Erik Pineda

Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan lauded the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) decision to upgrade the country’s growth forecast for both 2010 and 2011, declaring that the world financial institution’s thumb of approval is a testament to Australia’s position as a world leader in global economic recovery.

Australia is on its way to solid economic growth this year and by the following year even as worldwide growth is heading towards a downside risk as the renewed financial turbulence continued to intensify, that according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which released its World Economic Outlook Update on Thursday.

Queensland farmers are collectively mired in $15 billion debt and most have no resort but to run to financial loans in order combat the effects of natural disasters, that according to the 2009 state rural debt survey data released today.

Gold mining executives based in North Queensland has expressed reservations today that the federal government could again effect changes on the super profits mining tax once it gained re-election.

West Australians appeared to be encountering mounting difficulties in meeting their electricity bills even as the state’s electricity distributor, Synergy, has disclosed that unpaid power bills rose to $8 million last year and the company currently maintains collectibles up to $9 million.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said on Wednesday that its anticipated findings on the proposed merger of the country’s two giant mining companies would be further delayed, as it announced that the suspension was made “at the request of the joint venture parties to allow them to make additional submissions to the ACCC.”

Junior gold miners in West Australia are gunning into full throttle for their expansion plans, buoyed mainly by the precious metal’s skyrocketing value with Integra Mining Ltd leading the hungry pack of the country’s future mining giants.

BlueScope Steel Ltd said today that it is amenable to a Federal Court decision to hear its abuse of process claims against Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings (CKI), where the steel maker is accused of misleading CKI when it sought to acquire an iron sands mine subsidiary of the company in 2008 worth $190 million.

Europe is in for a long and sluggish road to recovery while the continent’s economic outlook remains gloomy, that according to Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan as he addressed on Wednesday the Australian Lebanese Chamber of Commerce conference in Sydney.

In accordance with its expansion plans in the region, Volkswagen said on Tuesday that it is looking to establish a new motor plant in North America where the company plans to invest up to $US1 billion which should commence by 2013.

A Toyota Motor Corp official admitted on Tuesday that the car company was well aware of the Lexus’ engine problem some two years earlier but instead of issuing a recall, it merely ordered the replacement of the spring part to correct what the company assumed then as an isolated manufacturing issue.

The National Australia Bank (NAB) is welcome to most of the recommendations of the Cooper review of the superannuation industry and declared that the reforms being suggested by the reports were fundamentally good for the country’s retirement system.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has decided to provide reprieve to Australian homeowners as it left the official cash rate untouched at 4.5 percent this July, in a move that is largely anticipated by most economists due to concerns on major inflation data that would be known by the end of the month.

Xstrata renewed its earlier commitment of spending up to $186 million in canned exploration projects following the government’s decision to dump its proposed resources super profit tax in exchange for the tax deal it forged with giant mining companies.

While Holden has yet to start local assembly of the four-cylinder Cruze model, the company said on Monday that its imported version is already a hit with Australian buyers and in June alone, the becomingly popular car pushed 3000 units out of dealers’ stations, en route to the more than 14,400 units snatched up for the first six months of the year.

Official figures furnished on Tuesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that the country posted a trade surplus for two consecutive months going into May and many economists are in agreement that Australia is all prepped up to enter a series of surplus performance in the months to come.

The mining industry must live with the revised resources tax since it is the best available deal that could be cut out from the Gillard government for now, and junior mining companies who felt left out from the negotiations must speak out now and grab the chance to be heard.

First home buyers are now looking at 10 percent more savings for a deposit to be made on a housing prospect while husbands and wives need to save up at least $85,000 for a mere median-priced house unit when it used to cost only $78,100 from a year earlier.

The federal government’s mineral resource rent tax on mining companies could leave the country’s giant resource industry players largely unscathed as compared to the now-presumed dead resource super profits tax’s possible dreadful effects, that according to rating agency Moody’s Investors Services.

Toyota Australia said on Monday that it has survived a jittery 12 months and even achieved a $182.3 million profit for the year to the end of March, thanks to much stronger domestic activities following a stale kick off at the beginning of 2010.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) called on companies on Monday that they need to exercise vigilance in submitting their financial reports especially this result season, as it warned supposedly erring firms that the agency is bent on scrutinising hundreds of firms for closer reviews.

Cardno Ltd said Monday that it is set to raise $49 million through capital raising, which the company intends to use on planned acquisitions of two leading US environmental consultancy group and balance sheet strengthening.

The Cooper Review is finally out and among its major recommendations is the formal establishment of a default superannuation to be labelled as MySuper, which is aimed to simultaneously slash superannuation fees and fatten retirement funds.

Private buyers armed with boosted confidence came back blazing on the market in June and pushed the month’s new car sales to a record high, according to the latest figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) on Monday.

Debates on the revised mining tax could be far from over as Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett said over the weekend that the new identity of the proposed tax could face some legal challenges as it now appeared to be levied on mineral resources instead on corporate profits.

The Australian Greens said over the weekend that the federal government’s policy reversal on the resource super profits tax would result to higher taxes for Australians and could eventually lead to the scrapping of several national services.

Elders Ltd still enjoys the support of its banking partners and the company’s long-term outlook is very much encouraging, that according to chief executive Malcolm Jackman as Elders came out as one of the worst performing stocks on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in the 2009/10 financial year.

Online job ads in June registered a mere increase of 0.14 percent in June, as analysts gave indications that employers for now may be on the waiting-mode for some possible effects of an early federal elections on workplace regulations.

An industry group lauded the federal government’s increasing commitment to the country’s superannuation system and declared that millions of Australians are set to enjoy comfortable retirement, thanks to further payments earmarked to the fund as afforded by the revised mining tax.