Australian consumers are forewarned of a fake telephone survey with the aim of defrauding them using their own bank accounts and other information.
SR Exports, Australia's largest producer of tomatoes, blamed on Wednesday the country's supermarket giants for their poor business which led to the agricultural company's voluntary administration and loss of 60 jobs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average pierced the 13000 level for the first time since before the financial crisis, but traded largely below the mark during a choppy session in which stocks were negative at times. The Dow broke 13,000 before noon Tuesday and a handful of other times throughout the day, but was down 17 points, or 0.1%, at 12933 in afternoon trading.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is seeking evidence from supplies of supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths to nail the two grocers on unfair competition charges.
The U.S. dollar fell to a near two-week low against the euro Monday on hopes European finance ministers would agree on conditions for another loan for Greece.
Woolworths has upped the ante in its ongoing reign for supremacy in Australia's supermarket war by moving the battle into the virtual world. By launching a virtual supermarket in Sydney, shoppers could buy groceries from Woolies using their mobile phones.
Australia's retails sales had gone up by 0.6% for the fourth consecutive month in all territories, according to the Commonwealth Bank's Business Sales Indicator.
A chronicle news reporter recently featured a behind-the-scenes look in MetalDetector.com, the first online retailer of Metal Detectors. MetalDetector.com is located at Southborough, Massachusetts and has been around for 30 years. It is currently being managed by brothers Michael and Daniel Berznweig.
U.S. stocks were on pace for their steepest fall of the year, as questions about the latest Greek bailout added to concerns about industrial stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 111 points, or 0.9%, to 12768, in late Wednesday afternoon, after rising for five out of the past six days.
Australian cities are some of the most expensive places in the world, according to the latest Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Worldwide Cost of Living 2012 report. The roster, released on Wednesday, ranked Sydney as the 7th and Melbourne the 8 th most expensive global cities.
The Australian stock market on Wednesday will try to put away the lacklustre sentiments generated by the U.S. and European indices overnight with a focus on a few earnings reports due to be released today.
From MORRISON SECURITIES PTY. LTD:
U.S. stocks fell Tuesday as investors considered weaker-than-expected retail sales data and watched for progress in Europe over Greece's debt.
Stocks added to gains and hit session highs in afternoon trading, buoyed by the adoption of austerity measures by Greece's Parliament. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently ahead 82 points, or 0.6%, at 12884. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index advanced 10 points, or 0.8%, to 1353, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 29 points, or 1%, to 2933.
Another fresh war is brewing between Australia's supermarket giants. From fresh produce, Coles and Woolworths are now battling for the title of being the number one supporter of sustainable fish species.
Stocks were dragged down for their worst one-day loss in about six weeks by tumult over the Greek bailout, disappointing readings on the U.S. economy and a downgrade of nearly three dozen Italian banks.
To defuse the ticking retail frenzy of grabbing the latest Apple phone- the iPhone 4S-- Chinese authorities and American-owned Apple Inc. have joined forces to tackle the problem of illegally selling the handset in China's black markets.
The Australian stock market is perceived to maintain its current bouyant status thugging within its comfort zone range between 4,200 to 4,300 with the absence of catalysts to bring forth a major boost, analysts said.
U.S. stocks pared losses to inch higher as investors digested headlines over a Greek debt-restructuring deal that would allow the euro-zone country to avoid a default.
The positive leads from U.S. markets may not impact much on local stocks especially the currency-sensitive ones with the rate pause initiated by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), analysts say.
Further drops in activity and new orders saw the national construction industry spend another month in the red according to the latest Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI®), in conjunction with the Housing Industry Association. The seasonally adjusted index fell by 1.2 points to 39.8 in January, marking the 20th consecutive month that the sector has contracted (readings below 50 indicate a contraction in activity).
U.S. stocks drifted lower as the recent rally paused, with investors shifting focus to wrangling in Greece over fiscal austerity. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eased 38 points, or 0.3%, to 12824 as the last hour of trading approached. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index lost 2.7 points, or 0.2%, to 1342, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 7.8 points, or 0.3%, to 2898.
Job security in bank posts continue to be placed on the line as Westpac announced the axing of up to 400 positions. Most of those who would be laid off are engaged in back office and IT roles, of which 150 would be outsourced to India.
Although Australian consumers enjoyed the past few months lower prices on selected goods because of the price war between Coles and Woolsworth, they are actually paying higher prices for other commodities.
The optimism generated by the better-than-expected US jobs is seen to redound to the stock market.Analysts are bullish that Monday's trading will record some gains benefitting from the major averages posted by the Dow Jones Industrial Average, up 1.2% to close at 12862; the S&P climbed 1.5% at 1345; and the NASDAQ advanced 1.6% to end at 2906.
The fruit and vegetable price war between Australian supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths may be a boon to consumers, but a bane to farmers.
The Australian stock market is off to a slow start on Friday with commodity-related stocks led by Lynas Corp (ASX: LYC), Aquarius Platinum Ltd (ASX: AQP), Atlas Iron Ltd (ASX:AGO) hitting some gains as of 10:00 AM (AEST).
The battle between retail giants Coles and Woolworths went up a higher level beyond grocery aisles into company books. On Thursday, Coles reported a 6.7 per cent hike in its December quarter sales which hit $9.4 billion.
Electronics retailer Dick Smith could wind up significantly cutting underperforming sites among 66 New Zealand stores in Australia and New Zealand, according to an analyst.
FROM MORRISON SECURITIES PTY. LTDU.S. stocks rose broadly, moving to within striking distance of a multi-year high, as investors were bolstered by solid manufacturing reports around the world.
The ongoing price war between Australian supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths has led some MPs to seek a major amendment to the country's competition law. The legislators warned that the short-term benefits shoppers get from a 50 per cent price reduction on fruits and vegetables sold by Coles could mean disaster for the agriculture sector.
