Category Archives: Business

Albanese hopes China’s reported BHP iron ore ban ‘very much short-term’ as ASX dips

Posted on by

Treasurer Jim Chalmers and BHP CEO Mike Henry to discuss reports of Chinese iron ore blockade

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will meet with the boss of BHP amid a shock report that the world’s largest mining company faces a Chinese blockade on its iron ore shipments.

Beijing’s state iron ore buyer has told steelmakers to pause imports of BHP ore, amid hardball negotiations over the price of the crucial resource, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

Continue reading...

‘It’s unsustainable’: homes in Great Britain brace for winter with soaring energy debts

Posted on by

As typical annual dual-fuel charge rises to £1,755, charities warn over record £4.4bn owed to suppliers

Three and a half years after war plunged Europe into an energy supply crisis, millions of households in Great Britain are braced for another winter of painful gas and electricity bills.

On Wednesday, the quarterly cap on charges will increase again. Despite a fall in wholesale gas prices, the ceiling for a typical annual dual-fuel bill will rise by 2% to £1,755 to help cover the costs of energy policies and network upgrades.

Continue reading...

Britons preparing to ration energy as Ofgem price cap rises, says charity

Posted on by

National Energy Action says 58% of households expect to cut heating use as typical annual dual-fuel bill increases to £1,755

The majority of British households expect to restrict their home heating this winter to try to keep rising costs in check, according to research released as the price cap that dictates most bills rose again.

The fuel poverty charity National Energy Action said 58% of households told its survey they were likely to trim their energy use, a nine-percentage-point increase from the level in January.

Continue reading...

Almost a third of Prax Lindsey oil refinery workers to lose jobs

Posted on by

Insolvency Service says 125 roles to go at Lincolnshire plant, which went into administration in summer

Almost a third of workers at the Prax Lindsey oil refinery in north Lincolnshire, which collapsed into administration this summer, will lose their jobs at the end of October.

The Insolvency Service said the decision to make 125 roles redundant, with 255 people remaining at the site, “was not taken lightly” and follows a thorough review of “all aspects of the business, following its insolvency”.

Continue reading...

Base formulation may be linked to 20 sunscreens falling short of SPF claims, drug regulator finds

Posted on by

TGA investigation also finds some testing laboratories may be more reliable than others

The same base formulation has been identified in 20 sunscreens that Australia’s medicines regulator has warned are unlikely to have a sun protection factor (SPF) rating of more than 21, with some products as low as SPF 4.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) on Tuesday identified sunscreens sold by 17 different companies using a base formulation made by manufacturer Wild Child Laboratories as likely to fall far short of their sun protection factor claims.

Aspect Sun SPF50+ Physical Sun Protection

Aspect Sun SPF50+ Tinted Physical Sun Protection

Aesthetics Rx Ultra Protection Sunscreen Cream

New Day Skin Good Vibes Sunscreen SPF50+

New Day Skin Happy Days Sunscreen SPF50+

Allganics Light Sunscreen SPF50+

Beauti-FLTR Lustre Mineral SPF50+

Found My Skin SPF 50+ Tinted Face/Body Cream

Ethical Zinc Daily Wear Light Sunscreen

Ethical Zinc Daily Wear Tinted Facial Sunscreen (Dark)

Ethical Zinc Daily Wear Tinted Facial Sunscreen (Light)

Endota Mineral Protect SPF50 Sunscreen

We are Feel Good Inc Mineral Sunscreen SPF50+

GlindaWand The Fountain of Youth Environmental Defence Cream SPF50+

Ultra Violette Velvet Screen SPF50 (product export only - not available in Australia)

People4Ocean SPF 50+ Mineral Bioactive Shield Lightly Tinted Cream

McoBeauty SPF50+ Mineral Mattifying Sunscreen

Naked Sundays Collagen Glow Mineral Sunscreen

Outside Beauty & Skincare SPF 50+ Mineral Primer

Salus SPF50+ Daily Facial Sunscreen Broad Spectrum

Continue reading...

Cannabis stocks soar after Trump shares video promoting drug’s use for seniors

Posted on by

Video posted on Truth Social touts CBD as a ‘gamechanger’ and promotes Medicaid coverage of CBD products

Cannabis stocks are on a high after Donald Trump shared a video on Sunday promoting cannabis use for seniors and Medicaid coverage of CBD products.

