Trivago fined $44.7m over misleading rates
MELBOURNE, AAP – Travel booking company Trivago has been fined $44.7 million for misleading consumers about its hotel room rates. Trivago was found guilty in 2020 for telling consumers it would show them the cheapest rates, when it actually ranked hotels by factoring in which advertisers paid the highest per-click fee. The company admitted that…
Reef water quality program funded in Qld
BRISBANE, AAP – Innovative land and water quality monitoring tools will improve water quality in the Great Barrier Reef as part of a new $3.1 million program. The Reef Catchments Science Partnership will be a joint project with the University of Queensland and the Department of Environment and Science launched on Friday. The partnership will…
US gives $6.4b to carbon reduction schemes
WASHINGTON, D. C., RAW – The US Transport Department will award $US6.4 billion ($A8.6 billion) over five years to fund projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The funding, part of a $US1 trillion ($A1.3 trillion) infrastructure bill approved by Congress in November, will help states fund facilities for pedestrians and cyclists as well as projects…
Musk says he has $46.5b to buy Twitter
NEW YORK CITY, RAW – Elon Musk has secured $US46.5 billion ($A62.5 billion) in funding to buy Twitter Inc and is considering a tender offer for its shares, a filing with US regulators shows. Musk himself has committed to put up $US33.5 billion, which will include $US21 billion of equity and $US12.5 billion of margin…
CNN streaming service shuts after a month
NEW YORK CITY, AP – CNN’s brand-new streaming service, CNN+, is shutting down only a month after launch. In a memo on Thursday, incoming CNN chief executive Chris Licht said the service would shut down at the end of April. CNN+ launched when its parent was still part of AT&T. It combined with Discovery earlier…
Wall St drops as Fed hints at hike path
NEW YORK CITY, RAW – Wall Street’s three main indexes have closed lower, giving up earlier gains as Federal Reserve officials including Chair Jerome Powell offered further signposting of aggressive interest rate hikes this year. A half-point interest rate increase will be “on the table” when the US central bank meets on May 3-4 to…
Australian shares climb over big miners
SYDNEY, AAP – The Australian share market has recorded a broad-based shift higher, overcoming a drag caused by some of the big mining companies grappling with labour shortages. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose 23.6 points, or 0.31 per cent, to close at 7592.8 on Thursday, underpinned by strength in the energy, property, industrials, health and…
Confidence drops among small business
CANBERRA, AAP – The strong rebound in confidence among small businesses seen in late 2021 proved short-lived as the impact of the Omicron COVID-19 variant and rising costs took their toll. National Australia Bank’s small and medium enterprise business survey for the March quarter showed its confidence index dropped six points to nine index points,…
Australian shares down sharply at noon
SYDNEY, AAP – The Australian share market is down sharply midway through the session after following a negative lead from Wall Street amid signs the cost of capital will rise sharply. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was saturated with red at noon on Friday, falling 129.6 points, or 1.71 per cent, to 7463.2. Miners drove the…
Labor slams coalition over aged care ‘lie’
CANBERRA, AAP – Labor has challenged the Morrison government to come clean over its stance on having 24-hour nursing staff in aged care homes, accusing it of lying. Opposition aged care services spokeswoman Clare O’Neil demanded the government clarify its policy over the royal commission recommendation, following comments made on Sky News by Social Services…
