Australian Business & World Finance News - Yahoo!7 Finance

Call for urgent probe into Trio super collapse

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:32:45 +0000

A parliamentary committee has recommended authorities investigate the collapse of Trio Capital after the biggest superannuation fraud in Australian history.Liquidators have spent the last few years untangling ...

Draghi: Greece should stay in euro

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:51:04 +0000

The head of the European Central Bank (ECB) says its "strong preference" is for Greece to stay in the euro.Mario Draghi made the remarks in a speech at a conference on Wednesday in Frankfurt.Draghi ...

Judge to lead Greece into new elections

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:39:59 +0000

A supreme court judge has been appointed to head a caretaker government in Greece until new elections are held on June 17, as citizens continue to withdraw millions of euros from banks amid fears the country ...

Greece names interim PM; poll on June 17

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:31:04 +0000

Senior judge Panagiotis Pikramenos has been named Greece's caretaker prime minister, with new elections to be held on June 17, Greek state TV says.

Westfield hoping for retail boost

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:12:10 +0000

Shopping centre giant Westfield is punting on interest rate cuts and $5 billion worth of federal government handouts to families to help entice people to spend again.Chief executive Steven Lowy believes ...

CSR says housing recovery hard to predict

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:55:09 +0000

Building products maker CSR expects Australia's housing construction market to remain bleak for the foreseeable future and says it is difficult to predict the timing of a recovery.The company estimates ...

Shale gas faces hurdles in Oz: report

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:21:21 +0000

Shale gas might be booming in the United States but it faces many hurdles before it can be commercially viable in Australia.Industry consultants KPMG said extracting shale gas was currently too expensive ...

E Timor unveils disputed gas field pipeline

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:16:41 +0000

The government in East Timor has shown off a European-built pipeline which it says can be used to send natural gas to the country from the disputed Greater Sunrise Field off the north-west coast of Australia.East ...

Construction hurdle for new school, housing

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:44:43 +0000

The construction of a primary school and government housing development in Canberra has halted, with the company behind the projects going into administration.The construction arm of the property firm ...

Local shares rocked by European woes

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:40:52 +0000

Stocks have suffered their worst drop this year as escalating financial and political turmoil in Europe sends fear through the markets.Traders called it an ugly day on the market after shares fell to a ...

$A down one US cent as Greek poll looms

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:23:15 +0000

The Australian dollar is extending its fall below below parity with the US dollar as renewed worries about debt-stricken Greece weighs on the currency.Greece is expected to hold new elections, possibly ...

A Greek exit: How would it work?

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:08:24 +0000

Imagine for a moment you live in Greece.You wake up one morning to the news your country is no longer part of the eurozone.You were meant to buy groceries and pay bills today, but what happens to your ...

Westfield under fire again over cleaners

Wed, 16 May 2012 07:46:24 +0000

Westfield Group has again come under fire over the treatment of low-paid shopping centre cleaners hired through third parties.Community service provider Uniting Care said cost-cutting was being imposed ...

Aust Stocks plunge on Greek woes

Wed, 16 May 2012 07:44:10 +0000

Australian stocks plunged to two-month lows, led by the resources sector, with $32 billion wiped from the value of the market as Greece's problems kept investor confidence at depressing lows.The benchmark ...

US tuna labelling 'inconsistent' with trade rules: WTO

Wed, 16 May 2012 07:36:51 +0000

US requirements on "dolphin friendly" tuna labelling breach trade rules by affording less favourable treatment to Mexican-caught tuna, the WTO's appeal body said on Wednesday.The body reversed ...

BHP won't spend $80bn on expansion: Nasser

Wed, 16 May 2012 07:31:13 +0000

BHP Billiton chairman Jacques Nasser says the global miner will not spend the $80 billion on growth projects that it said it would, stepping back from previous commitments.Mr Nasser, speaking in Sydney, ...

Repsol sues Argentina over YPF takeover

Wed, 16 May 2012 07:30:04 +0000

Spanish oil giant Repsol said Wednesday it had filed a class action lawsuit in a New York court against Argentina after the country nationalised the company's local unit YPF.The suit was filed on Tuesday ...

FBI confirms JPMorgan Chase probe

Wed, 16 May 2012 07:21:01 +0000

FBI chief Robert Mueller confirmed Wednesday that his agency had opened a "preliminary" probe into JPMorgan Chase's multibillion-dollar trading loss."All I can say is that we have opened ...

Loan approvals up 5.2% in March

Wed, 16 May 2012 07:07:28 +0000

Total loan approvals rose 5.2 per cent in March, despite a dip in mortgage lending.The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Monday said seasonally-adjusted personal finance commitments rose 1.1 per ...

BHP chairman lashes 'high cost' Australia

Wed, 16 May 2012 06:57:19 +0000

The chairman of BHP Billiton says the company's Australian operations are facing pressure from high production costs, difficult industrial relations, high taxes and global instability.In a speech to the ...

Euro zone worries push bond prices higher

Wed, 16 May 2012 06:46:10 +0000

Australian bond future prices inched higher on continued worries about the euro zone but remain just below their record highs set just a day ago .At 1630 AEST on Wednesday, the 10-year bond futures contract ...

Fears grow about spread of seismic exploration

Wed, 16 May 2012 06:40:38 +0000

Conservationists and commercial fishermen are calling on the Federal Government to reverse its decision to allow oil and gas exploration in some areas off the Northern Territory coast.Federal Resources ...

World markets waver over Greece vote, US data

Wed, 16 May 2012 06:40:31 +0000

World stocks laid low by a call for new elections in Greece and prolonged agony in the eurozone wavered in nervous trade on Wednesday as fears of a Greek exit from the euro lingered.Investors were encouraged ...

Stocks to watch at close on Wednesday

Wed, 16 May 2012 06:30:13 +0000

Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange at close on Wednesday:BHP - BHP BILLITON LTD - down $1.37 - or 4.04 per cent - at $32.49BHP Billiton chairman Jacques Nasser says the global miner will ...

Aust shares close

Wed, 16 May 2012 06:25:30 +0000

Australian stocks closed at a two-month low, after one of its sharpest one-day percentage falls this year.The local bourse took its lead from much weaker European and US markets overnight, which dropped ...