An analyst from the TD Securities said miners were optimistic today, while trading and a new prime minister would mean that there will be changes and revisions in policy with regards to the proposed mining tax.
Positively reacting to the removal of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, share prices of the country’s resources industry shot up as investors start projections of a tempered mining tax in the coming days.
Australians are bound to have their first woman Prime Minister as members of the Labour Party chose to back up Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard to replace Kevin Rudd.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is throwing its support behind the federal government’s proposed mining tax as its deputy head for tax policy Philip Daniel declared in a Sydney conference today that the measure is a worthwhile reform for the Australian economy.
Wildlife rescuers from South Australia and New South Wales were kept from helping out in the ongoing clean-up drive of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as the Australian Marine Wildlife Research and Rescue Organisation lamented that strict regulations being implemented on the site prevented its team from participating in animal rescue efforts.
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan cautioned the tourism industry on Tuesday that the sector is in danger of suffering anew from the effects of a two-speed economy if the Labour’s proposed tax measures are not implemented.
Nationals MP Vince Catania said today that the royalty rates increase for both BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto should bolster the Royalties for Regions program, in reaction to Premier Colin Barnett’s announcement yesterday that royalty fees would be increased from 3.75 percent to 5.6 percent starting July.
Japan announced on Tuesday that it is upgrading its economic growth forecast to 2.6 percent for the year leading to March 2011, coming from an earlier projection of 1.4 percent and enabling the troubled nation to achieve a gross domestic product (GDP) growth beyond the two percent mark.
China’s central bank has indicated over the weekend that the yuan would be more flexible in the coming days, though it gave clarification that significant changes should not be expected and at the last check, the Chinese currency still stands at about 6.8 against the US dollar.
Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner informed the parliament on Monday that the billion-dollar deal between the federal government and Telstra would directly benefit the telco’s shareholders.
Australia and China inked new trade deals amounting to $10 billion that would cover mostly the resources and energy sector with some provisions for telecommunications, training and a quarantine protocol in exporting Tasmanian apples to China.
Taxi fare increase will soon hit Canberra starting next month.
The World Bank said in its report released on Friday that China is indicating symptoms of moderating growth following a solid recovery last year, largely fuelled by stimulus programs though it noted that the country’s economy has remained strong, propped up by real estate investment and stronger export demand.
The Council of Social Services in Tasmania voiced out concerns today that residents of the state could be hit by spikes in the price of electricity as the state government announced changes in the power industry which includes permission for Aurora Energy to recover its operating costs.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said today that he will not sit down with the mining industry just because of the election as he discounted the possibility of an early voting in light of the government’s plummeting popularity because of the proposed mining tax.
Representatives of the mining sector said the mine safety regulator is “dysfunctional” and urged the government for an investigation on the mine safety regulations in West Australia.
The Kimberley Land Council (KLC) has threatened legal suits against Foxtel, National Indigenous Television and Goolari TV for airing last week Julie Nimmo’s film, ‘Divided by Gas’, alleging that it carries defamatory statements from former High Court Judge Murray Wilcox.
ASIC has permanently banned Mr Steven James Ker of Palmyra, Western Australia from providing financial services.
Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday in a speech in New York that financial regulators must prioritise market stability as he warned that failure of interwoven financial companies could dislocate the financial system and the economy as a whole.
Treasurer Wayne Swan said that Australia's economic expansion was not based on luck but because of the government's efforts and its “foresight to do what was right.”
A loose alliance of three of the world's biggest mining companies on Thursday launched a renewed offensive against the Rudd government's plan to force a 40 percent tax on resource profits.
Tax Commissioner Michael D'Ascenzo has warned the staff of the Australian Taxation Office through an email that providing details to an independent inquiry is also considered a breach of law.
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan told business executives gathered in Canberra on Wednesday that Australia’s continued economic expansion can never be attributed to sheer luck but on its government’s foresight and political will to do what is right for the sake of the national interest.
The federal government may be ready after all to adjust some elements of the mining tax to accommodate the needs of the various parts of the resources industry as Resources Minister Martin Ferguson gave hints that even Prime Minister Kevin Rudd gets some pressure from the Labour party to forge a compromise with the mining sector.
A pack of 25-stick cigarettes would soon cost smokers $14 and they have the Senate to thank for as the chamber passed and formalised on Tuesday the Rudd government’s earlier decision to raise cigarette excise tax.
A lower mining tax should enable Australia to fiercely compete with other mining countries and any planned taxes on the industry should not be compared with the petroleum industry, that according to Access Economic director Chris Richardson.
After drawing much public flak from his proposed 40 percent tax on super profits, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is reported to be ready for a compromise agreement with the mining sector, in the hope of taking out some of the pressure over the controversial new resource tax.
One person was confirmed killed and seven others were injured when a light plane crashed in Sydney's south-west area just after 8am Tuesday, the New South Wales Ambulance Service confirmed. Earlier, the NSW, said two people had been killed, but later revised the figure to just one.
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan is backing Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to continue on his leadership of the Labour Party for the next election despite circulating speculations that the embattled leader is being pressured to give way for a new candidate.
The European debt crisis is unveiling similar signs of the subprime mortgage meltdown in the United States on 2007, with pressure and disruption in the financial system becoming more prominent as the problem gets worst by the day, according to a review by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
