BUSINESS

Standard & Poor's made changes to U.S. indices

Leading index provider Standard & Poor's Indices announced on Wednesday changes in the U.S. indices. It said that the S&P SmallCap 600 constituent Rock-Tenn Co. would replace Varian Inc. in the S&P MidCap 400 index, and LSB Industries Inc. will replace Rock-Tenn in the S&P SmallCap 600 index after the close of trading on a date to be announced.

Jobless rate at 5.4%

Unemployment rate remained steady at 5.4 per cent in April, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
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Jetset announces planned merger with Stella

Jetset Travelworld Ltd has announced plans to merge with Stella Travel Services Holdings as respective boards of the two travel companies have agreed on a conditional merger deal with Qantas Airways, Jetset’s majority shareholder, giving its thumbs up for the planned merger.

U.S. regulators create advisory committee in light of latest market crash

To prevent the so-called 'May 6 rout" from happening again where the crash on Wall Street markets caused a global ripple effect, U.S. regulators Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), announced the creation of the Joint CFTC-SEC Advisory Committee on Emerging Regulatory issues.

BTIG expands into fixed income and equity capital markets

BTIG LLC, a broker dealer focused in institutional trading and related brokerage services, has announced its expansion into fixed income and equity capital markets. The move is seen to allow issuers a variety of solutions across their entire balance sheet and complements BTIG's existing lines of business, while leveraging its distribution platform and the deep experience and relationships of its sales and trading professionals.

ABS says home financing plunges as first home buyers avoid the market

New data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed that the overall volume of owner-occupied housing slid to its lowest level since April 2001 as housing finance commitments declined by 3.4 percent in March to 48,260 following the government’s withdrawal of its stimulus suite grants for first home buyers.

Gold prices soar to new record highs

The Australian gold stocks had inspired a beehive trading on Wednesday following the precious metal’s spot price record spikes in US trading overnight, with the spot gold price reaching as high as $US1,234.55 per fine ounce in the US session.

SP AusNet reveals profit spikes on price hikes

Energy utility company SP AusNet has reported that its full year net profit after tax (NPAT) jumped by 42.3 percent or $209 million in the March quarter as it cited that boosted activity from its new commercial arm, price increases and additional clients fuelled the recorded gain.

Amcor plans to combine Australasian operations

Paper maker Amcor Ltd is set to merge with Amcor Packaging Distribution and eventually combine all its Australasian operations into Amcor Australasia and Packaging Distribution, which will be based in Melbourne and set to be headed by US-based Nigel Garrard.

Transfield sells wind farm to Meridian

Transfield Services Infrastructure Fund (TSI) sold its 70-megawatt Mt Millar wind farm in South Australia to New Zealand-state owned Meridian Energy for $191 million.

Samsung reveals plan of billion dollar investments in healthcare and green sectors

Samsung Group announced Tuesday that it is set to invest a total of $US20 billion in healthcare and green energy sectors by 2020, which would create thousands of new jobs as company chairman Lee Kun-Hee hinted that governments around the world are channelling billions to sustainable energy over concerns on the planets dwindling resources.

iPad to be sold in Aussie stores on May 28

Australians who want to get hold of Apple's latest electronic gadget, iPad, will have the opportunity to get hold of this latest device on May 28. In a statement, Apple said the iPad would be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK before the end of this month.

Asciano Group reveals impairments of more than a billion dollars

Transport company Asciano Group has revealed Tuesday that it is set to book impairment charges of up to $1.1 billion by the second half of fiscal year 2010 following recommendations from its internal audit and risk committee, even as the company has reaffirmed its earning guidance of close to $700 million for the full year 2009/10.

Transfield Fund sets in motion capital restructuring

Transfield Services Infrastructure Fund has announced Tuesday of plans for capital restructuring which involves a capital raising of up to $110 million and selling its Mt Millar Wind Farm for $191 million, as it added that TSI Fund is also set to extend its corporate debt maturity to May 2015.

Xtrata halts $30M copper explorations

Xtrata declared suspension on its $30 million copper exploration in central Queensland a week after the federal government released the proposed resource super profits tax.

Melbourne collects $125 thousand as Metro came late again in April

The Melbourne government is set to collect about $125,000 in compensation from the city’s train operator Metro, as it again failed to meet its punctuality target for the month of April, with only 84.5 percent of trains running on time, which is just 3.5 percent shy of meeting its 88 percent goal, that would have allowed the company to write off the fine.

Avexa shares plunge as company halts HIV program

Avexa Ltd shares tumbled by almost 78 percent or up to 2.7 cents on Monday as the drug company announced that it is ending Apricitabine (ATC), its lead HIV program, amidst the resignation of its chief executive Julian Chick who is set to leave by end of May.

Peabody lowers bid for Macarthur share

American company Peabody Energy reduced its offer to buy each share of Macarthur Coal at $15 a share from its previous offer of $16 a share. The proposal came in the midst of the growing disagreement on the Australian government's proposed super-profits tax scheme.

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