Income tax continues to do heavy lifting
The federal budget will become more reliant on personal income tax revenue as other sources dwindle and no action is taken on reaping more from gas and mining firms, a new report says. The Parliamentary Budget Office on Wednesday released an analysis of the tax system since 2001 and some of the risks ahead. The…
German industrial orders bounce back in May
Industrial orders in Germany bounced back in May after a string of setbacks, official data showed Thursday, suggesting Europe’s largest economy may not face the sharp slowdown some observers feared.New contracts at industrial firms grew 2.6 percent month-on-month in May, federal statistics authority Destatis said in figures adjusted for price, seasonal and calendar effects.The performance…
Trump prepares China tariff target list as confrontation escalates
President Donald Trump on Friday was due to unveil a final list of Chinese imports that would face punishing tariffs but it remained uncertain whether he would hold fire as part of a negotiating strategy.Imposing the tariffs would escalate the trade confrontation with Beijing, and potentially set off a round of tit-for-tat retaliation, which economists…
Compumedics shares soar on joint venture
Shares in Compumedics have soared after the company said it plans to form a joint venture with a China-based health check organisation that will purchase one million of its sleep monitoring devices. The proposed joint venture with Meinian Onehealth Healthcare Holdings, known as Health 100, will commercialise Compumedics’ Somfit device – a wearable system for…
Australia restricts live sheep exports after shocking treatment
Horrific footage of dead and dying sheep on ships bound for the Middle East has prompted sweeping reforms to Australia’s live export trade, but Canberra stopped short of an outright ban Thursday.Video images taken last year showed heat-stricken sheep crammed together in small, stifling pens and covered in excrement, shocking the Australian public when it…
More pokies allegations aimed at Crown
Victoria’s gambling regulator and police are investigating additional allegations of poker machine tampering at Melbourne’s Crown Casino. It comes after independent MP Andrew Wilkie showed journalists “picks” he said were given to a former high-roller at the casino, allegedly used to let the woman play multiple machines at the same time. The former gambling addict,…
Caltex to end franchises in huge overhaul
Caltex Australia says its decision to buy out franchisees and have only company-owned stores has nothing to do with staff underpayment issues uncovered at a number of franchise outlets. The major overhaul of its business model comes after a two-year review sparked by media reports in 2016 that uncovered cases of staff underpayment and triggered…
Gold initially up on Fed pause signals
Gold prices rose to hit a peak in more than a week overnight on signs that the US Federal Reserve will likely be patient on further interest rate rises, but rallying global equities kept the metal’s gains in check. Spot gold was up 0.1 per cent at $US1,311.29 per ounce overnight, having touched their highest…
Diversification is better than a crystal ball
When the history books are written, they leave out the bits that didn’t matter and line up in orderly rows what is now seen as significant, even if it was overlooked at the time. With the benefit of hindsight, it’s clear what was and what was not important. In real time, of course, it is…
Facebook overhauls privacy settings amid data breach outcry
Facebook on Wednesday launched a fresh effort to quell the firestorm over the hijacking of personal data, unveiling new privacy tools and settings aiming to give users more control over how their information is shared. The new features follow fierce criticism of the social network giant after it was revealed that the personal data of…
