Talking Business
by RMIT University
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Description
'Talking Business' is a weekly review of the Australian economy, featuring interviews with prominent business leaders and expert analysis from RMIT academics. The series is produced by experienced journalists Leon Gettler and Gary Barker, and sponsored by the College of Business at RMIT University. Each weekly episode consists of three segments: Part A: an interview with a leading figure in business (Australian mostly, but also visitors from overseas) Part B: and an examination with an economist of the latest significant Australian Bureau of Statistics figures Part C: a review of the week in business. Music used in 'Talking Business' is produced by Melbourne musician Leo Dale.
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Talking Business 2012 - Ep01 | Leon and Garry discuss how Treasurer Wayne Swan says this year will be at least as tough for the domestic economy as 2011, but Australians should remain optimistic. But a survey shows one in three CFOs is worried about the economy, the broader mood among executives remains subdued and the Future Fund invests in cash as it prepares to wait out a long period of ''subdued economic growth''. ABS figures show Australia’s housing sector is expected to remain soft for a while longer and the Aussie dollar rises to a three month high. Deloitte research shows that Australia’s two-speed economy is about to become further polarised as the investment boom above the "Brisbane Line" moves into overdrive. The banks are under pressure with a report finding that Australian bankers are among the most anxious in the world with a report finding that regulations are saddling them with extra costs and forcing them to change their products and business models and a slowdown in Australia's housing market starting to strain bank balance sheets. All eyes will be on the banks to see if they cut rates next week if the RBA lowers rates. The Federal Government has called for a superannuation roundtable. A study finds that one third of Australian workers plan to return to their studies in order to get a leg up the career ladder. Australia's richest person, mining billionaire Gina Rinehart, has swooped on Fairfax, making her the media group's biggest shareholder at 14.8 per cent and Forbes says she is set to become the richest woman in the world. Sleep disorder equipment supplier ResMed Inc has suffered a first half profit fall but Origin Energy Ltd lifts its first-half revenue by five per cent despite lower production and sales volumes. The price war between supermarket chains began with discounted milk, but it is set to continue its expansion to other goods, with Wesfarmers Ltd-owned Coles announcing that it will cut the cost of selected fruits and vegetables by as much as 50 per cent. Woolworths is beefing up its board with retail experience. Woolworths’ first half sales rise 5 per cent to $29.7 billion but it plans to shut down 100 Dick Smith stores. Coles reports a 7.3 per cent rise in sales and Metcash is set to make a return appearance before the ACCC. In a blow to Telstra, the AFL and NRL, Optus wins the right to record and transmit free to air television over the Internet for consumers. Meanwhile, job losses continue. Telstra, Holden, BHP and Westpac plan to cut hundreds of jobs and Dettol and Mortein will stop production in Australia. Tesltra warns that the NBN strategy could result in price hikes. The Australian Agricultural Company has reported earnings of $58 million before tax, up 40 per cent on last year. Chinese interests are in talks to acquire up to 25 per cent of the massive Browse liquefied natural gas project, as Woodside Petroleum attempts to sell down a chunk of its equity. | 2/5/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Lecture - Intro by Margaret Gardner AO - Vice Chancellor at RMIT University | Professor Margaret Gardner is the Vice Chancellor at RMIT University. She is also the President of the Museum Board of Victoria, Chair of the Australian Technology Network, Chair of the Education Advisory Group of the Council for Australia-Latin America Relations and Director of the Australian Teaching and Learning Council. Previously she was the Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Queensland. Professor Gardner has an Bachelor of Economics (Hons.) from University of Sydney, a Doctor of Philosophy on Industrial Relations, and was awarded a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship and studied in the US at the University of California, Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Cornell University. | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 7-3 - Dr Ziggy Switkowski, Chancellor, RMIT University | 7-3 - Dr Ziggy Switkowski, Chancellor, RMIT University | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 7-2 - Dr John Edwards - Board Members, Reserve Bank of Australia | 7-2 - Dr John Edwards - Board Members, Reserve Bank of Australia Dr. John Edwards is a Visiting Fellow at the Lowy Institute, an Adjunct Professor at Curtin University, and a member of the Board of the Reserve Bank of Australia. From 2009 to 2011 he was Director for Economic Planning and Development for the Economic Development Board of the Kingdom of Bahrain. From 1997 to 2009 Dr. Edwards was Chief Economist for HSBC Australia and New Zealand. Before this he was the principal economic adviser to the Treasurer and then Prime Minister, Paul Keating. A journalist in his early career, Dr. Edwards was the Sydney Morning Herald’s correspondent in Washington, DC. He has published four books and holds a Ph.D. in economics from George Washington University. | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 7-1 - Richard Martin - Managing Director - IMA Asia | 7-1 - Richard Martin - Managing Director - IMA Asia Richard Martin is the Managing Director of International Market Assessment, an advisory firm that runs an Asia CEO Forum in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore; an India country program in six cities in India; an Asia Program in Australia and supports country CEO programs in other Asian economies. He has been advising MNCs on the business environment in Asia since 1981 when he joined the Hong Kong office of Business International (BI). Following The Economist Group’s acquisition of BI he was the EIU director for Southeast Asia from 1985 before founding IMA in 1990. He is based in Singapore and is a graduate of University of Sydney (Asian politics), SOAS and LSE (Southeast Asia Area Studies). | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 7-0 Key Messages and conclusions - Alan Oxley, Chairman, Australian APEC Study Centre | 7-0 Key Messages and conclusions - Alan Oxley, Chairman, Australian APEC Study Centre | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 6-0 The State of Australia's Competitiveness - qanda | 6-0 The State of Australia's Competitiveness - qanda | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 6-3 - James Bond - President, Australian Services Roundtable | 6-3 - James Bond - President, Australian Services Roundtable James Bond is the President of the Australian Services Roundtable, the only dedicated wholeof-services industry organisation in Australia. Its members include providers of financial services, legal, professional services, architects, information technology and education. Mr. Bond is also the Chief Economist at the Financial Services Council. During his tenure at the Council, James has been responsible for broad national economic policy issues including: national tax policy; population growth; climate change; adequate retirement incomes; infrastructure; and labour force participation. Prior to joining the Australian Services Roundtable, James was Government Relations Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Senior Advisor to then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and an Economist in Macroeconomic Group at Commonwealth Treasury. James holds a Bachelor of Economics with Honours from the Australian National University. | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 6-2 - Mike Woods, Deputy Chairman, Productivity Commission | 6-2 - Mike Woods, Deputy Chairman, Productivity Commission Mike Woods is currently the Deputy Chairman of the Productivity Commission. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Developing Cities at the University of Canberra, the Australian Government’s Commissioner for Competitive Neutrality and a Commissioner on the Education and Training Workforce Schools study. Previously, Mr. Woods was Chair of the Financial Reform Implementation Committee for the China Australia Governance Program and the Secretary of the Treasury for the Australian Capital Territory. He has also been a member of the Australian Statistical Advisory Council and Chair of the Government Sector Finance Task Force for the Securities Institute of Australia. | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 6-1 - Gary Bowditch, CEO, SMART Infrastructure, University of Wollongong | 6-1 - Gary Bowditch, CEO, SMART Infrastructure, University of Wollongong Gary Bowditch is the CEO of the SMART Infrastructure Facility at the University of Wollongong. Prior to this, he was the Founding Executive Director of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia. Mr. Bowditch is currently an Expert Panel Member of the Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortia at Oxford University; Board Member of the Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network at the University of Melbourne and Member of the University of Wollongong Research Council. He is also an adviser to Infrastructure NSW, and is an appointed Australian member of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council. Mr. Bowditch was previously a senior executive with DFAT. He has served as Australia’s Export Credit Trade and Finance representative at the OECD. He holds an MBA from Macquarie and an Honours degree in Economics from the University of Wollongong. | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 6-0 The State of Australia's Competitiveness - Mark Johnson AO, Member, ABAC Australia | 6-0 The State of Australia's Competitiveness - Mark Johnson AO, Member, ABAC Australia Mark Johnson AO, is one of the Prime Minister's three Australian representatives on the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). Mr. Johnson was appointed as a non-executive Director of Westfield Holdings Limited in 2010, and is a senior advisor for Gresham Partners in Sydney and Chairman of Alinta Energy and the Australian Government's Australian Financial Centre Task Force. Mr. Johnson is also a member of the Board of Governors of the Institute for International Trade at the University of Adelaide. He has previously held senior roles in Macquarie Bank before retiring as Deputy Chairman in 2007. He holds a degree in law from the University of Melbourne and an MBA from Harvard University. | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 5 The cost of transacting trade qanda | 5 - qanda | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 5-3 - Management at the border - Dr Hermione Parsons, Director, Institute for Supply Chain a | 5-3 - Management at the border - Dr Hermione Parsons, Director, Institute for Supply Chain and Logistics, Victoria University Dr. Hermione Parsons is the Director of the Institute for Supply Chain and Logistics at Victoria University. She is a Member of the Victorian Freight and Logistics Council and its Transport and Logistics Workplace Advisory Group. In addition Dr. Parsons chairs the Transport and Logistics Curriculum Management Board and at Victoria University leads the Transport and Logistics Education, Research and Industry Cluster. Prior to joining Victoria University in 2009, Dr. Parsons held leadership and executive management positions at the Port of Melbourne Corporation and the Victorian Government’s Department of Innovation Industry and Regional Development. Dr. Parsons holds a Ph.D., Bachelor of Arts (Hons) and a Diploma of Education. | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 5-2 - Tackling Australia's uncompetitive supply-chain - Jeff Rae, Chief Economist, ITS Globa | 5-2 - Tackling Australia's uncompetitive supply-chain - Jeff Rae, Chief Economist, ITS Global Jeffrey Rae is the Chief Economist at ITS Global Asia-Pacific. He has more than three decades of experience in policy analysis and advice involving a wide range of domestic and international issues. Prior to moving into private consultancy, Mr. Rae was a Senior Executive with the Australian Government. As such he worked in the Department of Finance, the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, the Department of Primary Industries and Energy and served as a Commissioner in the (then) Industry Commission. He also spent extended periods on secondment to the New Zealand Treasury and the OECD. In the latter role he supervised progress on agricultural trade liberalisation. He holds a Bachelor of Economics from ANU and is a member of the American Economic Association. | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 5-1 - Liquidity access to improve exports - James Hogan, Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC Au | 5-1 - Liquidity access to improve exports - James Hogan, Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC Australia James Hogan is Head of Commercial Banking for HSBC in Australia. With more than 20 years of experience with HSBC, Mr Hogan has served in a variety of positions in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Europe and the United States. Prior to assuming his current role, he held the position of CEO for HSBC Iraq. Before that, he served as Executive Vice President for HSBC USA, responsible for HSBC’s Commercial Banking businesses in North America. During his career, he has held senior positions in Global Transaction Banking, Commercial Banking, Global Banking and Markets, Operations, and Strategic Planning. Mr Hogan is Irish and grew up in Dublin where he earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University College. He is also a graduate of the London Business School. | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 5-0 - The cost of transacting trade - Tony Pensabene, Director of Policy and research, Depar | 5-0 - The cost of transacting trade - Tony Pensabene, Director of Policy and research, Department of Business and Innovation, Victorian Government Tony Pensabene is Director of Policy and Research at the Victorian Department of Business and Innovation (DBI). Prior to joining DBI in October 2009, Tony was employed as Associate Director of Economics and Research at the Australian Industry Group. His experience in economics and policy cover a wide range of disciplines, including industry policy, innovation, intergovernment relations, labour market programs, media policy, health services, aged care and post-arrival programs. This includes engagement in ten major policy reviews for the Federal and Victorian Governments. Mr. Pensabene has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University of New South Wales and a research Master’s Degree in Economics from Monash University. He has authored a book on the economics of the medical profession and has published widely on a range of policy issues. | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 4-2 Dr Sinclair Davidson, Professor of Institutional Economics, RMIT University | 4-2 Dr Sinclair Davidson, Professor of Institutional Economics, RMIT University Dr. Sinclair Davidson is Professor of Institutional Economics at RMIT University and a senior fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs. His opinion pieces have been published in The Age, The Australian, Australian Financial Review, Sydney Morning Herald, and Wall Street Journal Asia. Dr. Davidson has also published in academic journals such as the European Journal of Political Economy, Review of Political Economy, Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organization and the Cato Journal. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hon), Master of Commerce (Wits) and holds a Ph.D. in Economics from RMIT University. | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 4-1 - Paul Howes, National Secretary, The Australian Workers Union | 4.1 Paul Howes, National Secretary, The Australian Workers Union - Trade in a Two-Speed Economy Paul Howes is currently the National Secretary of the Australian Workers Union (AWU). Mr. Howes is a member of the National Executive of the Australian Labor Party and represents the Asia-Pacific Region as a member of the Executive Committee of the International Metalworkers' Federation. He is also the Vice President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and a director of AustralianSuper. He is also a director of the National Workforce and Productivity Development Agency, a director of The McKell Institute and a member of a number of Government Boards. Mr. Howes has previously held other positions within the AWU including as an official and as National Vice President. | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 4-0 Trade in a Two-Speed Economy - Professor Peter Lloyd, International Economics, Universit | 4-0 Trade in a Two-Speed Economy - Professor Peter Lloyd, International Economics, University of Melbourne Professor Peter Lloyd graduated with a Ph.D. from Duke University in 1962. His areas of study are International Economics and Microeconomic Theory. Professor Lloyd worked as a Lecturer/ Senior Lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington, 1962-65, Assistant/Associate Professor at Michigan State University, 1965-68 and Senior Research Fellow/Senior Fellow/Professorial Fellow at the Australian National University, 1969-83. He joined the Department of Economics at The University of Melbourne in 1983 and in 1995 was appointed Ritchie Professor of Economics. In 2003 he became Professor Emeritus in the Department of Economics. | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - Lunch Panel discussion | Lunch Panel discussion | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - Lunch Session - Moderator- Terry McCrann - associate editor-business Herald Sun, columnist T | Lunch Session - Moderator- Terry McCrann - associate editor-business Herald Sun, columnist The Australian Terry McCrann is currently the associate editor business for the Herald Sun magazine. He is also a contributor to The Weekend Australian and is syndicated across the Telegraph Mirror in Sydney, Brisbane’s Courier Mail, the Adelaide Advertiser and the Hobart Mercury. Mr. McCrann was previously the Business editor at The Age. He is a former Graham Perkin Journalist of the year, Financial Journalist of the year, has been twice winner of the Melbourne Press Club’s Golden Quill Award, and is also a Walkley Award winner. Mr. McCrann holds an Honours Degree in Economics from Monash University. | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - L2 - Australia and the European downturn - Dr Ed Shann, Director, Prime Value Asset Manageme | L2 - Australia and the European downturn - Dr Ed Shann, Director, Prime Value Asset Management Dr. Ed Shann is a Director of Prime Value Asset Management. He was a director of Access Economics during the nineties until his retirement in 2000. He is a regular participant in the media and previously wrote the Economist Column in the BRW. Dr. Shann was formerly Research Director of the Business Council of Australia and Chief Economist at Shell (Australia) in the eighties. He worked in the seventies and early eighties as an economist in the Federal Treasury and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, including periods at the International Monetary Fund and as a Research Fellow at ANU. