Consumers get relief from power bill fines
Households could save hundreds each year thanks to a crackdown on fees for failing to meet strict payment deadlines on discount power deals. The Australian Energy Market Commission has accepted the rule change to end the practice of power companies charging hefty fees if customers pay late or fail to meet other conditions on bills…
Senators to probe Holden’s Australian exit
A parliamentary committee will look under the bonnet of General Motors’ decision to retire Holden in Australia. The impact of the decision on Holden owners, including servicing and repairs, will be scrutinised along with the effect on dealers, workers, and research and development facilities. The Senate’s employment committee will also look at government or other…
NSW coal seam gas changes not implemented
The NSW government has fully implemented only two of 16 recommendations from an independent review into coal seam gas that was released five years ago, according to a parliamentary inquiry. The upper house inquiry probed the implementation of 16 recommendations made by NSW’s then-chief scientist in 2014, with the state government saying all but two…
Australian stocks creep up in early trade
The Australian share market has crept marginally higher after three tumultuous days during which most of the gains it made this year were all but wiped out. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 8.8 points, or 0.13 per cent, at 6,716.9 at 1030 AEDT despite falls on the energy, industrial, financial, telco and property indices….
Flight Centre first-half profit dives 74%
Flight Centre’s first-half profit has plunged 74 per cent on the back of writedowns following the collapse of Thomas Cook, Cox & Kings and other smaller travel operators. The flight retailer reported a statutory profit after tax of $22.1 million, down from $85 million the year before. Revenue for the six months to December 31…
Wall St gains after virus-driven sell-off
Wall Street’s main indexes have risen about one per cent after suffering their worst four-day percentage fall in more than a year on fears about the economic damage from the global spread of the coronavirus. Investors were cautious as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans to prepare for the virus to…
Gold rises as virus fears boost demand
Gold prices have gained following a steep fall in previous sessions as concerns over the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on the global economy raised hopes of interest rate cuts by major central banks. Spot gold was up 0.7 per cent at $US1,645.79 per ounce after falling more than 1.5 per cent in the last…
Australian stocks poised to fall again
The Australian share market is set to open lower on Thursday as investors watch for more news on the coronavirus that threatens to hurt global markets. The SPI200 futures contract was down 30 points, or 0.454 per cent, at 6,625 at 0700 AEDT on Wednesday. The futures market points to another fall when the local…
Oil down 3 per cent as virus spreads
Oil prices fell three per cent on Wednesday after hundreds of new coronavirus cases reported in Europe and the Middle East stoked fears that energy demand would decline, and on concerns that the virus would become a pandemic in the United States Brent crude was down $US1.77, or 3.2 per cent, to $US53.18 a barrel…
Senator takes aim at tax concession report
Nationals Queensland senator Susan McDonald has slammed a Productivity Commission report that’s called for an end to tax concessions in remote parts of Australia. The commission argues the context for remote area tax concessions has changed considerably since the first concession was introduced in 1945. In a report released on Wednesday, it says technological advances…
