Category Archives: Business

Dutton says ‘Australia can learn’ from new British PM’s nuclear stance – as it happened

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‘Pretty clear’ Fatima Payman has been planning to join crossbench for a ‘long period’, minister says

The finance minister and manager of the government in the Senate, Katy Gallagher, is speaking with ABC RN after Fatima Payman’s resignation yesterday.

It’s difficult to go into, you know, when the decision was made – only Senator Payman knows that – but we do know, now that it’s been done, it’s a matter of fact that there had been obviously discussions about her role as an independent senator and for some time.

I think the way these decisions have been made by Senator Payman make it pretty clear that she has been thinking about this for a long period of time, and it was executed this week …

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EU brushes aside risk of China trade war over electric vehicle tariffs

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Higher levies on Chinese EV imports to come into force despite carmakers’ fears of retaliation

The EU’s top trade official, Valdis Dombrovskis, has brushed aside concerns of trade-war retaliation from Beijing against European business, after the European Commission imposed duties on Chinese electric vehicles.

Dombrovskis, a European Commission vice-president, told Bloomberg Television that talks with China were ongoing, adding: “We are not seeing the basis for retaliation as what we are conducting is indeed in line with WTO [World Trade Organization] rules.”

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Senator says PM’s office planted seed about crossing floor – as it happened

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Josh Burns says Labor motion to recognise Palestine as part of the peace process is ‘the bare minimum’

Josh Burns finished with:

This motion before the House is the bare minimum. It says that we support the recognition of a Palestinian state as part of a peace process. That peace process is something that I hold onto and that I have held onto my entire life.

That peace process says that we are all people, above all, and that there has to be a way through this. There has to be a way through this conflict. I wish that we could pull a lever here in Australia and it would all end today, but we have seen time and time again that that is not the case.

There are so many intractable parts of this conflict. I have a degree in this conflict, and I still don’t quite know how to fix it.

I know that there are players who are desperate to end the peace process and to try and disturb any efforts towards peace. I know that trees take years and years and years to grow and can be cut down in a second, and that is what the Middle East has demonstrated over and over again.

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NHS leader calls for partnership with private sector to build new hospitals

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Exclusive: NHS Providers head says joining with private health firms and developers would help care backlog

The NHS must be given the green light to partner with private health firms and property developers to build new hospitals to slash the care backlog, a health service boss has said.

The last Labour government was widely criticised over controversial private finance initiative (PFI) deals to erect scores of new NHS facilities that led to vast profits for major corporations.

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EU plan to impose import duty on cheap goods could dent Shein and Temu

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Brussels move to end tax loophole exploited by China-linked marketplaces could also dent Shein’s planned London listing

The EU is moving forward with plans to impose customs duty on cheap goods in a shift that could hit imports from online retailers and harm a hoped-for London listing by the fast-fashion seller Shein.

The potential change comes amid growing disquiet among retailers based in the UK, elsewhere in Europe, and the US about rising competition from Chinese-linked marketplaces Shein and Temu, which exploit a loophole that excludes low-value items from import duty.

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Asic should be split in two after ‘comprehensively’ failing as regulator, parliamentary inquiry finds

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Scathing report says commission’s investigations and decisions are ‘opaque’ and it responded to criticism by managing its own reputation

Australia’s corporate watchdog should be split into two after “comprehensively” failing its role as a regulator, including focusing more on managing its reputation than enforcement action, a parliamentary committee inquiry has found.

The economics committee’s report, released Wednesday, delivers a scathing overview of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (Asic) role in ensuring allegations of corporate misconduct are investigated and punished.

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Australia’s largest online bookseller Booktopia enters voluntary administration

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Insolvency advisers are assessing the business while options for its sale or recapitalisation are explored

Booktopia has entered into voluntary administration, but will continue filling orders and selling to the public under supervision from an insolvency adviser.

Australia’s largest online bookseller announced the move on Wednesday, two weeks after it went into a voluntary suspension of share trading.

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Hawksmoor for sale in deal that could value restaurant chain at £100m

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Investment bank Stephens hired to find suitors for business, which wants to expand overseas operations

The high-end steakhouse chain Hawksmoor has been put up for sale in a deal that could value it at about £100m.

The restaurant chain has hired the investment bank Stephens to start looking for potential suitors for the business, which is hoping to expand its overseas operation.

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Ford chief says Americans need to fall ‘back in love’ with smaller cars

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Jim Farley says country is ‘in love with these monster vehicles’ but big cars are not sustainable in the age of EV

It is time for the US to “get back in love” with smaller cars, according to the chief executive of Ford.

In an wide-ranging interview at the Aspen ideas festival, Jim Farley said the auto industry needs to focus on smaller EVs and commercial vehicles. He acknowledged that American consumers are in “love with these monster vehicles” but said they need to “get back in love” with small cars.

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Australia politics live: Labor caucus endorses Payman suspension; Watt says no plan to ban live cattle exports

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PM calls for ‘a long-term solution in a peace process’ between Israel and Palestine. Follow today’s news headlines live

Shorten says he thinks Labor party is trying to give Senator Payman ‘space and time’

Bill Shorten continues:

I see why people feel so strongly. They can feel so strongly about the hostage is not being returned, or the deaths in Gaza. People could feel also very strongly about the near million deaths in Sudan.

