Erik Pineda

Despite concerns aired by the latest report of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which stated that the national broadband network may prove too costly and could lead to significant financial limbo, the federal government maintained its faith on the project’s viability.

The emerging industry of liquefied natural gas (LNG) could potentially boost the carbon emissions reduction efforts in Australia yet existing government policies continue to dwarf that possibility.

Australian car maker GM Holden Ltd appeared fully-recovered from the losses it suffered during the height of global financial crisis as it reopened its Adelaide factory and announced on Monday that the facility’s second shift has come online.

Stubbornly confident on its present form and its perceived economic benefits, the federal government remains firm on its commitment to win a parliamentary go ahead for its proposed minerals resource rent tax, notwithstanding an international study suggesting some tweaks on the tax measures.

Wealth management firm AMP tossed its new $14 billion cash and scrip bid to buy AXA Asia Pacific Holdings, in a coup deal that analysts believed would be given the nod once the AXA-APH board convenes this week.

Giant resource firm BHP Billiton Ltd formally announced on Monday that it is withdrawing its $US45 billion takeover bid for Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc, re-echoing the earlier claims of the Canadian government that provisions of its offer sheet could not come to terms with the net benefit requirements of the Investment Canada Act for the deal.

Energy giant Shell was given the green light by the federal government to construct a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) station off the northwest coast of Western Australia, which is poised to be as the world’s first floating LNG project.

Xstrata’s $3 billon Wandoan open-cut coal project in southern Queensland won the conditional approval of the state authorities on Friday, paving the way for a federal review which would eventually give the last say on whether the exploration is a go.

Prevented by law from dipping his own fingers on the upcoming QR National Ltd asset sale, Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser said on Friday that he is investing instead his full confidence on the biggest float in the state since the 1997 share sale of Telstra.

Retail giant Myer Holdings Ltd admitted of a slight sales slip in the first quarter of fiscal 2011 but it reported that the company’s net profit is projected to rise by up to 10 percent for the rest of 2010/11.

Giant telecommunication firm Telstra Corporation called the attention of its shareholders on Thursday, warning them of two unsolicited share offers pushed forward by National Capital Corporation Pty Ltd, which was previously punished in 2008 by corporate regulators.

As if the growing currency tension and pressing financial reforms weren’t enough for the ongoing G20 summit in South Korea, the global economic forum had a taste of a domestic spat underway between the Australian government and the country’s banking sector.

Claiming that installed rooftop solar panels and any other measures even jacked up the electricity costs of many consumers, a climate change expert advising the multi-party created by the federal government insisted that carbon price will do the best job of reducing greenhouse gas at a lower price.

Amidst media reports that its A380 fleet would be out of action for the whole duration of the summer holidays, Qantas Airways refused to shed light on the swirling speculations, claiming that the airline never released any such timeframe.

Queensland’s ongoing state asset sales is expected to fetch some $15 billion to be added on the state government coffers though authorities maintained that the total haul would not be known until the float of QR National has been fully accomplished.

Countering previous market forecasts, the unemployment rate in Australia inched up a bit in October, which economists said should be read by the country’s central bank as a sign that no further rate hikes in the few months to come would be required.

Ahead of the scheduled release of the official labour force data this week, new figures furnished by the Federal government suggested that Australia’s employment index is fast-expanding and could exceed previously acknowledged trend.

Giant retailer and conglomerate Wesfarmers is seeking for more female inputs on its boardroom activities as the company aims to see more than 50 percent of its directorship eventually occupied by women executives.

As questions on the integrity of Rolls Royce engines that power the A380s continue to mount, Singapore Airlines has decided to replace them and ordered three of the carrier’s superjumbos grounded pending the installation of new engines.

More and more Australians are now giving emphasis on their work-life balance as more than 50 percent of the country’s full-time workers would have preferred logging in less work hours, according to a latest survey by The Australia Institute.

The Federal government is convinced that no necessary tweak should be forthcoming on the current budget, notwithstanding the latest Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, in which a reduction of $10 billion in revenues was outlined by Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan in a statement on Tuesday.

Chemical contamination scare rose anew as routine tests on Arrow Energy’s Moranbah coal seam gas project in central Queensland yielded traces of a carcinogen in the site’s three gas wells.

The Australian economy is in superior shape and enjoys considerable lead time as against the economic status of other leading nations, according to Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan.

Australian telecommunication firms jointly criticised the proposed network scheme of the national broadband network by NBN Co, describing the plan as a magnet for huge compensation suits and a stumbling block for further infrastructure initiatives.

Royal Dutch Shell has decided to sell off 10 percent of its stake on Woodside or more than 78 million shares, a move characterised by analysts as a step away from the giant oil firm’s non-core businesses.

Rolls-Royce has reportedly zeroed in on the specific cause of the engine blow out suffered by Qantas Flight 32 that forced the aircraft to an emergency landing in Singapore last week.

Even before the culmination of its inquiry on the proposed mineral resource rent tax, the chair of the Senate Select Committee on the Scrutiny of New Taxes is convinced that the planned measure is detrimental to the Australian economy.

Still smarting from the debacles he incurred during the recently-concluded US midterm elections, President Barack Obama sent Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Australia for talks on mutual policy goals and strengthening of defence pacts.

The Federal government’s dwindling revenue forecasts based on the surging Australian dollar would eat its way on the GST allocations of states and territories, according to Queensland financial authorities.