ASX weighed down by Meta disappointment
SYDNEY, AAP – Shares were trading a little lower on the ASX after Facebook’s owner reported a fall in earnings and wiped the momentum for global markets. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 17.2 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 7070.5 points at 1200 AEDT. The All Ordinaries index was lower by 29.9 points, or…
Jobless rate may drop below 4 pct soon
CANBERRA, AAP – Scott Morrison wants to see the unemployment rate below four per cent in the second half of this year, but Employment Minister Stuart Robert says it could come sooner. As of December the jobless rate already stood at 13-year low of 4.2 per cent. The prime minister, just months out from a…
Tesla recalls 54,000 cars over software
DETROIT, AP – Tesla is recalling nearly 54,000 cars and SUVs because their “Full Self-Driving” software lets them roll through stop signs without coming to a complete halt. Documents posted on Tuesday by US safety regulators say that Tesla will disable the feature with an over-the-internet software update. The “rolling stop” feature allows vehicles to…
Wall St higher, overcomes choppy trading
NEW YORK CITY, RAW – Another seesaw session ended with the Wall Street benchmarks in positive territory and the energy index at a record high, although trading reflected investor uncertainty about how to play the current market. Recent sessions have been choppy, as the prospect of an aggressive rate-hike campaign by the US Federal Reserve…
RBA’s Lowe to flesh out thinking on rates
CANBERRA, AAP – Philip Lowe will get the opportunity to explain his thinking on the outlook for interest rates when he delivers a speech on Wednesday. The Reserve Bank of Australia governor stuck to the line of being “patient”, rather than lifting the cash rate from a record low 0.1 per cent, in a statement…
Even ‘refuge’ reefs won’t survive 1.5C
BRISBANE, AAP – New research shows global warming of 1.5degC will be catastrophic for almost all coral reefs worldwide, even sites scientists once thought of as refuges. The study is a dramatic escalation in expected outcomes and sobering news for economies like Australia that rely on reefs to support key industries including fishing and tourism….
Rio Tinto report finds harassment, racism
SYDNEY, RAW – A report released by Rio Tinto has outlined a culture of bullying, harassment and racism at the global mining giant, including 21 complaints of actual or attempted rape or sexual assault over the past five years. Nearly half of all employees who responded to an external review of the miner’s workplace culture…
ASX rally helped by RBA caution on rates
SYDNEY, AAP – Investors received gains and a reprieve from the threat of imminent rate rises in a happy start to February trading on the ASX. The market closed higher by 0.49 per cent on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank kept rates steady and rebutted the prospect of higher rates soon. Technology shares gained two…
Morrison expects jobless rate below 4 pct
CANBERRA, AAP – Scott Morrison expects the unemployment rate will fall below four per cent this year and to a level not seen in Australia for almost 50 years. The unemployment rate fell to 13-year low of 4.2 per cent in December. “I believe we can now achieve an unemployment rate with a ‘three’ in…
Home price rises not as fast as early 2021
CANBERRA, AAP – Growth in house prices went up a notch during the seasonally quiet January holiday period, but nowhere as fast as a year ago. The CoreLogic national home value index rose 1.1 per cent in January, for an annual rate of 22.4 per cent, the highest level since June 1989. In approximate dollar…
