Stable Wall Street to reverse ASX sell-off
The Australian sharemarket is tipped to rise slightly at its open, reversing Friday’s losses on the back of firm performance on Wall Street and in Europe. The ASX200 futures saw a 20-point decline on Friday ahead of an expected weakness on Wall Street that never really eventuated, AMP Capital’s chief economist Shane Oliver told AAP…
Amazon becomes most valuable publicly-traded company
Amazon for the first time closed out Monday’s trading session as the world’s biggest publicly-traded company, overtaking Microsoft and other fellow tech behemoths.The online sales goliath assumed the top spot after notching a 3.4 percent gain to finish with a market capitalization of $796.8 billion, about $13.2 billion more than Microsoft.Led by Chief Executive Jeff…
Record number retiring
Hospitality set to overtake; Record number retiringEmployment by Industry; Aviation activityEmployment by industry: Employment rose by 52,900 in the three months to November after a gain of 99,500 in the previous three months. Over the past 12 months, 284,800 people have found jobs. A record 12.69 million Aussies are employed.Biggest job gainers: Over the quarter,…
Facebook board backs embattled executive Sheryl Sandberg
The Facebook board of directors on Tuesday backed the social network’s number two executive Sheryl Sandberg, who is under fire for her role in pushing back against criticism of the social media giant.The board expressed support for Sandberg in a letter to Open Society Foundations – an organization backed by philanthropist and Facebook critic George…
BHP Billiton settles tax dispute with Australian tax office
Mining giant BHP Billiton has admitted defeat in a long-running tax standoff with Australian authorities over a ruling that it owed money over a 15-year span for its dealings in Singapore. The dispute centered around whether BHP had to pay taxes on a subsidiary based in the city state of Singapore, given that its account…
Tech leaders call for greater social media regulation
Social networks need better regulation to stop them spreading ‘fake news’ and undermining democracy, disillusioned tech pioneers said at an industry conference that closed in Lisbon Thursday.The issue has come to the fore after the spread of false information, and allegations of Russian meddling, during election campaigns around the world.‘I think we’re only 10 percent…
Only 20% say banks are ethical and fair
Just one in three people believe their bank has their best interests at heart, while the same number trust their bank would to admit to making a mistake. And that was before the interim royal commission report on the sector’s poor culture and systemic wrongdoings. The release of inaugural Deloitte Trust Index for banking on…
ASC to cut more shipbuilding jobs
Adelaide-based defence shipbuilder ASC is looking to cut a further 63 jobs as work on the navy’s new air warfare destroyers winds down. ASC is close to completing the third and final ship and says that means it may need to cut 56 production jobs and seven salaried positions. It will consult with its workforce…
Role-swap for Magellan chairman and CEO
Fund manager Magellan Financial Group has announced a role-swap for its chairman and chief executive, ahead of its annual general meeting on Thursday. The company said current chair Dr Brett Cairns will move to chief executive officer and assume all operational duties effective from Friday, while co-founder Hamish Douglass is heading the other way, though…
CommSec Daily Report Monday
Latest NewsLocal shares fell in early trade on Monday before a recovery into lunch. The Healthcare sector led declines for the Index after Prime Minister Morrison announced plans for a Royal Commission into the aged care sector at the weekend. By contrast Telecoms and Utilities Only two sector managed to advance against the tide of…
