Sharon Olalia

Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX:MYR) says it will acquire a 65 percent stake in Australia’s women’s fashion brand sass & bide for $42.25 million.

AGL Energy Ltd (ASX:AGK) has sliced its earnings forecast for the 2011 financial year as a result of recent extreme weather events in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

Department store David Jones Ltd (ASX:DJS) will end its supply arrangement with Australian brand sass & bide following its decision not to acquire a stake in the brand.

Retail sales in Australia rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Monday, coming in timidy at A$20.358 billion.

Small businesses in Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia and Tasmania are expected to benefit from a $1 billion lending package set aside by the Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) to support businesses across flood and cyclone affected areas.

Xstrata North Queensland is recommencing its Mount Isa Mines operations and is focusing on getting its North Queensland operations back online following Cyclone Yasi.

The recent cyclone in Far North Queensland has caused substantial damage to banana crops which will severely affect availability and prices in the weeks and months to come, according to Australian retail giant Woolworths (ASX: WOW).

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Attorney-General Robert McClelland have announced Commonwealth Government assistance for people in Far North Queensland affected by the impact of Tropical Cyclone Yasi.

Retail banks have announced emergency relief packages providing a number of measures to assist affected customers avoid financial difficulty as a result of Cyclone Yasi.

New research released 4 February 2011 to coincide with World Cancer Day has strengthened the link between lifestyle factors and cancer with findings that up to 70 per cent of certain cancers could be prevented by diet, exercise and maintaining a healthy weight.

Australia’s two largest telecommunications companies have both reported service outages in the aftermath of Cyclone Yasi.

Minister for Indigenous Employment and Economic Development Mark Arbib and Linfox Australia congratulated 12 new Indigenous employees as part of the company’s commitment to hire 500 Indigenous Australians by 2013.

Channel Seven Sydney Pty Ltd breached the Children’s Television Standards 2009 (CTS 2009) provisions restricting the use of popular personalities and proprietary characters in endorsing commercial services during children’s programming periods, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has found.

Communities across Far North Queensland experienced the full force of Category Five Tropical Cyclone Yasi Wednesday night as it reached landfall.

Activity in Australia's services sector slowed further in January, with new orders, retail trade and employment all softening.

Australian household savings are expected to grow strongly in the next five years but banks need to look at other ways than pricing to attract new businesses, fresh data has revealed.

BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) says its Jansen potash project has progressed into the feasibility study phase, an advanced stage of the company's project approvals process.

Action on a carbon price and measures to lift productivity and workforce participation so Australia can take full advantage of the new resources boom and a period of economic growth must be the focus of the 2011-12 Federal Budget, says the only peak council and national centre representing the Australian workforce.

The sense of fear and anxiety underlined the dilemma facing Washington, which is working behind the scenes to push Mubarak aside without terrifying autocratic allies in the region.

Australian national carriers Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX:QAN) has suspended flights to and from Cairns and Townsville airports until Friday 4 February following the closure of both airports today in response to tropical cyclone Yasi.

Optus Network engineers continue to closely monitor Cyclone Yasi in Far North Queensland and are preparing to respond to any impact to the Optus Network, according to Australia's second-largest telecommunications carrier.

Suncorp Insurance today reassured north Queensland policyholders their homes and contents would be covered for cyclone damage if cyclone Yasi crossed the Queensland Coast on Thursday morning as predicted.

Lexus Australia and the 2011 Formula 1Qantas Australian Grand Prix have announced an initiative benefitting the Red Cross Victorian Floods Appeal by auctioning a drive in the Lexus CT 200h Celebrity Challenge via eBay.

Perth households can save water and money by swapping old showerheads for free new water-saving showerheads under an Australian Government funded project launched today.

Attorney-General Robert McClelland has activated the Australian government’s commonwealth disaster plan (Comdisplan) yesterday afternoon as tropical cyclone Yasi heads towards the Queensland coast.

Muslims in Australia's state of Victoria have today expressed solidarity with those protesting across Egypt against the regime of Hosni Mubarak.

Retailers are saluting the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to keep the cash rate stable, as the early part of 2011 continues the ‘challenging’ theme of 2010 for the sector.

Australian national carrier Qantas Airrways Ltd (ASX: QAN) has provided additional flights and capacity out of Cairns and Townsville on Tuesday evening ahead of expected extreme weather conditions resulting from Tropical Cyclone Yasi.

Telecommunications giant Telstra (ASX: TLS) has activated its cyclone disaster plan for northern Queensland ahead of the coastal crossing of Cyclone Yasi.