ATO torches $52 million in illicit tobacco
SYDNEY, AAP – Nearly 280,000 kilograms of illicit tobacco have gone up in smoke with authorities seizing the hefty haul in two separate busts in regional NSW. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) snatched and destroyed the illicit tobacco, equivalent to the weight of approximately 14 bulldozers. Its total street value is estimated to be more…
ASX ends above 7500pts, rates call ahead
SYDNEY, AAP – Investors gently pushed the ASX200 to more than 7500 points a day before the Reserve Bank explains whether the federal budget may affect inflation and the chance of higher rates. The market closed a little more than 100 points from its record of August, helped by the heavyweight category of materials shares…
Rare earths investment refines reputation
CANBERRA, AAP – Australia’s capacity and status as a trusted supplier of the world’s critical minerals is getting a $1.25 billion boost. The federal loan approved on Monday for Australian company Iluka Resources will be used to build Australia’s first integrated rare earths refinery in Western Australia. The refinery will produce praseodymium, dysprosium, neodymium and…
Fed agency can invest ‘beyond renewables’
CANBERRA, AAP – The Australian Renewable Energy Agency can invest “beyond pure renewables” under new regulations made on the eve of a federal election. Equivalent regulations have been disallowed multiple times by parliament’s upper house, stopping the Morrison government’s previous attempts to direct the agency to bankroll new uses for fossil fuels. “The regulations are…
Aust shares in sight of record high
SYDNEY, AAP – Australia’s share market has crept up to within 100 points of its record high as investors appear unconcerned by a Reserve Bank rates decision later on Tuesday. A broad-based rally on Wall Street overnight helped the local market move higher on Tuesday to be within range of the ASX200 record high of…
Alice Springs casino gets $70M expansion
DARWIN, AAP – A central Australian hotel and casino is set to expand, with a multi-million dollar revamp to attract international holidaymakers and gamblers. Iris Capital will spend $70 million expanding Alice Springs’ Lasseters Hotel Casino, Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner said. “Private investment is leveraging the town as a new must-do destination for…
Job ads to point to falling jobless rate
CANBERRA, AAP – New job advertising figures will likely confirm that the fall in the unemployment rate below four per cent is likely to occur sooner rather than later. ANZ will release its job ads series for March on Monday, after showing an 8.4 per cent jump in February to a 13.5-year high. Such strength…
Labor aims to put cap on home care fees
CANBERRA, AAP – Labor is promising to put a cap on home care fees should it win the May federal election, with a date for the poll elected within days. It says it will stop rorts in administration and management fees, and providers will have to report monthly to users on where their money goes….
Life-saving medicines to be made locally
SYDNEY, AAP – A slew of medicines to treat illnesses like cancer and kidney disease will now be manufactured here in Australia in a move the government says will future-proof the country’s access to life-saving treatments. Currently, Australia imports more than 90 per cent of its medicines, but the recent global pandemic made it evident…
Wall St rises amid strong jobs news
NEW YORK, RAW – The S&P 500 has risen modestly to kick off the second quarter, as the monthly jobs report indicated a strong labour market and is likely to keep the Federal Reserve on track to maintain its hawkish policy stance. The Labor Department’s employment report shows a rapid hiring pace by employers while…
