BUSINESS

The Finance Sector Union today renewed calls for banking regulation as ING Direct's latest quarterly Financial Wellbeing Index showed that Australian households are under rising pressure to get personal debt under control.

Profit takers were active today as the local market opened strongly on the back of positive leads from the US overnight.

Global media group News Corporation (ASX: NWS) revealed on Thursday that it has regained profitability in financial year 2009/10 with its net profit of $US2.54 billion or $A2.77 billion after bleeding huge losses on the year before as the company attributed growths on its business segments, stronger advertising markets and strings of blockbuster films for the impressive recovery.

Hutchison Telecommunications delivered a surprise result, suggesting the company is winning market share from its competitors.

Renewed strength in the gold price has been partly attributed to Beijing's easing of internal gold trading restrictions.

The Alliance of Australian Retailers today called on the government to abandon its policy to require plain packaging for tobacco.

Sensear, a Perth-based developer and manufacturer of high noise communication headsets, today announced the completion of a A$7.1 million private funding round backed by existing shareholders. The capital infusion will be used to fortify global sales growth and enhance Sensear's technology and product range.

New data published by IPA recruitment agency on Thursday showed that national job vacancies improved by 13.9 percent in the month of July, the first upswing movement in Australia’s employment rate since March of this year.

The AUD has pushed higher again overnight as investor risk appetite continues to grow.

Premier David Bartlett formally unveiled on Wednesday the $32 million Saffire Resort, Tasmania’s first boutique luxurious resort which boasts of 20 premium suites that command a panoramic view of the Coles Bay area.

The US ISM services index rose from 53.8 to 54.3 in July - above expectations for a result near 53.0.

U.S. stocks rose Wednesday as better than expected signs for the employment environment calmed investors' jitters ahead of the government's Friday payrolls report.

The Australian goods and services balance printed a trade surplus of 3.54 billion in June annihilating expectations of 1.81 billion.

Demand for Australian office space has recovered after the global financial crisis, with research from the Property Council of Australia showing figures over the last six months at double the 20 year average.

The Gold Coast's office vacancy rate has continued to climb and is the highest in Australia, according to a mid-year Office Market Report released today by the Property Council of Australia.

Tuesday night saw weak economic data and earnings, and last night saw the opposite. Reverse everything, Dow up 44.

Export income surging, the service sector cooling, house prices still growing but more slowly, and car sales still posit...

Services: Another report yesterday confirmed the sluggishness in the service sector (as we have seen from retailing).The...

Brisbane's CBD office vacancy rate has slumped from a 15 year high of 11.3 per cent in January to 10.9 per cent in July this year, according to the Property Council of Australia's mid-year Office Market Report released today.

Brisbane's Fringe office vacancy rate recorded its highest level since January 2003, rising from 11.4 percent in January to 12.2 percent in July this year, according to the Property Council of Australia's mid-year Office Market Report released today.

Another private equity retail success story bites the dust within a few months of being sold into the market.Myer was th...

Kerry Stokes' Seven Group Holdings will be happy; the partly-owned associate West Australian Newspapers is more than dou...

Wealth manager AXA Asia Pacific Holdings yesterday met its updated July guidance for its profit and investment returns f...

A survey by consumer group CHOICE suggests that despite a marketing price war between the two major supermarkets, and an increasing focus in federal election campaigns on the rising cost of living, grocery choices have not actually changed substantially in the last year.The survey found that at Wool...

The UK's Food Standards Agency has released a statement confirming that meat from the offspring of a cloned cow has been sold to consumers in the UK. Related claims of dairy from the offspring of cloned animals being sold have not yet been substantiated.While meat and dairy from cloned animals has b...

Chris Bowen, Federal Minister for Superannuation says he has a lot of work ahead of him, after the results of a study suggest that the retirement savings of Australians only returned 3 per cent a year for over a decade.An ABC analysis of official statistics released by the Australian Prudential Regu...

Australian banking major ANZ is rebranding its ING wealth management and life insurance business as OnePath, the brand name of its own organically built specialist find management and life insurance business.Phil Chronican of ANZ says the lender is establishing a more diverse set of options for its ...

The ASX 200 down 0.7%

A major Aevum Ltd (ASX: AVE) shareholder stressed on Wednesday that Stockland Corporation Ltd (ASX: SGP) could do much better than its rejected offer of $266 million in its bid to takeover the retirement village operator.