I can get these very incredibly strong issues. And if you come from particular communities, they’re even more intense, although that doesn’t need to be the prerequisite.

Before I deny something, what’s your source?

No, I don’t believe that.

… Because I wasn’t there and I don’t believe it. I actually think the prime minister, Senator Wong and the leadership are handling a complicated issue pretty well.

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Next UK government poised to benefit from fall in inflation and fuel prices

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Pressure on household finances eases as shop price rises slow to 0.2% and petrol costs drop for second month

Britain’s next government is poised to benefit from easing pressure on household finances after a slowdown in inflation in stores and a fall in fuel prices, but costs remain “too expensive” for many families.

Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show that annual UK shop price inflation cooled last month to 0.2%, down from 0.6% in May – the slowest pace since October 2021 – as retailers cut the prices of many of their key products, including butter and coffee.

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Soaring government debt could roil global financial markets, warns BIS head

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Agustín Carstens says world economy on course for ‘smooth landing’ after inflation but political turmoil poses risk

Rising government debt levels could disturb global financial markets, the head of the body that advises central banks said on Sunday before France’s high-stakes parliamentary elections.

Agustín Carstens, the general manager of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), said the world economy was on course for a “smooth landing” from the inflation crisis, but he warned that policymakers, especially politicians, needed to be careful.

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UK and EU horticulture firms warn of harm caused by post-Brexit border delays

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Nursery and garden centre trade bodies write open letter saying problems at border need to be urgently fixed

Nurseries and garden centres across Britain and Europe have warned that new post-Brexit border posts are not working properly and are leading to delays, damage and significant extra costs for importers bringing plants into Britain.

The Horticultural Trade Association, which represents 1,400 garden retailers and growers in the UK, has joined forces with several European trade bodies to write an open letter to call for urgent solutions, warning the new system was adding more than 25% to import costs.

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UK haulage industry calls for investment in electric truck infrastructure

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There are just 300 electric HGVs in the 500,000-strong lorry fleet – and only one public charging point, says RHA

The road haulage industry is calling on the new government to urgently tackle investment in infrastructure for electric trucks, after pointing out there is just one public charging point for HGVs in the whole of the UK.

Takeup of electric cars is soaring, with about 1.1m fully battery-powered cars on British roads and about 63,000 charging units in 33,000 locations, according to Zapmap data.

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Uber and Lyft agree to minimum pay and benefits for Massachusetts drivers

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Ride-share companies sign off on $175m settlement that will give workers paid sick leave and other protections

Uber and Lyft drivers will be guaranteed among the highest wages in the US for ride-share workers under a historic deal agreed with Massachusetts prosecutors.

Andrea Campbell, the state’s attorney general, and the two companies agreed to a $175m settlement Thursday evening that requires a minimum pay floor of $32.50 per hour, and introduces a slew of other benefits and protections that drivers didn’t already have.

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Journalists refused entry to Azerbaijan energy conference ahead of Cop29

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Incident reignites concerns over crackdown on media before crucial UN climate talks in Baku later this year

Western journalists were refused entry to an energy industry conference in Azerbaijan earlier this month, reigniting concerns over the state’s crackdown on the media ahead of crucial UN climate talks in Baku later this year.

At least three journalists from the UK and France have told the Guardian that they felt “unsafe” after they were denied entry to the Baku Energy Week forum, despite registering with the event organisers weeks in advance.

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Debt collection giant Panthera puts large parts of its business into administration

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A Guardian Australia investigation has revealed Panthera had circumvented blacklisting designed to stop it operating in Victoria

Major private debt collector Panthera Finance has appointed new directors and put parts of the company into administration as it seeks to sell off its scandal-plagued business.

Last month, Guardian Australia revealed Panthera, one of the country’s biggest private debt collection firms, had circumvented a blacklisting designed to stop it from operating in Victoria and continued to strike debt purchase deals within weeks of regulatory warnings.

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Election betting scandal revealed the niche market of political gambling in UK

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Though the betting often interests few outside Westminster, leaders must be clear on where opportunity for impropriety really lies

Until the past few weeks, online casinos and bookmakers have made handy villains for an under-pressure government.

Ministers could legitimately claim to be cleaning up Labour’s mess with reforms that partially roll back the permissive regulatory regime ushered in under Tony Blair.

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Post Office scandal: ex-Fujitsu engineer accused of ‘hiding’ IT problems

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Lawyers acting for victims of Horizon IT scandal accuse Gareth Jenkins of protecting ‘out of control monster’

A former Fujitsu engineer has been accused by a lawyer acting for victims of the Post Office scandal of “hiding” problems with the Horizon IT system to protect the “out of control monster”, a public inquiry heard.

Gareth Jenkins, formerly a senior engineer at Fujitsu, which developed the Horizon IT system, faced tough questioning by lawyers acting for post office operators caught up in the scandal, which has been described as one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in recent history.

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Tobacco giant accused of ‘manipulating science’ to attract non-smokers

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Leaked documents from Philip Morris reveal ‘secret’ strategy to market its heated tobacco product IQOS

The tobacco company Philip Morris International has been accused of “manipulating science for profit” through funding research and advocacy work with scientists.

Campaigners say that leaked documents from PMI and its Japanese affiliate also reveal plans to target politicians, doctors and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as part of the multinational’s marketing strategy to attract non-smokers to its heated tobacco product, IQOS.

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