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He Holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Cambridge. | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - L1 - Regulatory trends in financial markets - John Trowbridge, Centre for International Fina | L1 - Regulatory trends in financial markets - John Trowbridge, Centre for International Finance and Regulation John Trowbridge is the Director of the Centre for International Finance and Regulation. He was also up until recently the Chairman of the Natural Disaster Insurance Review. He was previously an Executive Member of the Australian Prudential and Regulation Authority (APRA) between 2006 and 2010 and was appointed to APRA after a distinguished career in the actuarial profession and in the insurance industry, holding consulting, executive and director roles. | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 3 Q and A - Part 2 | Australia’s Trade Outlook - Q and A - Part 2 Stephen Somogyi, Chief Operating Officer, RMIT University | 1/8/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 3.4 - Australia’s Trade Outlook - Manufacturing | 3.4 - Australia’s Trade Outlook - Manufacturing Rob Sindel joined CSR April 2008 as Executive General Manager of CSR Lightweight Systems. In October 2009 appointed CEO of CSR Building Products. Formerly the managing director of Civil & Marine (UK), a subsidiary of the global building materials company, Hanson, now part of the Heidelberg Cement Group. Rob has also held the position of commercial trading director for Hanson Aggregates (UK). Previously Rob was with Pioneer Australia, where he worked for over 13 years. A member of the UNSW Australian School of Business Advisory Council and a member of the Australian Business and Community Network Council, a not for profit organisation, working on mentoring and coaching programs with schools in areas of high need. Rob was appointed to the board of CSR as an executive director December 2010 and managing director January 2011. | 1/8/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 3.3 - Australia’s Trade Outlook - Agriculture | 3.3 - Australia’s Trade Outlook - Agriculture Philip Gentry is currently the Managing Director of Agrium Asia Pacific. He was previously the Chief Financial Officer from 2008 to 2010 at the AWB after serving as their Head of Strategy and M&A before its acquisition by Agrium. Prior to working at the AWB, Mr. Gentry held several positions at the ANZ Bank including Head of Investor Relations and Global Head of International Trade and Finance. Mr. Gentry holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of New South Wales, an MBA from the International Institute for Management Development, and completed the Executive Program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Mr. Gentry is also a graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon. | 1/8/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 3.2 - Australia’s Trade Outlook - Minerals | 3.2 - Minerals Brendan Pearson is currently the Deputy Chief Executive of the Minerals Council of Australia. He was formerly the Assistant Secretary for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade between 2006 and 2007. Prior to that, Mr. Pearson was the Japan and Korea correspondent for the Australian Financial Review. He was also a Counsellor at the Australian Embassy in Washington D.C. Mr. Pearson holds a Master of Philosophy from the University of Cambridge. | 1/8/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 3.1 - Australia’s Trade Outlook - Services | 3.1 - Australia’s Trade Outlook - Services Stephen Somogyi is the Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Resources at RMIT University, Melbourne. He has extensive experience in the financial services and health care industries, including 27 years with National Mutual and as an Executive Member of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority for 3 years to June 2006. He holds a Master of Science from the University of Melbourne in Physics and a Master of Science from the Massachusetts Institution of Technology in Management. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia. Mr. Somogyi is a Commissioner of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission, and Director of OnePath Australia, Guild Group, VERNet and RMIT Foundation. | 1/8/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 3.0 - Australia’s Trade Outlook | 3.0 - Australia’s Trade Outlook Bruce Kean AM is a former CEO of Boral Ltd. Other senior appointments include Chairman of the Oil Company of Australia Ltd, Director of AMP Ltd, Director of the Australian Submarine Corporation, Director of Capral Aluminium Ltd, Director of Pirelli Cables (Australia) Ltd, and Director of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Australia Ltd. He was Chairman of CEDA from 1994 to 2002. Mr. Kean has also served on a number of Industry and Government Committees. He was a member of the Prime Ministers Economic and Planning Advisory Committee, a member of the Australian Committee of the American Bureau of Shipping, and Chairman of the International Relations and Trade Committee of BCA. He is a recipient of The Order of Australia for Service to Industry and the Sir John Allison Award for achievements in Export and Trade. | 1/8/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 2.3 - If Doha can’t deliver what can? | 2.3 - If Doha can’t deliver what can? Peter Gallagher is a specialist consultant who provides analysis and advice on international trade, public policy and business communications to food companies, industry organisations and government agencies. Previously, Mr. Gallagher was the head of the Australian Dairy Industry Council and taught at the Business School of the University of Melbourne. Mr. Gallagher was also a Diplomat with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He is the author of numerous publications on international trade issues and has participated in several trade capacity-building projects in developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region. He holds a Bacheolor Degree in Philosophy from the University of Sydney and a Masters of Law from the Australian National University. | 1/8/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 2.2 - Australia’s trade and investment performance in Asia | 2.2 - Australia’s trade and investment performance in Asia John W.H. Denton is currently the Chief Executive Officer at Corrs Chambers Westgarth. He is also the Chairman of the Global Engagement Task Force within the Business Council of Australia, and one of three Australian representatives to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). He is also the chairman of ABAC’s Finance and Economics Working Group, and chairman of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees Australia. Mr. Denton was previously a specialist adviser on public international law in DFAT’s Legal Division and worked specifically at the United Nations New York, and participated extensively in UNCTAD related activities. Mr. Denton has Bachelor Degrees in Arts (Hons.) and Law from the University of Melbourne, and is a Harvard Business School alumnus. | 1/8/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 2.1 - Drivers of Chinese investment | 2.1 - Drivers of Chinese investment John Larum is a company director and economic consultant who contributes to the Lowy Institute. Mr. Larum worked at UBS for 14 years in a range of positions including as chief economist for the Australia division, and later as President of the China Business. Prior to working at UBS, he worked at the Commonwealth Treasury in areas of forecasting, capital markets and structural policy. He has also been a Treasury Representative to New York. Mr. Larum holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales, a Masters of Economics from the Australian National University and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. | 1/8/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 2.0 - Drivers of Regional Trade - Intro | Drivers of Regional Trade - Intro Rowan Callick is the Asia-Pacific editor of The Australian. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) from Exeter University and then worked in PNG for ten years, becoming general manager of a publishing and printing company. Shifting to Australia, he worked for The AFR for almost 20 years, including four years as its Hong Kong based China correspondent. He joined The Australian in 2006, working as its Beijing based China correspondent until 2009, when he returned to Australia. He has won two Walkley awards for Asia-Pacific coverage, for 1997 and 2007, and the Graham Perkin Award for Australian Journalist of the Year, for 1995. Mr. Callick is the author of “Comrades and Capitalists: Hong Kong since the handover” (UNSW Press). | 1/8/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Lecture - The Hon Dr. Craig Emerson, Australia's Minister for Trade | 2011 APEC Lecture The Hon Dr. Craig Emerson, Australia's Minister for Trade Craig Emerson was elected to Parliament in 1998. After the 2010 Federal election he was appointed the Minister for Trade. Prior to that, he had portfolio responsibility for small business, competition policy, consumer affairs and deregulation. Craig holds a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) Degree from the University of Sydney, a Master of Economics Degree from the University of Sydney and a PhD in Economics from The Australian National University. He has been a Post-Doctoral Fellow at The Australian National University and has around 20 publications to his name, including a book setting out a vision and plan for Australia's future. Since becoming a Parliamentarian, Craig has had more than 80 opinion pieces published in national newspapers. Professionally, Craig has been Secretary of a Queensland Government Department, CEO of a Queensland Statutory Authority, an Assistant Secretary in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and an Economic Analyst at the United Nations. Craig was a Senior Policy Adviser to former Prime Minister Bob Hawke and earlier, to Finance Minister Peter Walsh. He was Mr Hawke's adviser on trade policy, microeconomic reform and the environment. In addition to his more than 25 years of public policy work, Craig has successfully run his own small business. Craig's other interests include Rugby Union and Rugby League and he still plays a few games for the Parliamentary Rugby Union Team. | 1/8/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 93c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry discuss how Australian banks are planning worst-case scenarios in the event of a European Union bust-up. Analysts are paring back their profit growth forecasts for the banks. A taskforce will look at the tax threshold on online purchases. Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson warns that achieving the promised budget surplus in the next financial year will be hard. An NAB survey shows a rise in business conditions. Consumer sentiment slumps, new car sales ease, JB HiFi warns of a 5 per cent drop in earnings and 61 Fletcher Jones employees to lose their jobs. AMP sells a 15 per cent stake to a Japanese company in a $425 million deal that continues the group's push into Asia. Hedge funds now control more than half of Nine Entertainment's $2.7 billion in senior debt. Gina Rinehart, joins the Ten Network Holdings board. Treasurer Wayne Swan sets the clock ticking on plans to give tax relief to loss-making companies. Mining companies Aston Resources and Whitehaven Coal merge to form Australia's largest independent ASX-listed coal company. Qantas Airways is in talks on setting up a premium airline in Asia. The number of home loans expands for a seventh month, fanning hopes that the housing market will improve but housing starts fall 6.8 per cent. The value of personal finance rises 5.2 per cent and commercial loans soar 16.5 per cent. Australia's resource and energy exports are expected to be worth a record $206 billion in 2011/12, 15 per cent up on the previous year. Australia’s corporate bond market will be thrown open to "mum and dad" investors under Federal Government proposals. Telstra plans to release a subscription service next year letting customers stream video games directly to their T-Box. News Ltd chief operating officer Peter Macourt is leaving the media company. China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec) increases its stake in Origin Energy Ltd and US giant Conoco Phillips' Australia Pacific liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. Wesfarmers will slash the value of its Coregas industrial gas arm before a possible sale of the business. Prime Minister Julia Gillard appoints Greg Combet to take charge of the steel industry rescue package, Kim Carrr is out and Bill Shorten takes over Workplace Relations. Hong Kong investment group Wah Nam International says it wants to buy the 44 per cent share in Brockman Resources it doesn’t already own. Former Gunns Ltd executive chairman John Gay appears in the Launceston Magistrates Court on two counts of insider trading. The Federal Government urges states to privatise power with a report calling on states and territories to deregulate their energy markets. Construction contracting group Watpac Ltd tips a substantial lift in net profit for the full year. Generation Y is more financially savvy than they are given credit for, research shows. Rio Tinto Ltd is free to launch a takeover bid for Canada's Ivanhoe Mines. Orica resumes production of ammonium nitrate at Kooragang Island after the plant was shut down in November following a chemical leak. CHAMP Private equity buys oOh!media for $163 million. ATO figures show the self-managed superannuation fund sector grew twice as fast as any other super asset over the last five years. James Packer says Consolidated Press Holdings won't be getting back into free-to-air television. Amcor and VISY finally come through with $97 million in settlement payments over price fixing. AXA Asia Pacific chief executive Andy Penn becomes Telstra’s CFO. The nation's biggest gas pipeline group, APA, makes a long-awaited $1.8 billion tilt at its main rival, Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund. Shares in junior coal explorer ZYL jump almost 30 per cent. The Queensland government announces the go-ahead of another giant new coal port. Rogue liquidators are put on notice after the government announces new laws to protect creditors from misconduct by corporate undertakers. Bega Cheese takes over Tatura Milk Industries. | 12/15/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 93b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson reviews economics for 2011 and makes predictions for 2012. | 12/15/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 93a - Talking Business | Ron Santiago is the Chief Executive in Australia of Europcar, one of the largest vehicle rental companies in the world. He discusses the opportunities for car rental in Australia and some of the challenges ahead. | 12/15/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 92c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry discuss how the Reserve Bank has cut interest rates for the second consecutive month and banks passing it on. Standard & Poor's has warned it could downgrade the triple-A rating of the eurozone debt rescue fund, a day after nearly all governments of the monetary union were given a similar notice. The current account deficit has fallen 15.4 per cent to $5.64 billion in the September quarter in seasonally adjusted terms. Company profits soared to a record high in the year to September. Australia's construction industry continues to decline in November but at a slower pace. The unemployment rate has risen to 5.3 per cent. The ANZ job advertisement series is flat. Australia's big four banks are downgraded by Standard and Poor's. Business confidence falls as worries grow that the European financial crisis will worsen. Australia's services sector continues to contract in November as frugal households save more. Clothing retailer Fletcher Jones is placed in administration. But according to a new forecast by Australia’s leading online commerce enablers, PayPal, eBay and Australia Post, we are set for the busiest ever online shopping week. Hedge funds are set to have a tilt at the Nine Network. The TD Securities-Melbourne Institute monthly inflation index fell 0.1 per cent in November, following a rise of 0.1 per cent in October and September. The Federal Court of Australia has ruled that a class action for overcharging against the ANZ can proceed. Labor has backed union calls to strengthen the Qantas Sales Act. Rio Tinto is to press the Canadian government to allow it to be the operator of its recently acquired high-grade Roughrider uranium deposit in Saskatchewan. Rio Tinto has shipped its 100 millionth tonne of iron ore from the Pilbara to Baosteel under its Bao-HI joint venture. Whitehaven Coal and Aston Resources are negotiating a $4.7 billion merger to create a Gunnedah Basin focused coal group. A massive hole in the federal budget to the tune of $20 billion will become a game-changer for business and company directors as the government uses legislation to enhance the powers of the ATO to grab billions of dollars in extra tax revenue to plug its holes. Finger scanners are being used to monitor workers' hours and lunch breaks. The ABC has been awarded a permanent contract for the federal government's Australia Network broadcasting