would allow the resumption of its underground coal gasification (UCG) operations in Kingaroy.

The controversial $30 billion Woodside Petroleum’s Kimberley liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Western Australia won the nod of the state’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) on Monday, leaving the WA environmental and federal approval as the only stumbling block for its realisation.

Small business operators in Australia are currently clueless on the beneficial dynamics of online advertising and most are out of touch on effective ways to virtually connect with potential customers.

Australians are keeping their hands on their pockets to shop less and save more, which mean that retailers could not expect windfalls even on the usual peak mode of the Christmas shopping season.