Are consumers benefitting from their banks, or are they really ripped off by hidden bank charges?
The plant unrest at a Foxconn Technology Group plant at Wuhan, China has been resolved and a majority of the workers have returned to work late Wednesday, according to Microsoft Corp.
While the mining boom has generally benefited Australia's economy in general, certain groups reaped more than others did. One of the groups that thrived on the boom more than others is that of immigrant workers.
Although forecasts say global aluminium prices may go up for the first quarter of 2012, prospects are bleak for the aluminium sector in Australia.
While slowdown and recession are the buzzwords in many parts of the world because of the threat of another global financial crisis over European debt, in Australia the key words are expansion and boom.
Climate change is changing the financial landscape of Australian insurance companies. The Insurance Australia Group (IAG), whose profit margin is expected to be hit anew by natural catastrophes, warned that the changing and less-predictable climate has the potential to reduce insurers' capacity to calculate, price and spread the weather-related risk.
More Australian retailers are set to join in 2012 the online bandwagon. The shift to e-commerce over traditional bricks-and-mortar stores confirms the truth behind the cliché - If you can't beat them, join them.
India has initiated talks with the governments of Australia, Netherlands, France, and the European Union on several human resource mobility partnership agreements that will ensure job employments for its working professionals.
Despite the threat of another global contraction due to the European debt crisis, employment prospects in Australia's mining industry continue to be high. To address the manpower shortage in the booming sector, employers have become creative in attracting the best talents from other industries.
Amid Australia's resources boom which led to higher export activities, the workers in the country's seaports are becoming more restive as evidenced by increased strikes toward the end of 2011 and another round of industrial actions at the start of 2012.
Wesfarmers reported on Friday that its coal export prices for the first quarter of 2012 would go down 19 per cent compared to the fourth quarter of 2011.
Elders International, a major exporter of Australian beef, complained of difficulty in planning its foreign shipments because of the unclear import permit policy by Indonesia.
Australian carmakers are forecasting that the industry will hit one million unit sales in 2012. However, the bulk of the sales will be small cars based on changing consumer preference.
Australia's latest trade surplus posted declines from previous month, achieving only $1.38 billion in November as compared to the seasonally adjusted $1.42 billion in the month before, according to new figures released on Thursday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
While gold's glitter partly dimmed toward the last few months of 2011, a study released Wednesday predicted that diamond and gemstone mining will be strong industries in Australia in 2012.
Insurance Australia Group (IAG), the country's largest vehicle and home insurer, forecast that it would pay up to $720 million in 2012 for catastrophe reinsurance because of disasters such as floods, cyclones and bushfires that hit the country in 2011.
In Australia, the best-selling vehicle for 2011, according to the latest VFACTS data released on Wednesday, was Mazda 3, which experts and consumers alike praised for reliability without sacrificing the look-factor.
It was still a banner year for the mining sector of Australia in 2011 despite claims by some groups that the boom has waned. Proof of the strength of the mining sector is that while the previous year was marked by economic contraction in many countries, construction work on new resources projects in Australia went up 31 per cent for the year.
The Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) index showed that export commodity prices registered a decline for the fourth straight month in December by 1 per cent.
The bearish market that characterised 2011 for Australia's retail industry would likely be replicated for the first quarter of 2012. A survey by Dun & Bradstreet showed that 55 per cent of retailers expect continued slowdown of consumer demand.
A report commissioned by the Australian government found that foreigners are heavily investing in the country's agricultural companies such as those into sugar, grain and beef production. South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon warned of the impact of control of such foreign capital into Australia's food security.
Australia's manufacturing sector churned a positive growth in December, according to the latest Australian Industry Group - PwC Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI®).
Threats of periodical downsizing and bankruptcies in the past few years now appear to have been conquered by the American auto industry as car makers reported on Monday increasing sales figures for two years in a row.
Australian airlines are scrambling to reconfigure their international service flights to stay afloat and recoup losses incurred on steep price cuts to fend off lingering threats of competition, reports said.
Banking reforms introduced in late 2010 by the federal government appear to have made little difference as giant banks continue to hold sway in the mortgage market, capturing much of the share in the home loan market pie.
The National Stock Exchange of Australia (NSX) added 29 companies to its listing on Tuesday, doubling the total number of members to 62.
China's manufacturing sector posted moderate growth in December, breaching by hairline the index's point of contraction, according to new official purchasing managers' index issued by the country's National Bureau of Statistics.
Analysts and investors are divided on how the Australian stock market would fare in 2012. The division is because while dealers forecast that shares would rise 17 per cent in 2011, the year ended with the benchmark Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) 200 down 14.5 per cent at 4,140.4 at the last trading day of the year.
The ongoing financial distress happening in Europe prompted business leaders on Thursday to call on the federal government to introduce more supportive measures that would safeguard the health of the Australian economy.
Mining has been the Australian economy's backbone for some time but its benefits were essentially eclipsed by rising living costs, forcing many consumers to rationalize their spending habits.