service. AiG chief executive Heather Ridout joins the RBA board. APN News & Media Ltd expects its second half result to be weaker than last year. The competition watchdog has abandoned its quest to stop the Metcash purchase of the Franklins grocery chain. Virgin Australia's domestic passenger numbers surge by 7.4 per cent in October. Aquila Resources secures WA Government environmental approval for its West Pilbara iron ore project. Almost 500 companies and individuals were convicted in the September quarter for taxation and superannuation offences, an increase of 20%, and 12 people were sentenced to jail. Heavy rains and a dramatic rise in the number of household solar energy panels have helped to boost Australia's renewable energy production in the past financial year. Sales of locally made family cars slump by more than a third last month. Five Japanese power companies have committed to buying $70 billion of liquefied natural gas from Australia. Seven Group Holdings Ltd takes over National Hire Ltd. An Australian businessman, Matthew Ng, has been sentenced in China to 13 years in jail for embezzlement. News Limited is fighting a decision by the ATO to disallow more than $2 billion in alleged currency exchange losses. BHP Billiton has raised gas production at Petrohawk by 12 per cent. Brisbane’s XXXX brewery workers will take industrial action. The resource boom has delivered Western Australia the fastest quarterly state growth ever recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Foster’s loses its chief executive. CPAS want to improve the reporting of super funds. | 12/8/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 92b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson talks about Australia’s GDP figures, rising unemployment, the RBA’s decision to cut rates and the European crisis. | 12/8/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 92a - Talking Business | Rick Hooper is the CEO of a slightly extraordinary Australian company called Barefoot Power which is dedicated to providing essential, low-cost electrical power to undeveloped countries. As Mr Hooper says: “We are a social enterprise that focuses on providing affordable lighting and phone charging products specifically for low income populations that do not have access to electricity. We believe that energy access is one of the key building blocks of economic development and the first step to alleviate energy poverty. Thus our first area of focus is on the most basic need for clean and affordable lighting. To achieve this, our designs, manufactures and distributes micro-solar lighting and phone charging products that have been designed to target communities in developing countries.” | 12/8/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 1 - Q and A | Drivers of Global Trade - Q&A | 12/4/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 1.3 European impacts on trade and development | Dr. John Edwards is a Visiting Fellow at the Lowy Institute, an Adjunct Professor at Curtin University, and a member of the Board of the Reserve Bank of Australia. From 2009 to 2011 he was Director for Economic Planning and Development for the Economic Development Board of the Kingdom of Bahrain. From 1997 to 2009 Dr. Edwards was Chief Economist for HSB Australia and New Zealand. Before this he was the principal economic adviser to the Treasurer and then Prime Minister, Paul Keating. A journalist in his early career, Dr. Edwards was the Sydney Morning Herald's correspondent in Washington, DC. He has published four books and holds a Ph.D. in economics from George Washington University. | 12/4/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 1.2 - Impact of the GFC on global minerals trade | 1.2 Impact of the GFC on global minerals trade Melinda Moore, Principal Consultant, CleanUP Commodities, London Melinda Moore is Principal for CleanUP Commodities, a trade consultancy, offering market analytical services and modelling across the metal sectors. Ms. Moore previously coordinated the Commodities view for Credit Suisse's global mining equity practice and before then, inside BHP Billiton's Market Analysis team. Ms. Moore has been commentating on global steel, mining & energy trade for the past 10 years, across Australia, China, Singapore and London. She speaks regularly at industry conferences and is keenly sought after by international media and investors for her views. Her extensive global contact network and time in China/India provide her with a strong backdrop for understanding the urbanisation/industrialisation trends feeding the commodity cycle. She holds a Bachelor Economics (Hons.) degree from Monash University. | 12/4/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture - 1.0 - Drivers of Global Trade | 1-0 - Ken Waller - Director - Australian APEC Study Centre Ken Waller is the Director of the Australian APEC Study Centre. Mr. Waller spent nearly 30 years at the Australian Treasury. During that time he served as: Minister (Financial), at the Australian Embassy in Beijing and as Minister (Treasury) at the High Commission, London; Assistant Secretary responsible for Australia's relations with the IMF, World Bank, ADB and the EBRD; Executive Director on the Board of the ADB, Manila; and Assistant Secretary, Banking and Finance. He joined the Colonial Group in 1998 as Group Economic Advisor, a position he held until 2006. Mr. Waller graduated from London University with a B.Sc.(Econ.) and is also an Honorary Professor at Zhongnan University of Finance and Economics. | 12/4/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2011 APEC Conference and Lecture Preview | Conference Preview - Alan Oxley - Chairman - Australian APEC Study Centre Alan Oxley is Chairman of the Australian APEC Study Centre, and is Managing Director of a leading public policy & trade consultancy, ITS Global Asia-Pacific. He is a former Ambassador of Australia to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and a former Chairman of the GATT. He played a key role in creating the coalition of agricultural exporters, the Cairns Group. Mr. Oxley is also a Senior Fellow at the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) and is the founder and Chairman of World Growth, a pro-growth NGO based in the United States. He is a regular commentator in international media on governmental and multilateral activities. Mr. Oxley holds a Bachelor Degree (Hons.) in Asian Politics from Monash University. | 12/4/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 91c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry discuss the Government’s spending cuts to deliver a $1.5 billion surplus. The federal government has retrospectively reversed laws passed in July 2010 which entitled companies to massive tax refunds in mergers. Expectations of interest rate cuts are running high, capital investment in mining soars, business investment surges by the most in 16 years and ratings agency Fitch upgrades Australia's key credit rating to AAA from AA+. The OECD says Australia’s economic growth will accelerate to the fastest rate in the developed world. The Australian Taxation Office is caught up in more than $8 billion worth of tax disputes, a $2bn increase on last financial year. Wayne Swan plans to meet with bankers, regulators and other market participants to discuss strengthening Australia's corporate bond market. Pressure is mounting on the Federal Government to axe the Gold Pass for former MPs. The heads of BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd say they may be forced to review their expansion plans as Europe's debt crisis threatens to smash global growth and freeze credit markets. BHP Billiton's senior management is to undergo its first significant change in 4½ years of leadership by chief executive Marius Kloppers. BHP Billiton is reviewing its diamonds business in Canada's far north. Rio Tinto has revealed plans to expand its flagship iron ore operations in Western Australia. Qantas expects its first-half underlying pre-tax profit to drop by up to 66 per cent as a result of increased fuel costs and the impact of industrial action. Virgin Australia says the move to a new reservations and booking system make it easier to look after frequent flyers and reduce duplication. Food manufacturers are negotiating with the Federal Government to make it illegal for Coles and Woolworths to mimic the packaging of branded products for their private label lines. The peak retail industry body warns of a Christmas devoid of cheer, with end of season sales forecasted to grow below inflation. Harvey Norman isn't expecting a wonderful Christmas season after consumer electronics sales copped a hiding in 2011 and Gerry Harvey warns he might stop advertising in newspapers with his online venture. Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd says uranium sales to India are no sure thing even if Labor does overturn its ban at this week's national conference. ASIC is investigating 35 alleged insider trading cases after receiving almost 30,000 tip-offs. Telstra research shows that around 12 percent of employers have rejected job applicants based on what they have found on the applicant's Facebook or Twitter postings. Court approval has been granted for Count Financial's $373 million takeover by Commonwealth Bank of Australia. BIS Shrapnel says spending on infrastructure is falling victim to the two-speed economy. Retail workers are being left behind as cashed-up mining companies hand out huge wage rises to employees, according to new research. The Murray Darling Basin Authority has released its long awaited plan. Laboratory group Campbell Brothers has increased first half profit by 55 per cent. The Fairfax dynasty severs links with Fairfax. Premier Investments, the owner of retail brands such as Just Jeans and Portmans, says trade improved in October and is in line with expectations in November. A Deloitte report says that a growing mountain of inefficiently handled data in corporate information systems is a silent productivity killer. Legislation has passed in South Australia paving the way for mining giant BHP Billiton's proposed expansion of its Olympic Dam project. Australian house prices are more vulnerable to a major correction than the US housing market was before its collapse following the GFC, according to The Economist magazine. Australia's house prices are falling at an accelerating rate according to RP-Data Rismark. The federal government guarantees Optus protections should its $800 million deal with the NBN Co hit any political hurdles. | 12/1/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 91b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson talks about the government’s mid-year economic review and looks at housing prices. | 12/1/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 91a - Talking Business | Richard Morris, the British Consul-General in Sydney, is managing a program aimed at attracting Australian companies, especially those in technology, to set up in Britain where, he says, innovative startups are very welcome and get considerable support. | 12/1/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 90c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry discuss how the disputes between Qantas and two of the unions representing its workforce move into arbitration, a promotion campaign by Qantas gets a backlash on Twitter and Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has declined to appear before a second hearing before the Senate. Meanwhile, Virgin Australia expects to end its first half in the black and is giving its "game-change" restructuring strategy a shot in the arm with a revenue-boosting new reservations system. The mining tax passes through parliament and as part of the deal, the government tightens up rules on coal seam gas and the government delays plans to scrap a tax on banks to help fund the promises to the Independents. But in bad news for miners, China’s factory sector shrank the most in 32 months in November on signs of domestic economic weakness, reviving worries that China may be slipping toward a hard landing and fuelling fears of a global recession. A senior RBA official has signalled that the central bank is comfortable with the current level of interest rates but the Aussie dollar falls as the market anticipates rate cuts. Spotless defends its rejection of an almost $700 million takeover bid by a private equity group. Telstra’s Sensis is in serious trouble. Domestic passenger traffic at Sydney and Melbourne airports falls by around 6 per cent in October. Murchison Metals is discussing selling its stake in the Jack Hills iron ore mine and troubled Oakajee Port and Rail project in WA's midwest. NAB opens its first branch in China. OneSteel prepares to cut more jobs, BlueScope Steel tries to raise capital but steel plate supplier Bisalloy Steel Group Ltd expects earnings in the current financial year to rise by up to 50 per cent. IOOF expects first-half profit to drop this financial year. World-first laws requiring cigarettes to be sold in plain packets are passed by parliament. MG Global’s Australian business will be liquidated. Goodman Fielder is planning not to deliver fresh daily bread to supermarkets. JB Hi-Fi is protecting its image as a discounter by sourcing cameras sold on its web site directly from overseas. The retail sector launches its own campaign selling the industry as Woolworths says sales will be subdued in 2012 and David Jones confirms its sales have fallen 11.2 per cent. Kathmandu is set to target North America in the first step of an online global retailing plan, Thorn Group expects to increase full year profit by more than 20 per cent to $30 million and shoe seller RCG Corporation expects to deliver earnings per share growth for the year despite what it describes as the worst trading conditions in 30 years. Harvey Norman finally launches an online store. Investors have pulled Centro Properties back from the brink of collapse, backing a deal to hand key lenders control of the shopping centre brand in return for tearing up billions of dollars in debt. Former Gunns chairman John Gay will face court in Launceston next month on charges of insider trading. Australian Federal Police are investigating whether News Ltd offered a former Nationals senator favourable coverage if he voted a certain way on proposed media laws. Queensland’s dependence on mining as a funding source has been underscored by predictions that the industry will be returning $8 billion a year in royalties by the year 2020. Visy plans to push into Asia. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission had doubts about the Australian Securities Exchange's ability to manage its technology. Nine Entertainment's ACP Magazines has announced two big launches for the new year -- Australian editions of fashion glossy Elle and health monthly Women's Fitness -- despite the debt woes of its parent company. James Murdoch has quit the board of the companies that publish The Times, Sunday Times, and The Sun. News Magazines has relaunched as NewsLifeMedia in a move which positions the publisher as the lifestyle publishing arm of News Limited. | 11/24/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 90b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Alberto Posso talks about ageing populations and the impact of technology. | 11/24/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 90a - Talking Business | Finding funding for startup companies is not as easy in Australia as in the US. Leon and Garry talk with a group of venture capitalists in the life sciences area and with two of their entrepreneurs. | 11/24/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 89c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry discuss how the Gillard government has framed the first mini budget in two decades but Westpac casts doubt on whether the budget can be put back into surplus next year. A leading index of the Australian economy moderated in September suggesting that evidence of a mid-year improvement in overall activity may have been short-lived. ABS stats show wages excluding bonuses rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2011.Superratings figures show Australian superannuation funds have reported the worst five-year returns since the introduction of compulsory super contributions in 1992. The outlook for Australia's manufacturing industry is bleak, with output falling by almost one per cent in the September quarter. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has not given any indication that it will cut interest rates again in the coming months. ABS figures show business lending has fallen sharply but sales of new motor vehicles in Australia rose 1.1 per cent in October. Australian exporters will secure access to a free-trade bloc covering one-third of the world's gross domestic product after agreement from the US to lead the development of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Australia’s ban on uranium exports to India is set to be overturned. Parts of the dominant services sector, like hospitality, are being hit by the slowdown in consumer spending. Paint maker DuluxGroup's full-year profit is up 52 per cent to $93.24 million. Farming conglomerate Elders has reported its third consecutive annual loss of $395 million. James Hardie reports a $US128.4 million ($126.51 million) profit. Ban CEOs get big pay rises. QR National is in talks to determine whether it will build a rail network to transport iron ore in Western Australia's Pilbara region for junior miners. Toyota has called a worldwide safety recall on three of its car models. Female business owners are 6% more likely than their male counterparts to use at least one form of social media in their business, according to a new study released by American Express. The former government-appointed advocate for Australia's steel sector says high wage costs, inexperience and the strong Australian dollar left domestic steel companies with little chance of winning contracts to build major local resource projects. BHP Billiton says it will spend billions ramping up shale gas production in the US this decade and it puts more fund into its West Australian iron ore operations. Budget airline Tiger Airways blames the grounding of its fleet and fuel prices for a $50 million loss and it expects more losses. A review of News Ltd's major newspapers has found no evidence of illegitimate phone surveillance or payments to public officials. Uranium miner Paladin posts a $US123.4 million loss. Woodside estimates its Browse Basin LNG project will generate up to $50 billion in revenue. Private equity fund Pacific Equity Partners offers a $700 million takeover proposal for Spotless. | 11/17/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 89b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson talks about housing and asks whether Australia has the “Dutch disease” created by the mining boom. | 11/17/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 89a - Talking Business | Adrian Christie, of PayPal Australia, talks about the exponential rise of online shopping in Australia – growth rates as high as 400 per cent in the past year and thousands of businesses, large and small, adjusting their retail operations to meet this growing trend. | 11/17/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 88c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry discuss how the Federal Government's carbon pricing legislation has been passed by the Senate. Deloitte Access Economics says the government won’t bring the budget into surplus but Treasurer Wayne Swan is now making big cuts while Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson says that restoring the government's budget to surplus remains a top priority. Job advertisements have fallen for the fourth month in a row but the official jobless rate has fallen. The decline in Australia's construction industry also slowed. Australia records a trade surplus of $2.56 billion in September. Demand for home loans lifted for the third straight month and optimists now exceed pessimists in the Westpac Melbourne Institute of Consumer Sentiment, after the rate cut. A NAB survey shows business conditions are softening. About 150,000 low-paid workers - mostly women - could get an average pay rise of $12,000 a year under a historic pay rise push backed by Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia expects subdued credit growth to continue into next year. After two days of hectic talks in Cannes by top world leaders to resolve the Eurozone debt crisis, the G20 Summit is being seen as a failure. Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Greek Prime Minister George Panadreou have resigned but markets are not convinced. The Transport Workers Union is set to pursue a Federal Court challenge to the Fair Work Australia ruling that prevents unions from taking industrial action against Qantas. New competitive threats to Qantas emerge on two fronts. Health, education and engineering firms are expected to be hardest hit by the looming skills shortages in the Australian workforce over the next decade, according to the Clarius Skills Index. Explosives and mining services supplier Orica is considering selling its specialty bolts and chemicals business, Minova. Computershare’s largest-ever acquisition has finally obtained United States anti-trust clearance. But still, Computershare Ltd, expects first half earnings to fall about 15 per cent from a year earlier because of tough and volatile markets. Moody's Investors Service has placed Macquarie Group's credit rating on review for possible downgrade due to protracted weakness in financial markets. Australia’s powerful bank regulator has warned banks against cutting too deeply into their cost base while the lending environment remains subdued, saying such moves could compromise their own safety nets. Developers are expected to release more housing lots over the next five years as the nation's housing market bottoms out and starts to grow again, according to BIS Shrapnel. The Australian share market has ended another volatile month on global stock markets by posting the biggest one-month gain in two years. The Coalition now says it will not roll back superannuation increases for workers which Labor has tied to the mining tax. The Australia Network tender process has been terminated and the police called in amid claims the leaking of confidential information has compromised any deal. The Australian arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation media empire, News Ltd, will no longer be run by a newspaperman, John Hartigan, but by Kim Williams, the pay TV executive and son-in-law of former Labor prime minister Gough Whitlam. Wesfarmers shareholders have used the company's annual general meeting to criticise its move to grant pay increases to executives. | 11/10/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 88b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson talks about the Euro crisis and its impact on Australia. | 11/10/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 88a - Talking Business | Lauren Staley is the managing director of Infolio, a Melbourne-based company that provides advocacy services for people seeking to buy properties. Infolio provides advice and acts for vendors in auctions and sale negotiations. | 11/10/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 87c - Talking Business | Garry and Leon discuss the impact of Qantas grounding its planes, how it will launch the biggest advertising campaign in its history to win back customers, how S&P has downgraded Qantas while the ACCC has told Qantas to provide better compensation for customers. Qantas has turned into a political issue but Virgin has emerged as the big winner. Meanwhile, the waterfront is shaping up as the next big industrial battle ground. The Reserve Bank has cut interest rates for the first since April 2009 but polls from the ACCI and Dun & Bradstreet show businesses are pessimistic. Wayne Swan slams NAB’s decision not to pass on the RBA's 0.25 per cent rate cut in full. Westpac announces a profit of $6.99 billion, up 10 per cent, ANZ posts a 19 per cent rise in full-year net profit to $ 5.36 billion, first quarter profits at News Corporation fall 4.8 per cent year on year to $US738 million, OneSteel reveals first-half earnings will be hit by collapsing iron ore prices and Woolworths flags a possible sale of its Dick Smith consumer electronics chain as part of a revamp. Hulia Gillard demands European leaders quickly head off a fresh Greek crisis. The effects of the downturn are still plaguing businesses, with debt owed by insolvent companies or individuals rising by more than 35% to a staggering $5.3 billion during the 2010-11 year, according to the latest Australian Taxation Office annual report. The food manufacturing industry says 130,000 Australian jobs will be lost by 2020. The federal government introduces the legislation for its mining tax. Australian engineers say the Holden Commodore may no longer be designed in Australia. Australia’s superannuation pool will grow more than fourfold within 20 years to $6 trillion - but the nation will still face a severe shortfall in retirement savings, according to a new report. Cheaper fruit and vegetables aren't enough to keep Australian inflation from rising slightly in October, according to the TD Securities-Melbourne Institute monthly inflation gauge. City house prices continued to fall in September, though the previously sliding Brisbane market experienced a bounce back, according to property analysts RP Data-Rismark. The weighted average price of established houses in Australian capital cities fell 1.2 per cent in the third quarter from the second quarter, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The ABS finds that building construction tumbled in September on a slowdown in apartment projects. Mirvac Group has confirmed that it is on track to deliver operating earnings of between 10.5 to 10.6 cents per stapled security in the 2012 financial year. Stockbrokers now have an alternative market for trading Australian shares for the first time after the Australian Stock Exchange rival Chi-X opened for business on Monday. Victoria lagged all of the populous states in big building projects for the September quarter, according to the Deloitte Access Economics Investment Monitor. Moody's Investors Service lowered the credit crating of Leighton. Origin Energy Ltd has released the quarterly production report of its exploration and production business for the September quarter, announcing a 4.3 per cent increase in sales revenue to $232.3 million, up from $222.7 million in the previous corresponding period. Australia and the European Union have opened talks on a new agreement to forge closer cooperation in security. | 11/3/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 87b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson talks about the RBA rate cut which he says has been driven by the crisis in Europe. He talks about Europe and whether Australia should support the IMF. | 11/3/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 87a - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk to Ross Morley, Managing Director of G.J. Gardner Homes. | 11/3/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 86c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry discuss how a new study suggests Australia has a three speed economy. The RBA signals it might cut rates but inflation figures leave everyone guessing. The Australian Food and Grocery Council says retail sales will be subdued this Christmas. New research from the MYOB Business Monitor reveals Aussie business owners are pessimistic about the Australia’s economy. Australia's largest banks are told by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to prepare “recovery plans” to prove they will survive economic downturn. Figures released by National Credit Insurance Brokers show the second highest business default rate for September in eight years. National Australia Bank reports a best-ever profit of $5.22 billion but Ten Network profit collapses by 90.5 per cent. Medical equipment maker ResMed suffers an 11 per cent profit fall. KPMG begins voluntary redundancies. Woolworths increases first quarter sales by 4.9 per cent to $14.597 billion. A new survey finds people will pay off debt than increase their Christmas spending if interest rates are cut. Australian producer prices rise 0.6 per cent. Prime Minister Julia Gillard calls on Commonwealth nations to urge European leaders to solve their debt crisis and vows to give developing countries access to the Australian market free of tariffs. Australia’s debt market rebounds. The Australian Industry Group/Australian Constructors Group Outlook survey finds that engineering and commercial construction expects expecting a boost this financial year. Engineering firms Leighton Holdings and WorleyParsons say Libya remains off-limits. More than 10,000 Qantas passengers to be hit by further flight delays, as negotiations between the airline and ground staff break down. Tourism officials warn the Australian tourism industry will be badly damaged with the Qantas dispute. Australians don't trust Qantas management or their plan to outsource jobs offshore, a survey has found. Woodside Petroleum Ltd increases third quarter revenue by 27 per cent. Treasury is told Queensland coal mines are still struggling with high water levels. Macarthur Coal falls into foreign hands. European regulators give the nod to a drug to treat cystic fibrosis which is good news for Australian-listed company Pharmaxis. Grant Thornton finds that small businesses feel the stresses of skilled worker shortages, backed up by Woodside chief Peter Coleman and Gina Rinehart. Australia uses social media to build the Asian tourism dollar through Jetstar's expanding overseas presence. One in 10 Australian households are in housing stress. Malcolm Turnbull declines to express confidence in the NBN chief. The federal government's planned mining tax hits a snag. Hundreds of millions worth of collateralised debt obligations (CDOs), distributed exclusively in Australia, are on the brink of collapse. Explosives maker Orica chooses former Newcrest Mining chief executive Ian Smith to succeed Graeme Liebelt as chief executive. Super fund members to wait another year or more to recoup money lost during the global financial crisis, according to Chant West. Bendigo and Adelaide Bank chief Mike Hurst warns that banks face a threat from "disruptive business models". WikiLeaks forced to suspend publishing classified files after a funding blockade by Visa and MasterCard. An independent expert says a plan by Rio Tinto Ltd and Japan's Mitsubishi to buy the rest of coal miner Coal and Allied Industries Ltd is fair and reasonable. Australians have a record $636 million unclaimed in bank accounts, insurance policies and uncashed dividend cheques. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission believes “significant unresolved issues” remain on the agreement to separate Telstra Corporation Ltd’s wholesale and retail arms. | 10/27/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 86b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson talks about the latest inflation figures, the outlook for interest rates, the European crisis and a pick up in America’s GDP. | 10/27/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 86a - Talking Business | Gabby Liebovich is the founder and chief executive of Catch of the Day, Scoupon and other online enterprises. He talks to Garry and Leon about his business, how quickly it is growing and how retail trade in Australia is undergoing a serious revolution, brought on by technology and the near ubiquity of the internet and online traders. | 10/27/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 85c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry discuss how Telstra shareholders have overwhelmingly voted for the NBN. Telstra says it will consider a share buy-back. The RBA says it may cut the cash rate if inflation is under control. The European debt crisis goes from bad to worse but RBA assistant governor Guy Debelle says Australia is well shielded from the funding pressures facing Europe's banks. Prime Minister Julia Gillard warns European leaders the time for "muddling through" is over. The taxpayer-owned Future Fund has $2.8 billion worth of assets in the troubled euro zone. The International Monetary Fund warns the Australian government to be prepared to abandon plans for a budget surplus. Major international funds managers warn that Tony Abbott's vow to scrap the carbon tax represents a "political risk". The Australian Federal Police prepares to investigate serious fraud that could arise from carbon pricing. Bank of Queensland's credit rating has been placed on review for possible downgrade after the bank reported a rise in bad debts. Australia’s economy will pick up pace in 2012, according to the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Index. The Commonwealth Bank business sales indicator (BSI) rises by 0.2 per cent. ING Direct finds that consumer confidence is rising and spending could increase. NAB survey shows a drop in business confidence but there are signs the worst could be over. Australians spend big on home improvements and groceries pumping up Coles and Bunnings sales by 8 per cent. Pre-tax profit for Webjet rises 23 per cent to $4.65 million. Australia slips in the World Bank rankings. CSL says it is on track to deliver double-digit profit growth next year despite the high Australian dollar and it announces a buy back. Australian employees are hard-working but rank among the least productive, according to the inaugural Australian Productivity Pulse survey. Thousands of protesters rally across the nation condemning Australia's multi-billion dollar coal seam gas (CSG) industry. Virgin Australia says Honolulu will be added to its growing international network, after signing a codeshare agreement with Hawaiian Airlines. Qantas Airways Ltd cancels domestic flights, with the airline blaming it on industrial action. Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she can't yet intervene in the Qantas industrial dispute. Virgin Australia says it will provide additional capacity to minimise the impact of ongoing Qantas industrial action. Leighton’s offshore division is awarded an additional $US79.85 million ($A78.57 million) contract by Iraq's South Oil Company (SOC). But Standard & Poor’s lowers its credit rating for Leighton. Sonray Capital Markets co-founder Russell Johnson is sentenced to five years in jail for stealing millions of dollars from clients' accounts. ANZ is tapping Europe's jumpy money markets for fresh funds. More than half of Australian mid-market companies believe they are not prepared for continuing fluctuations in business conditions, according to the inaugural Commonwealth Bank Future Business Index. Super Retail Group snaps up market-leading sports goods retailer Rebel Group from Archer Capital for $610 million. New motor vehicles sales fall one-and-a-half per cent, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics but ABS figures show business lending jumped last month. | 10/20/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 85b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson talks about Credit Suisse figures showing Australians are the richest in the world, the NBN vote by Telstra shareholders and its impact on taxpayers and the different statistical treatment of unemployment figures by the ABS and NewStart. | 10/20/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 85a - Talking Business | Antonette Golikidis is the founder and chief executive of Innoscents, a young and successful startup company in Melbourne specialising in babycare products, many of which is has developed itself, were originally made by Antonette herself but are now produced on large scale. It is a story of how a good idea, good products and good staff have made a home-based company into a very successful business. | 10/20/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 84c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry discuss how Julia Gillard's carbon tax is passed by the House of Representatives. Australia will begin talks next month with other countries to link Labor's carbon pricing regime to global carbon markets and the Opposition vows the first thing it will do when it gets into government is get rid of the tax. Meanwhile, a new Australian manufacturing industry group launches a fresh attack on the carbon tax with warnings that one in six of Australia's black coal mines could close prematurely. A survey shows most chief financial officers believe Australia will avoid a recession even though the general climate of uncertainty will hurt confidence. A 2.1 per cent fall in job ads in the latest ANZ jobs ads survey but the federal government's leading employment index rises in October. A survey shows building activity and profits will fall. Economists say the housing sector is stabilising as talk of an interest rate rise wanes and Australians are encouraged to borrow more. Australian business conditions and confidence perk up in September as markets buzz with talk that interest rates will be cut and the Australian dollar retreats below parity. Westpac Bank's index of consumer sentiment shows that consumer sentiment rose unexpectedly again in October, despite market instability. Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Darwin are expected to have the strongest house price growth of all major cities in the next three years, with capital gains of more than 15 per cent predicted. The Business Council of Australia says Australia risks losing thousands of jobs and enduring decades of mediocre growth unless it confronts a productivity slump. Former BHP Billiton chairman Don Argus warns that Europe's grinding sovereign debt crisis will leave a legacy of higher borrowing costs for big businesses for years to come. The rollout of the national broadband network is behind schedule because of delays in striking a deal with Telstra and issuing construction contracts. Australia Post increases its annual pre-tax profit by 31 per cent, thanks to continued growth in online shopping. Despite a lower profit, discount retailer the Reject Shop plans to almost double its outlets to 400. Consumer electronics chain JB Hi-Fi says trading conditions have been challenging in the three months to September, but that the launch of the iPhone 4S and other new releases will boost sales. Tabcorp Holdings Ltd's first quarter revenue rises by 2.7 per cent compared to the same period last year. Crane operator Boom Logistics Ltd sells Victorian assets for $7.5 million and reports improved first quarter earnings. Gina Rinehart loses her battle to have a dispute with her children mediated behind closed doors. Research shows Asia is the world's top target for companies looking to grow, and many Australian businesses have the financial strength to spread into the region. The ACCC calls for tougher regulation of airports and the new head of Australia's competition watchdog also has major supermarket chains and the telecommunications sector in his sights. Statistics show the proceeds of tourism were worth $72 billion, or about five per cent of GDP, in 2009-10. | 10/12/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 84b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Alberto Posso talks about Australia’s low R&D expenditure and looks at labour market statistics. | 10/12/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 84a - Talking Business | Melina Scharnroth is the founder, chief organiser and the head of a possibly unique organisation called M.A.D. WOMAN. The MAD in this case has nothing to do with Melina’s sanity but, rather, stands for Making A Difference. The function of the outfit is to connect people with events. The idea began when Melina was working as a journalist in New Zealand and met Eve van Grafhorst, one of the first Australian children to be infected with HIV through a blood transfusion. She became the centre of a huge controversy when parents at her local pre-school demanded she be removed because of their fears she might infect other children. The family moved to NZ where they were welcomed. Melina met Eve who became the centre of a fund-raising campaign for AIDs research. Eve died when she was 11 and Melina came to Australia 15 years ago to work in public relations. “I wanted to find a nice boyfriend, which I ran as a social experiment about what would happen if you got a lot of single men and women into a soup kitchen and involved them in feeding homeless people.” And out of all that has come MAD Woman, a very successful business that these days is capable of connecting almost anyone to almost anything else. | 10/12/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 83c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry discuss how the RBA has kept interest rates on hold with expectations that it will cut rates before the end of the year. Markets are in turmoil over the prospect of Greece defaulting. The federal government will set up a business tax review, increase the personal tax free threshold and work with the states to make their revenue raising systems more efficient, in the wake of a two-day tax forum. But experts say don’t expect too much too soon. Wayne Swan moves to fix up Australia’s superannuation system. Debt sales have dropped. Home building approvals rise 11.4 per cent. A study of Australia's mortgage industry shows home lending growth has slowed in the last 12 months. ABS data shows that Australia had a surplus of $3.1 billion in August. Australian manufacturing activity contracts further in September. But then, figures show global manufacturing has shrunk for the first time since 2009. Retail spending rises 0.6 per cent. Still, retailers are bracing for a lean Christmas. Steve Jobs dies, rocking the IT industry. AMP censors a report on corporate governance at News Corporation. The Occupy Wall Street Movement is coming to Australia. Death threats have allegedly been made against Qantas CEO Alan Joyce and other senior executives. Qantas Airways Ltd baggage handlers and ground staff vote to keep fighting for better pay, with strikes possibly increased to 24 hours. Sundance Resources board endorses an improved $1.65 billion takeover offer from China's Hanlong Mining. Support for the carbon tax is falling, according to News Limited newspapers. Liberal front bencher Greg Hunt says the opposition has done its homework on budget savings and "is ready to go" if there's an early election. The RBA is setting up an office in China. Industry super funds consider a recommendation to vote against the re-election of six News Corp directors. A new fee for debit cards at eftpos machines. US oil producer Apache Corporation will develop the Balnaves oilfield off Western Australia. The Australian Government signs an open skies agreement with Japan’s leaders allowing an unrestricted number of direct flights between Australia and Tokyo. Australia's largest class action is back in courts with the case against ANZ bank fees. Low cost airline Tiger Airways forecasts a large loss for the September quarter. Aston Resources has sold another stake in its flagship Maules Creek coal project to a Japanese-backed company for $350 million to help fund development of the project. A second credit-rating agency downgrades National Australia Bank's British banking arm, amid doubts over whether the Australian lender was planning to offload all or part of Clydesdale Bank. Seven West Media Ltd moves to slash costs, calling in management consultants to reduce spending at the group as it moves to maintain profit margins in a weak advertising environment. | 10/6/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 83b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Jonatahn Boymal talks about the RBA’s decision on interest rates, retail figures, trade data and dwelling approvals. | 10/6/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 83a - Talking Business | Shawn Smith is the founder and chief executive of Hypnotic Zoo, a web design company based in Point Cook. He deals mostly with small to medium businesses that are in most cases making their first forays into the online world. He talks about the challenges, for them and his team, in bringing in a successful result. | 10/6/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 82c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry discuss how next week's tax forum will include a new tax break. But Finance Minister Penny Wong warns we’ll need more tax. Business groups will push for the GST to be increased, even though the government has ruled that out. Former treasury secretary Ken Henry will help prepare a white paper on Australia’s involvement with Asia at a time when fewer Australians are learning mandarin. Treasurer Wayne Swan says the government remains committed to returning the federal budget to surplus but outgoing Commonwealth Bank chief executive Ralph Norris has warned the federal government to abandon that commitment. Future Fund chairman David Murray blames Australia's politicians for the pessimistic mood of citizens. The number of job vacancies in Australia rose 3.2 per cent in the three months to August. A G20 sub-committee report shows that a lack of competition in Australia’s banking sector poses systemic and “moral hazard” risks. Figures shows smaller lenders are now more popular than the big banks. Westpac reduces the interest rate on its fixed home loans, followed by ING Direct, St George and CUA. Myer chief executive Bernie Brookes believes the struggling retail market will not recover for at least six months. The Australian dollar falls to a 10-month low. Woolworths expects to lift net profit in the current year but admits retailers face significant challenges. Childcare and nanny services should be tax deductible to help women return to the workforce, high ranking female executives say. WA's mineral and resources wealth reach record levels. European Central Bank board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi says that Australia should use international forums to pressure European politicians to act with more speed in attempting to avoid a global downturn. Collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) exposed to United States mortgage insurer PMI Group are on the brink of imploding and put tens of millions of dollars of Australian investments at risk. Local law firm Blake Dawson, will merge its Asian practice, and possibly all operations, with UK law firm Ashurst. US energy giant Chevron signs off on its $US29 billion ($A29.63 billion) liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in a West Australia's Pilbara region. Wesfarmers pockets a handy $90 million profit on the sale of part of its coal interests to Chinese miner Yanzhou Coal Mining. Rio Tinto Ltd lifts its stake in Ivanhoe Mines to 49 per cent. The Mongolian government wants to take a larger stake in the Oyu Tolgoi copper and goal mine managed by Rio Tinto. BHP Billiton plans to roll out a remote operations centre for the Pilbara. | 9/29/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 82b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson talks about the big issues at next week’s Tax Summit. | 9/29/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 82a - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk to branding expert Michelle Hogan of Brandology. | 9/29/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 81c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry talk about Foster’s falling into foreign hands, getting taken over by SABMiller for over $12 billion. The Westpac/Melbourne Institute Leading Index says Australia's economy is expected to slow in the second half of the year. The Reserve Bank signals it is well-placed to cut interest rates if global economic conditions continue to deteriorate. But it might not happen because the RBA says Australia is not immune to overseas events. Genworth Financial finds that a quarter of Australian homeowners experience mortgage stress. The International Monetary Fund has slashed economic forecasts for Australia. Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese said demand for commodities has softened. Treasurer Wayne Swan is named Euromoney's Finance Minister of the Year. The beginning of a recovery in consumer spending may be in sight, with debit and credit card transactions recording its lowest fall in four months and the strongest consumer spending in half a year. David Jones profit falls 1.5 per cent. Kathmandu reports a 55 per cent rise in profit. Catch of the Day launches a new site dedicated to selling non-perishable groceries. The local arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp will be rebranded "News Australia". The Government releases new economic modelling of how a carbon price would affect the prices of items like milk, cheese and beer. An economist warns the political stand-off over the carbon tax is increasing the cost of funding new power stations. There’s pressure on the government to increase the GST from the OECD. Prime Minister Julia Gillard flags changes to the business tax system. Premier Investments’ reports a 50 per cent fall in profit. Premier Investments boss Mark McInnes says shopping centre landlords are gouging tenants. The former Colorado Group emerges from administration as a new retailing group. Australia’s richest woman Gina Rinehart becomes richer after her company, Hancock Prospecting, sells assets to Indian conglomerate GVK for $1.2 billion. The chief executive of bionic ear-maker Cochlear receives a pay rise of nearly 17 per cent in 2011. CBA announces an executive reshuffle. Business customers are feeling less satisfied with their banks, according to a new survey. Government documents show that raising petrol prices will do more to curb carbon pollution than mandatory emissions standards for cars. Former Fairfax Media chief executive Brian McCarthy walks away with $3.17 million. A former Citibank manager is banned from providing financial services for life. Macquarie Bank sacks staff. Gunns remains in talks with potential investors in the $2.5 billion Bell Bay pulp mill in Tasmania. | 9/22/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 81b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Alberto Posso talks about the world economic outlook and changes to the way the ABS looks at inflation. | 9/22/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 81a - Talking Business | Barry Westhorpe is chief executive of the CEO Institute of Victoria, an organisation representing chief executives of the many small to medium sized enterprises bases in Melbourne. He talks here about the challenges faced by these companies in the continuing global financial turmoil and explains the results of a survey conducted by his institute that shows CEO confidence at a fairly low ebb. | 9/22/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 80c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry discuss how an NAB survey has found business confidence falling to levels last seen in 2009. A CBA survey finds that many Australians believe recent natural disasters, like the Queensland floods, have hurt their personal finances, even though that may not be the case. Consumer sentiment rises 8.1 per cent and inflation is revised down. Australian dwelling commencements fall 4.7 per cent. The IMF says the RBA can afford to sit tight on interest rates. Australia experiences a sharp rise in the number of business failures during the June quarter, putting it alongside several weakened European nations. Deloitte warns things will get worse for retailers. Research shows Australians shop online more regularly than people in most other countries. Petrol prices reach a four month high. The government introduces its carbon tax legislation. Research shows that companies that regularly measure, report and reduce their carbon emissions are more likely to outperform their competitors. The federal Treasury warns the government that the GST is becoming increasingly inefficient and loses about $15 billion a year. Steelmakers condemn the Reserve Bank of Australia and federal government over interest rates and Australian dollar. PricewaterhouseCoopers finds labour productivity drops to its second lowest level in 15 years. The new look ACCC says it will be “all over” the NBN. Telstra chief executive officer, David Thodey, urges investors to put politics and emotion aside when they vote on an $11 billion NBN. Telstra considers a buyback to appease restive shareholders. Economists warn that key aspects of the NBN business case are anti-competitive. The communications authority tells telecommunications providers to lift their game over call plans and when dealing with customer complaints. Business groups have urged the federal government to discuss industrial relations reforms at its upcoming jobs forum. The competition watchdog has put the supermarkets on notice over buying Franklins stores. Tiger Airways names Andrew David, a former senior executive at Virgin Blue, as the new boss of its troubled Australian operations. The federal government has lowered the level of insurance on bank deposits that it announced during the global financial crisis. Medical device maker Cochlear Ltd announces a recall of its line of its unimplanted Nucleus CI500 implant range, after a recent increase in the failures in its CI512 product. Australia's trade surplus balance is virtually unchanged in July. Increased production at WA mines has significantly contributes to a record $175 billion worth of resources and energy exports from Australia. Total personal finance commitments rise 0.5 per cent in July. Thai coal giant Banpu launches a $447 million play for Perth-based explorer Hunnu Coal. Westpac chief Gail Kelly says says she doesn't support forcing companies to have more women on their boards. | 9/15/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 80b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Jonathan Boymal talks about housing starts, CPI adjustments and the changing labour market. | 9/15/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 80a - Talking Business | Jason Wyatt is the chief executive and co-founder of Bike Exchange, a Melbourne-based shopping site for everything and anything to do with cycling, including cycling holidays in any of 58 countries. He explains how he moved from being financial controller of Holden’s South Australian division to running his own thriving online business. | 9/15/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 79c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry discuss how Australia’s GDP climbs 1.2 per cent in the June quarter, up from the 0.9 per cent contraction in the March quarter. The RBA keeps interest rates on hold at 4.75 per cent but the market continues to bet the RBA will cut rates while retailers say the rate cut can’t come soon enough. Australian construction activity falls to its lowest level in almost two and a half years, home loans grow 1 per cent in July, less than expected, advertising revenue for commercial radio drops 0.22 per cent and a Sensis survey shows small business profitability is at a record low in Australia. Nielsen finds that Australian consumer confidence falls to its lowest level in two years. Australia’s unemployment rises to 5.3 per cent. Job advertisements in Australia fall again in August, the fourth drop in five months. A survey finds that one in four people are unable to meet living costs. Householders with credit and debit cards are spending an average of 38 per cent more on goods and services than they did in 2003-04, Farmers’ confidence falls to its lowest level in more than two years. Australia’s current account deficit narrows to $7.42 billion in the second quarter of 2011. The World Economic Forum finds Australia's world ranking in competitiveness