Westpac wants to help with vaccine rollout
CANBERRA, AAP – Westpac chief executive Peter King wants the corporate sector to be allowed to step in and help Australia’s flagging vaccine rollout. The bank boss said vaccinations were critical to getting lives back to normal and warned closing international borders and relying on lockdowns in response to outbreaks was unsustainable. “I understand there…
Asia stocks extend global rally to 7th day
TOKYO, RAW – Asian stocks have put global equities on course for a seventh day of gains on Friday as investors bet the US will lead the world out of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the focus turning to a multi-trillion dollar spending boost by the Biden administration. Tokyo led the advance, with the Nikkei jumping…
China’s dual-circulation model is a plan for a hostile world
Domestic production gets priority in a strategy that seeks to boost China’s ‘soft power’. Sir Arthur Lewis (1915-1991) was an economist from Saint Lucia in the Caribbean who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1979 for his theories on development. His ‘dual sector model’ suggested that economies can modernise without triggering inflation because…
CBA invests in e-tailer, power provider
SYDNEY, AAP – The Commonwealth Bank has bought stakes in an online shopping group and power retailer as it tries to keep pace with innovative online rivals. The nation’s biggest bank has invested $30 million in shopping site Little Birdie and $20 million in power provider Amber, gaining stakes of 23 per cent and 25…
Corporate watchdog’s fee hikes face probe
CANBERRA, AAP – The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is in line for a new program designed to stop it imposing too many fees across the economy. Regulators are encouraged to recover costs from industry but there are concerns that has gone too far. The Department of Finance told a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday…
Inflation in focus for rates & shares
Inflation in focus for rates & shares Focus on inflation What happened? The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released an information paper: “Measuring Non-Discretionary and Discretionary Inflation”. The ABS found that prices of non-discretionary goods and services grew at more than double the rate of discretionary goods (less tobacco) between 2005/06 and 2020. The…
Asia shares cautious, Bitcoin slides
TOKYO, RAW – Asian shares got off to a cautious start on Monday as investors anxiously awaited a key read on US inflation this week for guidance on monetary policy, while Bitcoin took a hammering after China cracked down on mining and trading of the cryptocurrency. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was…
Qantas sick pay stoush set for High Court
SYDNEY, AAP – A group of unions say a “cynical and callous” decision by Qantas to prevent stood-down workers from accessing their sick leave should be reversed, with the matter set to appear in the High Court. A Federal Court appeals bench in November rejected the unions’ claim, saying that because the employees were not…
Kia cars recalled over fire fears
ADELAIDE, AAP – More than 57,000 Kia owners in Australia have been warned not to park their cars in an enclosed area such as a garage amid fears they could catch fire even when switched off. Product Safety Australia has issued a recall for two Kia models over problems with the Hydraulic Electronic Control Units….
Qantas extends international flight pause
CANBERRA, AAP – Qantas has delayed its planned resumption of international flights until late December after the federal budget revised forecasts for overseas travel. The airline was due to restart services at the end of October but on Wednesday pushed back the date. Treasury expects international travel to remain low through to mid-2022 before a…