The nearly three-minute-long video, posted on the president’s Truth Social platform, touts the usage of hemp-derived CBD as a “gamechanger” that is a pain and stress reliever for seniors.

Continue reading...

Isle of Wight festival increases profits despite fall in attendance

Posted on by

Festival made £3.4m profit in 2024, generating £2.6m dividend for its parent company, part of Live Nation

Pet Shop Boys and The Prodigy helped the Isle of Wight music festival increase its profits last year, generating a £2.6m dividend for its parent company, a division of the events industry’s biggest player, Live Nation.

In a year when many smaller music festivals lost money or were cancelled amid wet weather and soaring costs, the summer showpiece on the island, a ferry ride across the Solent from England’s southern coast, managed to prosper.

Continue reading...

UK graduates and healthcare workers worst hit as jobs market ‘cools’

Posted on by

Recruitment report identifies sharp rise in vacancies for warehouse staff and cleaners but large fall in graduate opportunities

Graduates fresh from university will find it difficult to find a job after a 35% drop in hiring by employers over the last year, according to analysis by a leading recruitment data provider.

Hiring freezes at many employers have taken the biggest toll on graduates and meant there is fierce competition for the few jobs left for younger workers.

Continue reading...

UK graduates and healthcare workers worst hit as jobs market ‘cools’

Posted on by

Recruitment report identifies sharp rise in vacancies for warehouse staff and cleaners but large fall in graduate opportunities

Graduates fresh from university will find it difficult to find a job after a 35% drop in hiring by employers over the last year, according to analysis by a leading recruitment data provider.

Hiring freezes at many employers have taken the biggest toll on graduates and meant there is fierce competition for the few jobs left for younger workers.

Continue reading...

Lions coach hails AFL grand final win as ‘better than last year’ – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

PM brushes off Coalition criticism for attending UK Labour party’s national conference

Returning to Albanese’s appearance on Sky News this morning, the PM has shrugged off criticism from the Coalition that he is spending too much time engaging in international diplomacy after he attended the UK Labour party’s national conference.

What I do is work very hard representing Australia.

In Liverpool, I’ll be having discussions with ministers, not just with prime minister Starmer, about Aukus and about that progress, taking the opportunity to sit down with government ministers.

I think you can be strong on borders without being weak on humanity, and that’s what drives my government.

Continue reading...

Clive Palmer ordered to pay $13m after claim of being ‘foreign investor’ in Australian mining project thrown out

Posted on by

Attorney general says mining magnate is ‘not a foreign investor’ and is ‘not entitled to any benefits under Australia’s free trade and investment agreements’

The Australian mining magnate Clive Palmer has been ordered to pay more than $13m after his claim of being a “foreign investor” was dismissed by an international tribunal after a dispute lasting more than a decade.

The permanent court of arbitration, established by international treaties, rejected Palmer’s claim as it had no jurisdiction over the dispute between a national government and one of its citizens, the attorney general, Michelle Rowland, said on Saturday.

Continue reading...

Trump jokingly asked Rolex executives if tariffs prompted US Open invite, CEO says

Posted on by

Rolex CEO stressed US president’s remarks were made ‘in jest’ in letter to Elizabeth Warren, who had raised concerns

Donald Trump asked Rolex executives if he would have been invited to watch this month’s US Open final from the luxury watchmaker’s VIP box had he imposed steep tariffs on Swiss exports weeks earlier.

The US president’s remarks were made “in jest”, stressed Jean-Frederic Dufour, the Rolex CEO, in a letter to Elizabeth Warren, the US senator who had raised questions about the decision to invite Trump – including whether the conglomerate was seeking to “curry favor” with the administration.

Continue reading...

Abu Dhabi royal family to take stake in TikTok US under Trump deal

Posted on by

MGX, chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will take 15% stake, with social media firm valued at $14bn

The Abu Dhabi royal family is to take a stake in TikTok’s US business after Donald Trump signed an executive order brokering a deal valuing the social media company at $14bn (£10.5bn).

MGX, a fund chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will take a 15% stake and gain a board seat when TikTok US is spun out.

Continue reading...