slid to 20th place, from 16th last year. Australian companies will have to refinance over $A100 billion in debt over the next 18 months. A private sector measure of inflation records its first fall in almost two years. The ABS finds that company gross operating profits rose 6.7 per cent to $67.54 billion in the second quarter of 2011. An ABS study finds that fuel and power bills eat up no more of our wallets than they did six years ago. Australian banks will need to meet new global capital rules ahead of the internationally agreed timetable under proposals. The Australian Industry Group calls on the government for more flexible workplace rules. Former BHP Billiton chairman Don Argus criticizes the Gillard government for its failure to tackle issues like productivity. Rio Tinto attacks the government over the carbon tax. The ACTU blames employers for low productivity. SABMiller accuses Foster’s of making misleading and deceptive statements in presenting its annual profit. Toyota and the unions are locked in an industrial dispute. A decade long study of ASX-100 companies has found that while their share values increased by just 31 per cent, their chief executive’s pay packages more than doubled over the period. The Australian Retailers Association wants to cut shop workers’ penalty rates. The Productivity Commission rejects retailers calls to impose a GST on online sales. The Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation wants to change the tax on wine to reduce abuse. Research shows that Australia's major institutional superannuation funds grew at more than double the pace of their global peers last year. The mining industry comes out with a report showing it paid more tax than the government claims. | 9/8/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 79b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson says the latest GDP figures are a mixed bag, and talks about the latest unemployment figures, productivity and R&D. | 9/8/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 79a - Talking Business | Curve Tomorrow, a young company dedicated to identifying and evaluating innovative ideas in Australia, is led by three young men, Vikash and Avinish Rugoobur and Mahinder Jaimangal. Avinish and Mahinder formerly working with Dr Laurie Spark in his legendary Holden Innovation Centre at Fishermen’s Bend in Melbourne and Vikash was with IBM in the US, India and Australia. Dr Spark, now chief technology officer for the EDay Life electric car soon to go on sale in Australia, is an alumnus of RMIT and, now, a member of the professorial team in engineering. Avinish, Mahinder and Vikash speak to us about idea, innovation and how they need to be handled in the modern technological world. | 9/8/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 78c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry discuss how Australia is now officially a two speed economy according to fund managers. The federal government has been urged to hold an inquiry to help stave off a threat to manufacturing. Manufacturers are five times more likely to struggle to pay bills than other businesses. Growing rifts are emerging between the federal government and the opposition over the future of manufacturing. Pressure is growing on the Federal government for a review of workplace laws. BIS Shrapnel says investment in roads, rail, ports and education is necessary to prepare Australia when the mining boom ends. Australian chief executives are much less confident about the economy than they were this time last year. ABS data shows Australian households are effectively becoming poorer. Australians cut back on personal borrowing for a fourth straight month in July while annual growth in home loans was the slowest on record. Fears of a looming domestic slowdown have compelled a rising number of Australian companies to expand into emerging markets. Woolworths' chief executive Michael Luscombe expects a sharp decline in its annual profit growth in fiscal 2012. Australian dwelling approvals rose one per cent in July, seasonally adjusted, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. House prices are on the slide. New home sales fell by 8% in July. The goods and services tax will have to climb above 10 per cent says a Henry Review architect. Former Tabcorp boss and one-time ANZ executive Elmer Funke Kuppe has been appointed to take charge of the Australian Securities Exchange. Gold mining companies respond to record-high gold prices with a big increase in gold production. Gold miner Resolute Mining has swung back to profitability in 2010/11. Harvey Norman’s net profit increases 9 per cent to $252.26 million. QR National reports a net profit of $349.5 million. More retailers will close down according to a new survey. But IKEA is upbeat as it prepares to open a huge Melbourne store. Tiger Airways Australia loses another chief executive. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is seeking an injunction against energy broker Energy Watch. A Macquarie Group-led consortium of international investors has made a $1.74 billion takeover bid for Charter Hall Office REIT. Count Financial doubles its profit to $52 million in 2010-11. Meanwhile, Commonwealth bank of Australia Ltd moves to buy Count Financial Ltd for $373 million. Goodman Fielder reports a full-year net loss of $166.7 million. Centro Properties Group's underlying annual profit falls 92 per cent to $14.6 million. Centro directors escape being fined or banned. A $2.17 billion takeover offer by a group funded by pension schemes in the UK, Netherlands, South Korea, China, Denmark, New Zealand and the US for toll road owner ConnectEast gets Foreign Investment Review Board approval. ANZ looks at buying distressed Tokyo Star Bank. Samsung Electronics Co says it will delay the launch of its latest Galaxy tablet computer in Australia until after a court ruling in late September on its ongoing global patent dispute with Apple. | 9/1/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 78b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson talks about 20 years of superannuation, the future of manufacturing, productivity and the latest retail figures from the ABS. | 9/1/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 78a - Talking Business | Daryl Wright is managing director of Vantage Performance, a company specialising in breathing new life into companies that have perhaps lost their way and their performance. He talks about his work in Australia, the challenges of what he describes as the Australian business culture and the need to understand that Australian companies can effectively compete and succeed in the global market. | 9/1/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 77c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry discuss how BlueScope Steel is axing at least 1,000 jobs as it announces a $1.054 billion loss. OneSteel is expanding. Meanwhile, BlueScope Steel executives pocket $3 million worth of bonuses. Leighton chairman David Mortimer and chief executive David Stewart are forced out. International companies planning to invest in Australia will include local firms under new measures. Treasury boss Martin Parkinson warns financial turmoil will plague the world for years. Weak construction figures suggest low economic growth. A senior Reserve Bank official says interest rate decisions will remain difficult. It’s a disappointing start for Australian superannuation funds. Pacific Brands faces a $9 million bullying claim. US private equity fund Bain buys MYOB for $1.3 billion. Australian homes remain the largest in the world but are set to get smaller. In a blow to the ACCC, the Federal Court allows Metcash to buy Franklin stores. The Federal Government wants to raise employer superannuation contributions to 12 per cent. Shell and Petro China subsidiary Arrow Energy confirms a $520 million takeover bid for Bow Energy. BHP Billiton posts a monster $US23.6 billion profit. Sports and surfwear firm Billabong reports an 18.4 per cent fall in profit. Fortescue announces a 76 per cent jump in annual profit. QBE posts a net profit of $US673 million. Suncorp Group reports a net profit of $453 million, 42 per cent down. IAG’s profit more than doubles from $250 million from $91 million. Asciano reports a $145 million annual net profit, compared with last year’s $975 million loss. Wotif posts a profit of $51 million. Iluka Resources reports a first-half net profit of $145.9 million compared to last year’s loss of $6.6 million. Qantas records a $252 million profit, Virgin Blue posts a $67.8 million loss. Amcor Ltd almost doubles its full year profit to $356.7 million. Woolworths increases its full year profit to $2.12 billion. Foster’s reports an $89 million loss. Treasury Wine Estates reports a profit of $64.4 million. IOOF Holdings Ltd increases full year profit to $99.5 million. Newcastle-based health insurer NIB reports a higher profit of $65.5 million. Federal government funding cuts contribute to a 40 per cent slide in Primary Health Care’s full-year profit. Ramsay Health Care's net profit leaps 33.8 per cent to $198.4 million. Sonic Healthcare Ltd's full year profit is flat at $294.5 million. Flight Centre posts a flat annual profit. Toll Holdings reports a 3.7 per cent rise in profits to $294.8 million. Transfield posts a $19.73 million loss. Origin Energy reports a 15 percent jump in annual profit to $673 million. Mirvac’s net profit falls more than 20 per cent to $182.3 million. Mortgage Choice Ltd books a 17 per cent jump in annual profit to $27.459 million. Macarthur Coal reports a net profit of $142.4 million. Tatts Group reports a 130 per cent surge in profit, to $275 million. Crown declares a $336 million profit. Gunns reports a $355 million loss. AGL Energy increases full year profit 57 per cent to $558.7 million. | 8/25/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 77b - Talking Business | RMIT econiomist Alberto Posso talks about why the carbon tax will not work. | 8/25/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 77a - Talking Business | The electric car is on the ascendant as oil prices rise and global concerns over pollution increase. Dr Laurie Sparke, formerly head of Holden’s innovative advanced engineering division and now technical director of EDay Life, a manufacturer of small all-electric cars, talks about his project together with Vikash Rugoobor, who heads Curve Tomorrow, the Melbourne company that built the iPad application that controls this innovative car. Dr Sparke is also a professor in the engineering faculty at RMIT University. | 8/25/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 76c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry discuss how the high Australian dollar and a slowdown have claimed their first mass casualties, with Qantas, GWA, Westpac, OneSteel and Thiess Egremont announcing job cuts. Wages rise less in the June quarter than the market expects and RBA minutes show the RBA will probably keep interest rates on hold. Women's pay rises by less than half as high as for male workers . Retiring Reserve Bank board member Warwick McKibbin says the RBA board should not have a majority of business leaders. World Bank president Robert Zoellick says Australia is better placed to withstand another global financial crisis. But world markets fall in response to worries about the stability of European lenders and concerns about a slowdown. Treasurer Wayne Swan warns parliament that a weaker global economy will have an impact on Australia but says Australia's fundamentals are strong. Economists predict the government will fail to return the federal budget to surplus next financial year. The CBA Business Sales Indicator falls 0.8 per cent, pointing to a slowdown. The Westpac/Melbourne Institute Leading Index falls again. Blood products maker CSL reports a 10.7 per cent drop in net profit to $940.6 million due to the high Australian dollar. Australian shopping centre giant Westfield Group defies retail gloom and posts a half-year net profit of $650.9 million. Variety retail chain The Reject Shop reports a 31 per cent fall in annual profit after the January floods almost destroyed its Queensland distribution centre. Brambles reports a six per cent rise in profit. Retail Food Group reports a 4.6 per cent net profit rise to $27.9 million. Newcrest Mining reports a 63 per cent rise in net profit to $908 million. Ansell reports a 2.8 per cent rise in net profit to $122.7 million. Gaming group Tabcorp Holdings Ltd reports a 14 per cent rise in full-year net profit. Casino group Echo Entertainment reports a full-year net profit of $226 million. Leighton’s reports a net loss of $408.8 million, down from last year’s $612.00 million profit. AMP posts a bigger-than-expected 18 per cent fall in first-half net profit to $349 million. James Hardie Industries reports a 99 per cent fall in first quarter net profit after an unfavourable asbestos adjustment. Property company Goodman Group reports net profit recovered to $392 million in 2010/11 from the previous year's loss. iiNet Ltd's full year profit declines three per cent to $33.37 million. OZ Minerals Ltd's first half profit falls 72 per cent after it settles a class action. Australian energy giant Woodside Petroleum reports an 8.1 percent fall in half-year net profit to US$828 million. Boral reports a full year net profit of $167.7 million. Real estate advertising company REA Group posts a 37 per cent rise in net profit to $67.5 million. ASX Ltd reports a 7 per cent rise in full-year net profit. UGL Ltd increases full year profit by 9.7 per cent. Village Roadshow reports a higher profit only because of asset sales. Half year profit for Adelaide Brighton Ltd falls by 10.6 per cent amid housing sector weakness. Insurance Australia Group takes its first step into China by acquiring a $100 million stake in Chinese general insurer Bohai Property Insurance. Westfield joins hands with Facebook to boost in-store retail sales in Australia. | 8/18/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 76b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Jonathan Boymal talks about motor vehicle sales, wages growth and the cost of living index. | 8/18/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 76a - Talking Business | Leon and Garry talk to David Blackmore who is the Managing Director and founder of Blackmore Wagyu Beef, a producer of 100 per cent premium Japanese Wagyu beef for international and domestic markets. | 8/18/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 75c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry talk about the share market’s volatility, both here and around the world. Future Fund chairman David Murray says it will be volatile for the next 20 years. Volatile times too for the Australian dollar. The Federal Government faces an uphill battle to bring the budget back into surplus. Superannuation managers still have more than half of their funds in shares. The NAB business survey shows trading conditions have deteriorated. Australia's unemployment rate surges to an eight-month high of 5.1 per cent and job advertisements decline 0.7 per cent in July. Consumer confidence falls for a fourth straight month in August to hit a 27-month low. Markets bet that interest rates could be cut. The International Monetary Fund says Australia is well positioned to handle a severe global financial market disruption and can cut interest rates. Treasurer Wayne Swan is briefed by US treasury secretary Tim Geithner on US economic problems. Margin calls sparked by Australia's five-day share rout surge to levels not seen since the global financial crisis. The number of home loans approved in June rises slightly. BIS Shrapnel expects national building starts will recover by 8 per cent in 2011-12. National Australia Bank records quarterly cash earnings of $1.4 billion and Commonwealth Bank posts a record cash net profit after tax of $6.835 billion. Commonwealth Bank and Westpac cut home loan interest rates. Telstra's annual profit falls by 17 per cent to $3.231 billion and Optus posts a 4.9 per cent fall in quarterly profit to $161 million. David Jones suffers a 10 per cent drop in sales, Harvey Norman posts a 1.7 per cent increase in global sales and Myer gives chief executive Bernie Brookes a pay rise and extends his contract for two years. Cochlear Ltd increases full year profit 16 per cent to a record $180.1 million. JB Hi Fi posts a fall in full-year profit to $109.7 million, a 7.55 per cent drop on the previous corresponding period. Coca Cola Amatil reports a 28 per cent fall in first-half profit as the closure of a fruit processing factory in regional Victoria wipes more than $80 million off the bottom line. About 150 job cuts expected under an overhaul of the Coca-cola owned SPC Ardmona food business. Bendigo and Adelaide Bank reports its full-year net profit is up 41 per cent to $342.1 million. Mining and rail equipment maker Bradken reports a fall in annual profit to 67.56 million. Developer Stockland says its net profit for 2010/11 is $754.6 million, up 57.7 per cent. Online travel agency Webjet has delivered a 5 per cent rise in full-year net profit after tax to $11 million. