Victoria dumps $800 million property tax
MELBOURNE, AAP – Victoria’s government is backing down from it $800 million housing tax on property developments to fund social housing. The Andrews Labor government announced in late February its plans to impose a 1.75 per cent levy on new developments of more than three dwellings to pay for the construction of thousands of social…
House price growth slows, falls in Sydney
CANBERRA, AAP – The growth in Australian house prices continued to lose steam in February, with Sydney prices posting their first decline in 17 months. The CoreLogic national home value index rose just 0.6 per cent in February, the smallest monthly rise since October 2020, after a 1.1 per cent rise in January and a…
AUSTRAC eyes Crown over alleged breaches
MELBOURNE, AAP – Crown’s Melbourne and Perth casinos are being taken to court by Australia’s financial intelligence agency over alleged breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. AUSTRAC on Tuesday served the two operations with a statement of claim and commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court, following an investigation that began in…
Aged care groups welcome dual jab plan
CANBERRA, AAP – Aged care peak bodies have welcomed the possibility of residents receiving a fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as their flu jab. Ahead of a potential winter surge in COVID-19 cases, combined with flu season, the federal government is looking at whether to administer both vaccines to those…
Australian manufacturing growing again
CANBERRA, AAP – Australia’s manufacturing sector is growing again after the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 Omicron outbreak, and strong new orders suggest there is further expansion ahead. The Australian Industry Group performance of manufacturing index rose by 4.8 points in February to 53.2 after a sharp decline in the December 2021-January 2022 period when…
Wall St dips on sanctions against Russia
NEW YORK CITY, RAW – Wall Street’s main indexes have slipped in volatile trading, with bank stocks leading the drop as investors digested powerful sanctions against Russia by the US and its allies. Citigroup dropped 4.2 per cent, dragging down the S&P 500 banks index by 2.4 per cent as the US 10-year Treasury yield…
Aust shares up 0.7pct but mood tense
SYDNEY, AAP – Australian shares have ended firmly higher, with investors staying cautious over the economic fallout from the Ukraine conflict after Western nations imposed fresh sanctions on Russia. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed 51.3 points, or 0.73 per cent higher, at 7049.1 points. The All Ordinaries index rose 49.6 points, or 0.68 per cent,…
NSW train shutdown may have cost $50m
SYDNEY, AAP – NSW Treasury’s chief economist says the last-minute decision to shut down trains last week could have cost the state up to $50 million – more than the $33 million his modelling suggested – because commuters did not have ample notice to make other arrangements. Stephen Walters was asked by the Crown Solicitor’s…
Consumers spend despite Omicron disruption
CANBERRA, AAP – Australian consumers showed some caution in their spending habits during the Omicron COVID-19 outbreak, but retail sales still posted the second-highest level on record at $32.5 billion in January. Retail spending grew by a stronger-than-expected 1.8 per cent in January, partially recovering from 4.4 per cent drop in December. Most categories rose…
Zip Co to snap up BNPL rival Sezzle
SYDNEY, AAP – Buy now pay later operator Zip Co has agreed to acquire smaller US-focused rival Sezzle in an all-stock deal valuing the target company at $491 million. Zip says it will raise $199 million through a share placement to investors and a share purchase plan for existing shareholders to part fund the deal….