News live: Marles ‘confident’ about future of US relationship; Australian doctor joins Gaza flotilla

Posted on by

Follow the latest updates live

Parents need boost to lift flagging vaccination rate

Parents need practical strategies such as easier access to appointments and bulk-billing to help reverse a concerning decline in childhood vaccination rates, research has found.

The top barriers were mostly around ability to get appointments easily, being able to prioritise their child’s vaccination over all of the other things that they have to get done, the cost of getting their child vaccinated.

We now know that that will be on the 20th of October. The point here is that they had spoken a number of times by phone. The relationship is conducted at many, many levels. It is going well.

We’ve got the lowest tariff rate. Aukus is happening at a pace. And so we’re really confident … about the progress of our relationship with the US.

Continue reading...

UK government backs return of international rail travel to Kent stations

Posted on by

Ashford and Ebbsfleet have been shut to cross-Channel services since 2020, with Eurostar calling them unviable

Hopes that international rail services could return to UK stations abandoned by Eurostar have grown, with the government backing new competitors who plan to serve stops in Kent.

Ministers have been leaning on the rail regulator to give crucial space on the railway to prospective entrants who pledge to bring cross-Channel services back to Ashford and Ebbsfleet stations – and possibly London’s Stratford International.

Continue reading...

Lisa Cook urges supreme court to reject Trump’s bid to fire her from Fed board

Posted on by

Cook’s lawyers say president’s unprecedented move would destroy Fed’s independence and disrupt financial markets

Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook urged the US supreme court on Thursday to reject Donald Trump’s attempt to fire her, telling the justices the Republican president’s unprecedented move would destroy the central bank’s independence and disrupt financial markets.

Lawyers for Cook filed a written response opposing the justice department’s 18 September emergency request to lift a federal judge’s order that blocked Trump from immediately removing Cook, an appointee of Democratic former president Joe Biden, while her legal challenge continues.

Continue reading...

China has announced its first target to cut emissions in real terms. What does it mean for Australia?

Posted on by

With China accounting for nearly a third of the world’s total emissions, any cuts it achieves will make a substantial difference for the world – and for fossil fuel exports

Anything China does on energy and climate change is very big news. Its plans ripple around the world, whether that’s in changing the demand for fossil fuels or affecting the impacts on the planet from global heating.

On Thursday, Australia woke to the news that China’s president, Xi Jinping, had told the United Nations that for the first time his country was setting a target to cut – in absolute terms – its greenhouse gas emissions.

Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Albanese heads to Trump reception in New York; number of regular gamblers rising

Posted on by

US president berates Australia and others for recognising Palestine, but agrees to Albanese meeting in October. Follow today’s news live

Albanese to make case for US capital to flow to Australian economy

Anthony Albanese and Australia’s ambassador to Washington, Kevin Rudd, are preparing to attend a major investment event in New York in the next few hours.

American capital and Australian manufacturing are a natural fit. And if we move now, we can make them an unbeatable combination. We can put our investment partnership at the centre of a defining global opportunity.

The world’s shift to clean energy represents the biggest change since the industrial revolution. We are looking at ever-increasing global demand for clean energy and the technology that generates and stores it.

Continue reading...

Months before triple zero failure, Optus claimed that giving live updates on outages would impose ‘huge burden’

Posted on by

Telco had resisted new rules that will require greater sharing of information with authorities during outages

Optus claimed it would face a “huge burden” in having to provide real-time updates on emergency call outages to emergency services and the government, just five months before four people died during an Optus triple zero outage.

A 12.30am network firewall upgrade on Thursday last week blocked emergency service calls for Optus customers in South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and parts of New South Wales, with more than 600 calls not able to connect in the 13 hours it was offline.

Continue reading...

London homes 500 metres from station ‘command £42,700 premium over those 1,500 metres away’

Posted on by

Nationwide survey in London, Manchester and Glasgow shows pandemic trends may be reversing as more people return to office

People buying homes in London 500 metres from a tube or railway station pay £42,700 more than buyers of similar properties 1,500 metres away from transport hubs, according to new data.

The figures indicate that despite the reshaping of the housing market sparked by the coronavirus pandemic and dramatic changes to working patterns, the traditional estate agent mantra of “good transport links” continues to wield its power over buyers.

Continue reading...