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp reports a lower quarterly profit as weaker box office and DVD sales offset a strong performance by its cable and television business. Foxtel’s profit jumps 26 per cent to $200 million. Bain Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co are among potential bidders for MYOB Ltd, which could be sold for around $A1 billion. Adelaide based Argo Investments Ltd has increased full year profit by 11.8 per cent to $172.06 million. The coal market is heating up with Rio Tinto and Japan's Mitsubishi Corp offering to buy out minority investors in Coal & Allied Industries. | 8/11/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 75b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson talks about market volatility, unemployment, interest rates and running a business in uncertain times. | 8/11/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 75a - Talking Business | Garry talks to Naomi Simson, founder and CEO of the successful internet start up Red Balloon. | 8/11/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 74c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry talk about how it’s been a bad week for investors with the Australian sharemarket diving to its lowest point in almost a year and the Australian dollar taking a battering over concerns about a possible United States recession and figures showing retail spending in Australia at a standstill. The United States steps back from the brink of default. Fears of a recession in the US drives gold up to $1,666.30 an ounce. The Reserve Bank of Australia keeps interest rates on hold at 4.75% but the International Monetary Fund has warns that Australian interest rates will need to rise further to deal with the mining boom. Retail sales fall to a 50 year low, the Productivity Commission wants to end restrictive trading hours, residential building approvals fall 3.5% in June, house prices trend downward in the June quarter, new home sales fall in June, Australian manufacturing activity falls in July, activity in the service industries remains subdued in June, consumer prices rise at the fastest pace in three months, led by higher food and energy costs and media stocks crash. Another high profile retailer Brown Sugar goes under. But Australia's $2 billion-plus trade surplus for June brings the tally for the last financial year to $22.4 billion. The Clarius Skills Index says economic uncertainty at home and abroad prompts Australian companies to delay hiring plans. The boss of Woolworths food, liquor and petrol business, Greg Foran, resigns from the company after missing out on the top job. The Landfill Owners’ Association claims Australians will pay an extra $200 million to dump their waste under the Federal Government's carbon tax. National Australia Bank decides not to bid for 630 Lloyds branches on sale in Britain. Thousands of consumers have signed to explore switching mortgages, as part of a campaign to improve Australia's banking sector. Farmers fear a new rush of environmental plantings for biodiversity and carbon offsets will accelerate the loss of land for food production. Australia’s fast-growing internet industry now contributes almost as much to the nation's economy as the embattled retail sector. Telstra submits details of its structural separation. The NBN Co announces plans to begin work on the second release sites of the National Broadband Network (NBN) in NSW, Queensland and the ACT. The coalition insists it can deliver acceptable broadband using a mix of technologies at a fraction of the cost of Labor's NBN. Telstra plans to roll out a network of next-generation public internet kiosks dubbed "a 21st century upgrade for the payphone". Vodafone Hutchison Australia reports a loss of 375,000 customers this year, following customer service and network issues. The rivalry between Wesfarmers Ltd-owned Coles and Woolworths Ltd over milk pricing is about to spill over to alcohol sales. A move being prepared by the federal government preventing stockbroker firms from paying staff via brokerage they charge retail clients for buying will lead to an industry shake-up. Energy and ArcelorMittal go hostile with their $4.68 billion cash bid for Macarthur Coal after merger talks break down. Australia Post pushes deeper into the banking market through Bendigo Bank. | 8/4/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 74b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson talks about the US debt ceiling deal, the RBA’s decision on interest rates and which way it will go, trade figures and what retailers have to do to survive. | 8/4/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 74a - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk to Matt Butterworth, founder of successful Australian website easyweddings.com | 8/4/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 73c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry talk about consumer prices rising more than expected in the three months to June, signaling an interest rate hike and sending the Australian dollar to a28 year high. A new study shows Australia’s house prices have become unaffordable. The Reserve Bank of Australia tells bank investors and the executives that the double-digit growth days are over. The Reserve Bank governor has again warned retailers and lenders the consumption boom of the mid-90s to mid-2000s was a one-off but adds consumers will return. The latest Nielsen survey shows that Aussie consumer confidence has plummeted seven points on the previous quarter, equating to three consecutive quarters of decline. Sales at Coles rise rise 6.7 per cent to $31.8 billion in financial 2011 amid declining prices and consumer confidence. Shoppers can expect to keep paying just $1 a litre for milk for the foreseeable future after Coles committed to the low price-tag. The Wesfarmers Ltd-owned supermarket Australian businesses are taking almost a full month longer than average to pay their bills. Ratings agency Fitch has downgraded its economic outlook for the Queensland Government from stable to negative. Meanwhile, financial markets are becoming increasingly jittery about the world's richest economy defaulting on its debt as the August 2 deadline draws ever closer. Relationships between the Government and business have deteriorated sharply. Commonwealth Bank chief Ralph Norris announces his retirement. The Bank of Melbourne (BoM) opens 40 branches in Victoria as part of the bank's relaunch and plans to add 85 more. Macquarie forecasts that full-year net profits would improve over the previous year’s $956 million. Royal Dutch Shell to halt refining operations at its Clyde plant in Sydney before mid-2013. Coles has been cleared of predatory pricing by selling its house brand milk at a discounted rate. The competition regulator has raised concerns that the planned $2 billion takeover of pay TV operator Austar by rival Foxtel, part owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, could hurt competition on three fronts. Deloitte Access Economics says the RBA will increase interest rates three times in the coming year. A rise in producer prices confirms there is pressure on consumer prices. Premier, the owner of clothing brands including Just Jeans and Portmans to close up to 50 stores and downgrades its profit guidance. Poor retail conditions across the country are likely to persist into the first quarter of the 2011-12 financial year, according to a new retail-linked logistics report. With super funds, the median growth fund posted a 9.2 per cent return in the 12 months to June. Explosives maker Orica Ltd has reaffirmed that profit in fiscal 2011 will be higher than 2010. GrainCorp has entered into a binding agreement to buy European malt producer GermanMalt GmbH & Co for €58 million ($A77.95 million). | 7/28/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 73b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson talks about the latest inflation figures and the prospect of Australia being hit with stagflation. | 7/28/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 73a - Talking Business | Abigail Forsyth is the co-founder and CEO of KeepCup, a Melbourne startup that has so far sold 800,000 of its “you-keep-it” plastic coffee mugs, and is busily expanding into overseas markets. Ms Forsyth, most of three young children, and her brother, started in business with BlueBag, a highly successful chain of CBD sandwich shops. That was sold about a year ago and KeepCup founded. She talks about the challenges of the business and her decision to keep all design and manufacturing in Australia, giving her several advantages over exporting the manufacturing to China at no real cost penalty. | 7/28/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 72c - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk about how Jetstar plans to bigger than its parent company Qantas. Qantas says its long-haul pilots will begin industrial action. Westpac predicts the Reserve Bank will move to cut interest rates by the end of the year. Minutes from the most recent RBA board meeting suggest the RBA is in no hurry to raise rates. A new survey suggests more people accept that interest rates will remain steady for the rest of 2011. Australia’s economic inertia is unlikely to disappear before next Easter, according to two reports on spending and investment trends that indicate growth has slumped to its lowest level in almost two years. Six in 10 Australian households are saving as much or more than they were a year ago, Sales at supermarket giant Woolworths rise 5.4 per cent in the fourth quarter to $12.28 billion, The confidence of Australia's chief financial officers takes a hit on the back of weak local data and the debt troubles of the US and Europe. Victoria comes in ahead of the other largely populated eastern states in overall economic performance in the June quarter, according to CommSec but WA is the strongest performer. Australian gaming group Tabcorp regains its licence to run retail betting operations in Victoria, The Gillard government tries to take a lead role in planning the agenda for the next United Nations climate change summit in South Africa in November. Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott executes his second policy U-turn on the carbon tax in 24 hours, BHP Billiton unveils a $15 billion takeover of the US gas producer, Petrohawk Energy. Santos reaches an agreement to take over Eastern Star Gas, which operates in New South Wales's Gunnedah Basin. Bega Cheese expects to raise $35 million from the company's float. Foster's to review its dividend options after winning a case against the tax office. Commuters are prepared to pay up to $4 extra to get a seat on a train and $5.80 to avoid a five-minute delay. The nation's four largest banks have been asked by Australia's banking regulator to produce plans detailing how they would respond to a future financial crisis. Two former directors of the failed broker and stock lender Opes Prime pleaded guilty to fraud charges and are expected to be jailed. A Chinese miner has launched a takeover bid for Perth-based iron ore company Sundance Resources. Gold has hit a record of over $1600 an ounce with investors worried about European defaults and US debt. The board of ANZ has been banned from bringing iPads into meetings due to security concerns. Sales of new motor vehicles in Australia rise 1.3 per cent in June. News Corp's shares have slumped to a two-year low in Australia as the phone hacking scandal fallout worsened with the arrest of the former head of Rupert Murdoch's UK newspaper arm and the resignation of Britain's police chief. | 7/24/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 72b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Jonathan Boymal talks about the latest car sales stats and building figures. | 7/24/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 72a - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk with Evan Thornley, who began his business life with McKinsey and Company and who, with his wife Tracey Ellery, founded LookSmart, one of the world’s first online marketing businesses, later sold to Readers’ Digest. He was formerly and briefly a member of the Bracks Government in Victoria, resigned and became CEO of Better Place, a company founded in Israel that is in the process of launching in Australia the infrastructure (i.e. the charging point network across the country) to support the arrival of the world’s first mass market, zero-emission electric car, the Renault Fluence ZE. | 7/24/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 71c - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk about the carbon price scheme, with a carbon tax of $23 a tonne getting placed on 500 of Australia’s worst polluters. The scheme hands out over $15 billion in compensation to households to help offset the cost of living impact of the changes. The government will spend $9.2 billion over the first three years of the scheme to safeguard heavy polluting industries like steel and aluminium production. Steelmakers, including Australia's largest steelmakers BlueScope and OneSteel Ltd, will receive 94.5 per cent of free permits and $300 million in extra grants. Still, the latest polls show that 68 per cent say the tax will leave them worse off. The Baillieu government meanwhile warns Victorians to brace for more frequent power outages in summer with the likely closure of the Hazelwood power plant. Former Reserve Bank governor and Treasury head Bernie Fraser will chair a new body advising the government on carbon pricing. Australian stocks fall in response to the announcement. Several prominent analysts express doubt about the government's claims that the carbon tax will cause little harm to growth. But a survey of economists shows most back the carbon tax as good economic policy. Australia's two biggest airlines Qantas and Virgin say they will pass on the full impact of the carbon tax to customers. Various industries say they will be hit hard by the carbon tax but the ones that will make money out of it are banks. The RBA will monitor pay claims and prices rises by business to prepare for the carbon tax and the ACCC will be out to catch carbon tax rorts. Australian miner Macarthur Coal receives a $5 billion takeover bid from US mining giant Peabody Energy and major steel producer ArcelorMittal. The Australian economy is still struggling to gain traction following floods earlier this year, according to a NAB survey. Consumer confidence falls to levels not seen since the global financial crisis in July, according to the Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index. The growing crisis facing the national retail sector forces the Spencer Street Fashion Station in Melbourne into administration, as the shopping centre, owned by Austexx, owes its lenders $540 million. Residential land sales slide to their lowest level in 10 years, people expect property prices to fall according to a NAB survey but another rise in home loans in May suggests the housing market is starting to pick up. | 7/14/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 71b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson talks about the impact of the carbon tax on the economy. | 7/14/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 71a - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk with Mark Koronczyk, founder and CEO of successful food outlet Lord Of The Fries. | 7/14/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 70c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry discuss how interest rates have been left on hold at 4.75% for the eighth straight month. Australians will learn how the proposed carbon tax will hit their back pockets when the federal government unveils its policy on pricing pollution on Sunday. Prime Minister Julia Gillard will promise that seven out of 10 families will face no added financial burden from the carbon tax, the tax will not apply to petrol for individual drivers, it’s likely to be $23 a tonne and Gillard has halved the number of companies needing to pay the tax from 1,000 to about 500. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will be given power to respond to complaints about carbon tax-related price increases. The government removes a month-long ban on live cattle exports to Indonesia. Australian residential building approvals data fall 7.9 per cent in May. New housing starts are expected to fall by 13% between 2010 and 2012 according to the Housing Industry Association. The Australian construction industry is expected to remain weak this financial year, after it shrank for the 13th straight month as residential building slumped, according to an industry survey. Retail sales drop 0.6% in May with weak consumer confidence. Retailers should brace for tough trading conditions until Christmas, with no prospect of recovery until 2012, the Australian National Retailers' Association (ANRA) says and a Boston Consulting Group study shows Australians plan to tighten their purse strings over the next 12 months. A private sector survey shows activity in the services sector fell in June and has been contracting 10 of the past 12 months. Australia’s unemployment rate stays at 4.9 per cent for the second month in a row. The Reserve Bank could downgrade its forecasts for the Australian economy by up to 1.5 per cent. Research shows it’s been a weak financial year for public floats. Australia’s trade surplus in May is the widest in seven months. Total beverage retail sales decline for the first time in four years. A survey shows more graduates are leaving full-time education without finding a job. An ad for the pressure group Get Up Australia, which pastiches the advertising of furniture retailer Harvey Norman to attack its environmental credentials, is censored by Commercials Advice. Publisher Pearson Australia enters the online book retailing business after buying the websites of failed booksellers Borders and Angus & Robertson. Network Ten tells its staff it is looking for 60 voluntary redundancies over the next few weeks. Consumer prices are flat in June, and inflation remains within the Reserve Bank's target range. Profit and employment expectations fall into negative territory for the first time in two years. The MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Confidence which depicts consumer confidence in Australia reveals overall optimism has fallen since March 2010. Insurance companies could raise the cost of home and content insurance policies by as much as 50 per cent over the next two to three years. | 7/7/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 70b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Alberto Posso talks about labour and trade data. | 7/7/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 70a - Talking Business | Professor Ian Ramsay, director of the Centre for Corporate Law and Securities Regulation, is one of the leading experts on corporate law in Australia. He speaks to Garry and Leon about the great significance of the recent court judgment finding guilty eight current and former directors of shopping centre operator, Centro. They were found to have breached their corporate duties by approving documents that failed to properly disclose about $2 billion in liabilities. | 7/7/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 69c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry discuss how the Royal Australian Mint has told the Government that the five-cent coin is costly and wants it phased out. The Bank for International Settlements ranks Australian banks as the world’s most profitable but warns that could change. The Reserve Bank plays down risks facing Australian banks from their reliance on overseas funding, saying it could step in if credit markets seize up. Australian home values fall 2.7 per cent in 2011. BIS Shrapnel says property prices won't experience huge losses over the next three years but warns interest rates will rise to 9.5 per cent by 2014. A new study says Australian house prices are unlikely to fall dramatically over the next two years. Total credit provided to Australia’s private sector by financial