Vehicle market posts small sales rise
ADELAIDE, AAP – Sales of new cars and trucks rose marginally in Australia last month, reflecting strong demand from local buyers in the face of continued supply issues. The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries said 85,340 vehicles were sold in February, up 1.6 per cent compared to the same month last year. FCAI Chief Executive…
Negotiations like a gun: Qantas cabin crew
SYDNEY, AAP – Qantas flight attendants say the national carrier is trying to force them into pay cuts of up to 50 per cent as they negotiate a new enterprise bargaining agreement. Textile workers also say negotiations over enterprise bargaining agreements allowing companies to throw out entire agreements are unfair, as staff on low hourly-rates…
Australian miners mindful of Russian ties
CANBERRA, AAP – Australian miners and superannuation funds are starting to sever their Russian ties, as a global push to isolate Moscow gathers pace. Russian businessman Maxim Mayorets has agreed to step down from the board of Falcon Oil and Gas, which is a partner in Origin Energy’s Beetaloo Basin gas project in the Northern…
Economic outlook bright in early 2022
CANBERRA, AAP – New figures will give a further flavour of how the economy is performing in the early stages on 2022 faced with the Omicron variant outbreak and after the strong recovery in the December quarter. Wednesday’s national accounts showed the economy surged by a strong 3.4 per cent in the December quarter, matching…
Wall St rises as rate hikes on track
NEW YORK CITY, RAW – US stock indexes have risen after a bruising start to the week, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled the central bank would start raising rates this month despite uncertainties stemming from the Ukraine crisis. In prepared remarks for his testimony to the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee,…
ASX on longest winning streak of 2022
SYDNEY, AAP – Commodity prices boosted by the Ukraine war have helped energy and materials shares led the ASX to its longest winning streak this year. The Australian market had a fourth consecutive day of gains on Wednesday as energy and materials shares rose by four and three per cent respectively. Russia is a major…
Asian shares slip, oil surges again
SHANGHAI, RAW – Asian stocks came under renewed pressure and oil prices jumped after rising worries about the impact of aggressive sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine sank shares in Europe and on Wall Street. As global sanctions against Moscow tighten, the United States is poised to ban Russian flights using American airspace,…
Commodity shares keep ASX higher
SYDNEY, AAP – Coal, oil and mining shares continued to soar on the ASX, with sentiment helped by relief on Wall Street over details of an expected rate hike. The ASX was up 0.74 per cent at noon on Thursday and investors pushed up prices of commodity companies due to fears Russia will struggle to…
Exxon to exit Russia, suspend investments
HOUSTON, RAW – Exxon Mobil will exit Russia operations, including oil production fields, becoming the latest major Western energy company to quit the oil-rich country following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The decision includes operations at a large oil and gas production project on Sakhalin Island in Russia’s Far East. British BP , Shell and Norway’s…
Asian stocks edge higher, oil surges on
SYDNEY, RAW – Asian shares have crept higher after reassuring comments from the Federal Reserve helped Wall Street rally, while the war in Ukraine sent oil and resource prices spiralling ever higher in a grim omen for global inflation. Western nations tightened sanctions on Russia as Ukraine’s second-biggest city, Kharkiv, suffered heavy bombardment on Wednesday…
