ASX edges lower; AUD below 70 US cents
SYDNEY, AAP – A Reserve Bank meeting week has started with the ASX moving lower while interest rate talk in the US has pushed the Australian dollar below 70 US cents. The market was down by 0.23 per cent on Monday before the Reserve Bank has its first meeting of the year on Tuesday amid…
Aust shares’ best day since Oct 2020
SYDNEY, AAP – Shares have had their best day since October 2020 on the ASX to end an otherwise miserable week. The market closed higher by 2.19 per cent on Friday and the consumer categories outperformed with gains of more than three per cent. The ASX recovery follows a week in which the US Federal…
Toyota plans ‘lunar cruiser’ moon vehicle
TOKYO, AP – Toyota is working with Japan’s space agency on a vehicle to explore the moon’s surface, with ambitions to help people live there by 2040 and then go live on Mars. The vehicle being developed with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is called Lunar Cruiser, whose name pays homage to the Toyota Land…
Budget improves as COVID restrictions ease
CANBERRA, AAP – Australia’s federal budget outcome for the first half of the financial year has come in $24.5 billion better than predicted in May. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the key reason for the improved bottom line since he delivered the budget was the strong economic recovery as COVID-19 restrictions were phased out. The underlying…
UN urges G20 to lead on nature protection
LONDON, RAW – The world’s 20 richest countries should more than double their annual spending to protect and restore nature to $US285 billion ($A404 billion) by 2050, the United Nations and donors say, calling for private and overseas investments to be ramped up too. In a first joint report on finance for nature in the…
Latest on worldwide spread of coronavirus
WASHINGTON, D. C., RAW – EUROPE * The Eeropean Union’s drug regulator gave the green light to Pfizer Inc’s antiviral COVID-19 pill for treating adults at risk of severe illness. * Booster shots could reduce future hospitalisations in Europe by at least half a million, the EU’s public health agency said. * After a relatively…
S&P affirms Australia’s AAA rating
CANBERRA, AAP – Standard & Poor’s has affirmed Australia’s top-tier triple-A rating and expects the government’s budget deficit to narrow substantially as stimulus measures finish, with the economy recovering from the COVID-19 shock. The global credit rating agency expects economic growth returned to Australia in the December quarter as governments eased restrictions after the Delta…
New bank grows ‘hive’ of essential workers
CANBERRA, AAP – One of Australia’s largest mutual banks has been recognised for its new digital bank for essential workers. Teachers Mutual Bank and its offshoot Hiver are among those found to be improving their communities, according to a worldwide survey by the Global Alliance for Banking Values released on Thursday. Carolyn Murphy, chief digital…
New reef funding ‘backs in’ scientists: PM
CANBERRA, AAP – New funding to protect the Great Barrier Reef will “back in” scientists to help preserve the natural wonder, according to the prime minister. It comes after the federal government will spend $1 billion over the next nine years to help manage the reef, after the Commonwealth successfully lobbied UNESCO to delay a…
China, Australia curbs dent Maccas sales
NEW YORK CITY, AP – McDonald’s ended 2021 on a high note with US customers spending more and fewer restaurant closures in Europe from coronavirus restrictions. But higher costs for food and labour weighed on profits and the company said it expects that pressure to continue this year. Global same-store sales – or sales at…
