Erik Pineda

Airport Link project glitches prompted Leighton Holdings Ltd to report an $85 million profit downgrade as the giant construction firm also cited that the rising Australian dollar and issues on its Western Australia rail contract added to its woes.

The 25 basis points cash rate hike implemented by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Tuesday was avoidable if the Coalition was to be believed but it became inevitable as the federal government remained adamant in reducing its stimulus spending to prop up the economy.

State-owned investment management firm Temasek Holdings Ltd of Singapore downplayed the influence of politics on the controversial merger deal between the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) and Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

If a Liberal senator has his way, sharia-style banking should be superseded by the existing financial laws and regulations governing Australia’s banking industry as he vowed for a senate initiative that would arrest the growth of sharia-based loans and financial products being offered in the country.

Macquarie Group dismissed allegations that a leasing arm of the financial firm actively took part on the questionable telecommunication equipment rentals deals offered to unsuspecting small business owners by 28 telco companies in 2008.

While fresh traffic data on southeast Queensland showed that travel time movement barely surged from the past three years, the state government is convinced that the latest figures represented growing demands from the area’s burgeoning population.

Global consumers, mainly car aficionados in the United States, will have to bear a year of waiting before they could get their hands on the electrically-powered Nissan Leaf as all units so far shipped out were sold out as of this week.

The billion-dollar Queensland LNG projects would further boost job prospects in the state but would also push up the value of real estates that could leave first home buyers reaching deeper on their pockets.

The federal government needs to fine tune its proposed mineral resource rent tax or even postpone its implementation should it want to improve its stature on state politics, specifically on the mine-rich regions of Queensland and Western Australia.

Analysts are projecting that the Curtis Island liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Queensland by the British Gas Group could exceed the previously headlined cost of $US15 billion and even surpassed that of Santos’ Gladstone cost estimates of close to $US19 billion.

Amidst its on-going struggle on the domestic front, national carrier Qantas Airways Ltd maintained that the local market is seeing a turnaround while its international operations head the same way but remain patchy.

Self-employment is fast-emerging as a more popular alternative for Australian workers at this time as the new list of the country’s top employers also yielded a trend which shows that seven out of 10 workers would not think twice in ditching their current employment for a new placement.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott reiterated his commitment to economic reforms as he clarified that such measures must be based on more affordable tax and would generate more jobs and provide the government with more cash to fund disability payments.

Despite its insistence of continuing to dump mine processing wastes into the sea, Newcrest Mining Ltd said on Thursday that it has a solid environmental track record even if its recent acquisition of Lihir Gold puts that record into serious scrutiny.

The country’s major banks are poised to face a Senate inquiry as the Coalition backed an initiative made by an independent senator calling for an investigation on whether the Australian banking sector is marred by unfair practices being observed by industry players.

The prospect of a lift on interest rates seemed to have failed in eroding consumer confidence for now yet an alarming number of Australians were now enmeshed in debt related problems that make it harder for them to meet collections dues.

Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey is merely adhering on rhetorical populism when called on the federal government to play an active intervention in compelling Australian banks to toe the line on Reserve Bank of Australia’s policy rates.

Three lawmakers joined the snowballing opposition on the controversial $8.4 billion buyout proposal of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) by the Singapore Exchange, further establishing hurdles that need to be dealt with by the stock exchange merger.

Setting the stage for a new shopping standard in Sydney, Westfield Group unveiled on Thursday its $1.2 billion freshly-renovated commercial complex in the city’s central business district, with the property developer announcing that the bar has been raised for the next level of shopping experience.

Basing on trend recorded for the past five years, all manufactured food and grocery items being sold in Australia may soon be sourced from abroad and push local processors and manufacturers out of business if such developments were not reversed.

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan is upbeat that economic indicators were pointing to encouraging developments as he expressed joy that inflation figures were moderating while dynamics in the shares market remain exciting, with the prospect of a likely merger between the Australian Securities Exchange and the Singapore Exchange almost a creeping reality.

Economists are convinced that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will move for a rise on its policy rates come November 2, notwithstanding the better inflation readings furnished by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in the September quarter.

Opposition leader Tony Abbot finally voiced out his support on the nine-point plan laid out by his treasury spokesman Joe Hockey that seeks to restore and strengthen competition in the country’s banking sector.

Australia’s headline consumer price index (CPI) barely missed the market forecast of 0.8 percent in the September quarter as new data furnished by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that the country’s CPI went up by 0.7 percent in the quarter, en route to an annual rate of 2.8 percent.

The New South Wales state government said on Wednesday that a moratorium on new mining and coal seam gas projects in the region is out of the question, stressing that the move would cost too much on job prospects for NSW residents.

Military vehicle manufacturer Thales Australia announced on Tuesday that it would have to let go a hundred workers before Christmas, blaming the job cuts to the high-flying Aussie dollar and reduced manufacturing contracts secured by the company.

The New South Wales Farmers’ Association wants the state authorities to implement moratorium on the coal seam gas industry across the region in light of the environmental risks pose by such activities.

Boosted by strong indications of investors support, Foster’s Group planned demerger of its wine businesses and brewery operations appeared to be picking up steam as the company declared that once shareholder gives the green light, the separation could be realised by the first half of 2010.

Retail giant Coles and Commonwealth Bank unwillingly topped the list of the annual Shonky Awards handed out by consumer watchdog Choice, singling out the two firms for their dubious bonus offerings in peddling their products.