BUSINESS

It was maybe an afterthought but Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX:HVN) chief executive Bernie Brookes expressed regret on Friday that his company went public last year as he revealed frustrations on dealing with shareholders, alluding to the experience as similar to ‘herding cats’.

Australian online retailers need a strong physical presence in order to boost sales.

Electrical retailer Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd (ASX: HVN) said on Friday that it saw an eight percent growth on its annual profit as it added that further growth could be expected in the current financial year.

The Abacus Property Group (ASX: ABP) is offering new debt facilities amounting to $536 million.

Australian share market closed moderately higher, building on Thursday's positive performance, ahead of the release of revised US June quarter growth figures later tonight.

The Australian share market turned around in afternoon trade, to post another session of gains.

Across Asia, regional markets are mixed following weaker overseas leads and ahead of tonight's Q2 GDP read and Bernanke's economic speech. The Nikkei 225 is the best performer, up 1% while the Hang Seng, Kospi and Shanghai composite were all hovering around the flat line.

Based on the Master Builders State housing industry report, the introduction of six-star energy requirements for new homes caused the increase. Master Builders' director of housing policy Paul Bidwell said seventy percent of the cost increase can be attributed to the one-off impact of six-star energy requirements rather than significant increases in labour and/or material costs.

Toll road operator Intoll Group Stapled Securities (ASX: ITO) announced on Friday that it has endorsed the revised takeover proposal of its suitor Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), stating that the new bid was an enhancement of up to 2.5 percent from the original submission in July.

Power and Water Corporation is losing employees because of a very old network.

Fairfax Media Ltd (ASX: FXJ) announced on Friday that it has regained profit for 2010 financial year despite a slide on its overall revenue as it looks forward for more growth in the remaining months of the year.

Workers taking the Joondalup and Mandurah lines of Transperth may have been late this morning due to the strike stage by train drivers.

The number of available rental properties in Sydney was 1.6 percent in July. The figure is close to the 1.7 percent vacancy rate in January 2010.

Reports of alleged artificial adjustments in performance ratings and a secret redundancy program has put the corporate news and gossip website, Firm Spy, in trouble with two law firms.

US jobless claims fell 31k to 473k in the past week. Those people remaining on unemployment benefits after drawing an initial week of aid fell 62k to 4.46 million.

Blue chip stocks fell Thursday, with declines in Cisco Systems, International Business Machines and J.P. Morgan Chase pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average below the psychologically important 10000 mark on continued worries about economic growth.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for Australia rose 0.1% in June 2010 however private capital expenditure unexpectedly fell -4% from the previous quarter causing the Aussie to dip momentarily to 0.8830 US Dollars midday in Asia

Bloomsbury is banking on the heavy anticipation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to mitigate its declining profit.

Investors of Australia's second-biggest retirement village operator are considering three options to save their investment.

The wine with Australian labels found in store shelves in China could either be the real Flinders Run or one brewed in Asian countries.

Australian air fleet Virgin Blue (ASX: VBA) posted a net profit before tax worth $34.3 million.

Google, the Internet company, is taking aim at internet telephone companies like Skype by introducing a new capability in its free web-based email service that allows users to make calls.

Two thirds or about 6,000 of Alice Springs customers lost electricity after a switch fault at a substation before 7 this morning. Businesses in the area have started to complain about the long hours without power.

A consumer group called on giant grocery chain Coles Supermarket to toe the line and follow the lead of its rivals, ALDI and Woolworths, which recently implemented the online publication of their in-store grocery prices.

The first week of August appears gloomy when capital expenditure fell from the first to the second quarter by 4 percent in seasonally adjusted terms.

More incentives for farmers would be a reward for increased production.

Western Australia mining firm Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) reported on Thursday that its full year net profit for fiscal 2010 reached $US581 million or $A657, registering a 14 percent spike from the $508 million the company previously posted in the 2009 financial year.

The local market snapped out of its four-day losing streak and had a slight rebound this morning. It followed Wall Street's positive close overnight as the US market rebounded from an oversold position from previous sessions.

Casual workers at the University of South Australia could still find working a pleasure once negotiations move in their favor.