BUSINESS

Wine maker Australian Vintage Ltd (ASX: AVG) said on Thursday that it has returned to profit status as consumers shifted their preference for branded wines and a sustained cost-reduction scheme earlier implemented conspired to deliver impressive results for the company.

Tollroad operator Transurban Group (ASX: TLC) announced on Thursday its return to profit for the full year 2009/10 as it reported that the company’s net profit as of June 30 reached $59 .605 million.

The Australian share market was lower at midday following a poor performance on global markets overnight and a slight increase in the domestic unemployment rate.

Australian telecommunications carrier Optus has recorded its strongest growth in five years with its net profit in the three months to June showing steep increase.

Construction contract firm Leighton Contractors revealed on Thursday that it has been awarded a $290 million contract to build the planned AGL Energy-Meridian huge wind farm complex in Macarthur, Victoria.

Australia's unemployment rate was a seasonally adjusted 5.3 per cent in July, compared with an unrevised 5.1 per cent in June, according to data issued today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). With the softer job figures, economists predict there will no more interest rate increases this year.

Pay TV operator Foxtel said on Thursday that its operations’ saw a double-digit jump in 2009/10 amidst slow downs in attracting new subscribers for Australia’s biggest cable network.

The Westpac Group (ASX:WBC) today announced Greg Bartlett will be retiring as St.George's CEO effective December 2010 after a career of nearly 30 years with the bank.

Phosphagenics is trying to develop an anti-fat drug delivered via the skin, which if successful would offer significant upside according to Southern Cross Equities.

Australian department store chain Myer (ASX: MYR) today reported a 0.7 per cent increase in full-year sales and forecast earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to exceed previous guidance.

Power generator AGL Energy Ltd (ASX: AGK) sealed a deal with New Zealand’s Meridian Energy to build a $1 billion 420 MW wind farm in Victoria, set to commence operation by 2013, according to a Thursday statement furnished by the energy company.

Gold futures bounced on demand as a reaction to the Federal Reserve's announcement that the U.S. economy's recovery is not as fast as earlier expected.

Australia's telecommunications giant Telstra (AZX: TLS) today announced a 4.7 per cent decline in full-year net profit and forecast lower earnings in the year ahead.

Giant beverage firm Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd (ASX: CCL) announced on Thursday that it has netted high earnings from its first half operations this year, garnering some $212.7 million from the first six months leading to the end June and improving by 12.1 percent from the net profit posted in the previous corresponding year.

The Australian bourse is set to dive today after receiving negative leads from offshore trading overnight. Key market indices all plunged, while oil slid and only gold gained among key metals.

Australian airline company Qantas Airways (ASX:QAN) today announced its net profit for the year to June 30 slid 4.3 per cent to $112 million from $117 million in the previous corresponding period.

A delayed reaction to the Fed. Weak Chinese data. Currency concerns in Japan. GDP downgrade in the UK. You name it. Dow down 265. (Locked for subscribers until 10:00 AEST)

No wonder the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) says it is cautious about its prospects for the 2011 financial year, despite po...

No wonder the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) says it is cautious about its prospects for the 2011 financial year, despite po...

More evidence yesterday that China's economy is cooling, despite a rise in consumer price inflation thanks to the surge ...

Stockland, Australia's biggest residential property trust, might have stormed back to full-year profit because of inc...

The slump in global markets in the June quarter, as well as in Australia, has cut the number of takeovers, global and lo...

Even as consumer confidence rises, business confidence and conditions remain weak.The NAB's business confidence and cond...

Domestic air fares have increased to their highest level in more than a year, with discount fares more than 5 per cent higher in August.

The World Trade Organisation has publicly released its final ruling, vetoing stringent Australian quarantine rules and allowing the widespread importation of New Zealand apples into Australia.The 598-page ruling was released on Monday, and found that the import risk analysis underpinning Australia's...

A New Zealand judge has ruled that shechita kosher slaughter practices in New Zealand can resume until a lawsuit filed against Agriculture Minister David Carter comes to trial, most likely next year.Justice Dennis Clifford of Wellington's High Court confirmed to the Jerusalem Post that the Crown Law...

UK grocery retailer Sainsbury's will roll out their "eco-friendly" milk bags and jugs across their milk range, after a successful trial of 2% fat milk bags, which sold at double the expected rate.Sainsbury's said that milk is one of their biggest selling lines. Shoppers are now buying 120,000 semi-s...

Fonterra has been forced to publicly defend the quality of its products amid allegations that Chinese customer and infant formula maker Synutra, whom Fonterra supplies, has sold milk powder that has caused premature breast development in three girls.The New Zealand dairy giant yesterday confirmed it...

A snapshot of economist responses to today's Australian employment data for July, where jobs again increased but the unemployment rate also rose thanks to a higher participation rate.