intermediaries rises just 0.3 percent. Directors around Australia are warned to pay proper attention when approving company accounts, after the corporate regulator wins a landmark courtroom battle against Centro directors. The court decision boosts the chances of an investor class action against Centro. A quarterly business stress report shows that the number of companies entering administration in April was 812, up 10 per cent on the previous year and the highest April number on record. Skilled job vacancies based on news paper ads, decline 2 percent month-on-month and the overall figure is flat. Tobacco giant Philip Morris plans legal action against the federal government over its proposed plain-packaging tobacco legislation. Signs of ructions between Insurance Australia Group and its ally, motoring group NRMA. Massive changes at Telstra with veteran chief financial officer John Stanhope announcing his retirement. The Federal Government begins selling its carbon tax compensation program. Business leaders back the carbon tax but industry plans to campaign against it. As part of the looming carbon tax deal, the government plans to close two of Australia's highest-emitting power stations. A Coalition-led Senate committee recommends the government dump its mining resource rent tax and instead develop a plan to tax the mining industry in accordance with recommendations contained in the Henry Review. From next month, Myer shoppers can pop in for Botox injections as one of the new services being offered in an attempt to revive sagging sales. Car maker Holden has warned that it could be forced to abandon its Australian operations after the Government cut green car assistance programs in this year's budget. Rolling strikes by Qantas engineers starting next week are set to disrupt school holiday plans. Indebted rubbish collector Transpacific Industries has forecast an annual loss of as much as $209 million after slashing the value of its manufacturing division and New Zealand operations. Australia’s small businesses expect to cut their end of financial year spending by an average of 15 per cent, according to a new survey by the Council of Australian Small Business. BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd might be on the look-out for more acquisitions. | 6/30/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 69b - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk to RMIT economist Jonathon Boymal about job vacancy statistics. | 6/30/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 69a - Talking Business | Leon talks to Pie Face founder Wayne Homschek about his fast food franchise and plans to float it on the stock market. | 6/30/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 68c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry talking about Telstra and NBN Co signing the $11 billion NBN agreement. The new ACCC chair, Rod Sims, warns that the NBN is a monopoly. Economists say an interest rate rise may be just six weeks away but the RBA says weak economic data took pressure off it to raise rates. The Melbourne Institute Household Financial Conditions Index plummets 24.3 per cent in June to 25.2, its lowest level in 10 years. The latest Dun & Bradstreet Corporate Health Watch shows that more than 145,000 businesses suffered a risk downgrade in the March quarter 2011. Foster's knocks back the takeover bid lobbed by the world’s second-largest brewer SAB Miller. Analysts say SABMiller's attempt to buy Foster's Group Ltd for $9.5 billion could be only the first of many M&A deals involving Australian companies. The volcanic ash cloud over eastern Australia is costing the tourism sector over $10 million a day. Rio Tinto has increased its grip on Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines at a cost of $US502 million ($A474 million). Contributions to superannuation funds are expected to drop through the three months to June 30, as a result of volatile financial markets, Chinese economic uncertainty, regulatory upheaval and a renewed focus on eliminating household debt. Export earnings from the rural and mineral resources sectors are expected to reach a record of $256 billion in 2011-12. The federal coalition and the Australian Greens have jump-started the public relations campaign over a carbon tax. Australia's local governments have been warned the current mining boom is not big enough to carry the national economy. Retail giants Woolworths Ltd, Myer Holdings Ltd and Westfield Group Ltd have warned that the federal government's industrial relations regime is damaging the economy and could lead to job losses. Woodside Petroleum announces a significant blowout in costs and schedules on its flagship Pluto project. Qantas expects to make a profit of up to $550 million this year, which would be the airline's best since the global financial crisis, despite losing millions from the impact of a string of natural disasters and rising fuel prices. Two giant new solar power plants slated for Moree in western NSW and Chinchilla in Queensland will mark the first time solar power in Australia is deployed on a scale large and reliable enough to rival coal. Rio Tinto Ltd intends to compulsorily acquire the remaining shares in coal miner Riversdale Mining Ltd after Tata Steel sold its 26 per cent stake. Caltex Australia has forecast first-half profit would fall up to 39 per cent, dragged down by high oil prices, a strong Australian dollar and refinery outages. Russia’s central bank has bought $US5 billion ($A4.7 billion) of Australian dollars in a sign of global support for the currency, with the move intended to shift its exposure away from the US dollar. The combined financial liabilities of federal and state governments draws the ire of Future Fund chairman David Murray, who has urged political leaders to take lessons from the European and US sovereign debt crises. Secondary school students will be allowed to work reduced casual weekday hours in the retail sector, under a draft decision by Fair Work Australia (FWA). Chi-X Australia is set to open its stock exchange rivaling the ASX, possibly in November, after the ASX Group, the company that operates the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), approves an application by Chi-X Australia to use its clearing and settlement service. | 6/23/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 68b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Alberto Posso talks about the future of manufacturing in Australia. | 6/23/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 68a - Talking Business | Andy Barnes is director of technology at Bryanston School, one of England’s leading public schools, which means it is a private school and one with tuition fees that would make the eyes of most people water. It is superbly equipped but it also works with government schools around it to extend the technology it uses in learning. Andy speaks of the importance of digital technology in today’s education, of the changed role of teachers, and the utility of devices such as iPads. | 6/23/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 67c - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk about signs of recovery in the British economy, the Bank of England close to finally raising interest rates, the prospect of another downgrade of Greece, Prada and the rise of China, a crack down on debt manager companies in the UK and energy prices with the gouging of consumers. In Australia, billions are wiped off the Australian sharemarket because of worries about Greece and the US economy. Over 1,000 people lose their jobs as 140 outlets in the Colorado clothing group close. Federal Small Business Minister Nick Sherry predicts bricks and mortar bookstores will be all but wiped out by online shopping within five years. Angus & Robertson sacks 519 workers and closes 42 stores. Household electricity bills to rise by up to 30 per cent by mid-2013. Business conditions deteriorate in May, as a result of the February floods. Australian consumer confidence falls to a two-year low in June. Inflation fears continue to moderate after spiking during the flood crisis. Sales of new motor vehicles in Australia fall 7.6 per cent in May. The RBA warns that interest rates are still likely to rise to help contain inflation, probably in August. Monday's earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, is likely to have caused an additional $US3 billion to $US5 billion in insured losses on top of damage from two previous quakes. Insurance Australia Group says it is “far too early” to assess the cost of the latest earth tremors to hit New Zealand but it’s one of two of Australia's biggest insurance companies lifting premiums as they react to the recent succession of natural disasters and brace for higher costs. The number of homeowners striking financial trouble is rising, providing an early warning that mortgage arrears could hit the profits of the big banks. Domestic cattle producers are concerned that Prime Minister Julia Gillard's decision to ban live cattle exports to Indonesia will flood Australia's beef market and lead to a sharp drop in prices for all beef products. But the breaking of the drought has nearly doubled the annual cash income of northern beef producers. Foreign air hostesses are working for budget airline Jetstar - for half the pay of Australian workers. Private equity group Archer Capital has extended its recent spending spree with a $450 million purchase of the company behind local fast-food chains Red Rooster, Oporto and Chicken Treat. Queensland's budget bottom line will dive more than $2 billion into the red after the state's summer of natural disasters. Hedge funds holding more than $2 billion worth of Centro Properties debt offer to sell their share of Centro debt to Lend Lease. Lend Lease reportedly rejects the debt offer. | 6/16/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 67b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson analyses the Productivity Commisson report on the Gillard Government’s carbon tax and looks at the coal industry. | 6/16/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 67a - Talking Business | Tim Lusk heads Meridian Energy Ltd, a state-owned enterprise that is New Zealand’s largest electricity provider and one that derives all of its energy from renewable sources. This is mainly hydro but, increasingly, wind and solar are taking up some of the load. New Zealand currently produces 74 per cent of its energy from renewable sources – hydro, geo-thermal, wind and solar – and plans to increase that percentage to more than 90 per cent by 2025. Meridian is likely to be partially privatized and is already looking at selling its expertise to Australia. It has a wind power plant already operating in South Australia and is about to embark on building Australia’s biggest wind power plant in Victoria, at the Macarthur site, a joint venture with AGL. | 6/16/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 66c - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk about the Euro, UK house prices and executive pay. In Australia, home owners are spared a June interest rate increase, for now. Australian retailers face their worst financial year in two decades. Melbourne’s first Zara store opens. New home loans rise by 4.8 per cent in April. Housing affordability has increased over the past year thanks to sizeable falls in property prices and wages growth, but the proportion of first home buyers falls to a 17 year low. Mineral exploration spending jumps in the March quarter. The unemployment rate remains steady at 4.9 per cent. The 11 billion deal for the National Broadband Network is to be completed next week. Former Victorian premier John Brumby and Howard-era minister Alexander Downer join the Australian board of Chinese telco giant Huawei. The Gillard government suspends all live cattle exports to Indonesia. The humble cheque to go the way of the ill-fated Bankcard, with the banking industry set to review the long-term future of paying by paper. Sigma’s underlying earnings to rise almost 20 per cent. The security of hundreds of thousands of electronic key fobs used by Australian banks and their customers, the Defence Force and organisations such as the Tax Office to access computer systems is in doubt after a cyber attack. Virgin Australia announces a deal with Singapore Airlines, Qantas Airways Ltd top cut a deal with China Eastern Airlines and American Airlines, Qantas chair Leigh Clifford denies there is a rift between himself and CEO Alan Joyce, Qantas expects more fare increases going forward due to higher oil prices, despite the recent hikes in fares and Tiger Airways is under investigation. The International Energy Agency predicts Australia will be the world's largest producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas by 2020. The fourth attempt by Clive Palmer's Resourcehouse mining company to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange has been called off. Former Leightons chief Wal King will not seek a seat on the company's board. Mining veteran Andrew Forrest approaches the court to stay as head of his company. Disgraced former HIH chief Rodney Adler is back in business after three and a half years out of jail. New South Wales records the largest number of new start-ups among the states in the March quarter but is also the state with the greatest percentage of failures, according to a new report. The number of job advertisements in May posts their largest monthly drop in more than two years. A private gauge of Australian consumer prices points to a slight easing in inflation pressures. Iluka shares have soared after the mineral sands producer announced a new price deal with titanium dioxide customers. Constructor and property developer Lend Lease Group says it has won two pieces of work worth a total of more than $1 billion. Queensland's Galilee Basin will become the site of a multi-billion-dollar thermal coal mine planned by Meijin Energy, China's largest private coke producer. The mining industry has established a fund specifically designed to finance court challenges opposing rulings by Fair Work Australia, setting the stage for a confrontation with government over industrial relations. Newcrest Mining says problems at its big Lihir Island goldmine in Papua New Guinea could wipe out $170 million of full-year revenue. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is set to investigate broking-style services not licensed by the Australian Securities Exchange. The $5.8 billion MTAA Superannuation Fund, one of the country's largest superannuation funds, is under investigation. | 6/9/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 66b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Jonathan Boymal talks about the latest labour force figures and the RBA decision to keep interest rates on hold. | 6/9/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 66a - Talking Business | Garry talks to Jim Valle & Ed Manigold of Connecting Point, a Melbourne business that provides IT solutions for Education, Corporate, Government, and Pro Video. | 6/9/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 65c - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk about Greece and whether the Euro will survive, falling house prices in Britain and the growing debate about executive pay in the UK. In Australia, the economy has suffered its biggest quarterly contraction since the recession of the early 1990s. National gross domestic product (GDP) fell a steep 1.2 per cent in the March quarter, largely as a result of the flood impact on Queensland coal exports. Export volumes collapse 8.7 per cent in the first quarter, which will subtract a whopping 2.4 per cent from growth, stalling the economy. Australian new home sales fall to levels seen during the global financial crisis. Declining home ownership rates mean a quarter of Australians won't own a home by the time they retire. The value of Australian capital city dwellings falls more than one per cent in the three months to April. Australian residential building approvals fall 1.3 per cent to 13,377 units in April, seasonally adjusted. Flooding in Queensland and Victoria have hit company profits in the March quarter. Company gross operating profits fall 2.0 per cent.The Australian manufacturing sector has contracted for the third straight month in May, weighed down by a near 30-year high Australian dollar. But on the plus side, consumer spending grows at is quickest pace in almost two years in April. And Australia's international trade appears to again be marching on a steady path to recovery. Australian shares have their worst day since June last year, wiping about $30 billion off the market's value. Prime Minister Julia Gillard has ordered a national blitz by senior ministers to sell the government's climate change plans.The federal government's carbon tax would raise about $11.5 billion in its first year, assuming a carbon price initially set at $26 per tonne, according to the government's top climate adviser Ross Garnaut. Unions have won significantly broader rights to legally protected strikes in a precedent-setting decision by the Fair Work Australia tribunal. Prime Minister Julia Gillard faces the threat of widespread strikes by government employees. Home owners are being offered bigger discounts on increasingly large mortgages. Analysts say budget airline Tiger Airways exiting Australia would push up domestic fares by up to 15 per cent. The nation's major retailers are pushing for unrestricted trading hours, in order to compete with overseas internet sites. | 6/2/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 65b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Alberto Posso talks about industrial dispute figures, how Australia ranks as a place to business and looks at the currency’s impact on trade figures. | 6/2/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 65a - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk to Mark Davidson, Chief Winemaker at Tamburlaine Organic Wines in the Hunter Valley. | 6/2/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 64c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry talk about the prospect of French finance minister Christine Largarde taking the top job at the IMF, the crisis in Europe with Greece struggling with restructuring, turning it into a political problem and China's ratings agency, Dagong, downgrading Britain from AAA to AA+. Meanwhile in Australia, banks have been hammered by an investor sell off as European debt concerns and Chinese data spooked investors. Goldman Sachs has downgraded its investment view on Australia’s banking sector. National Australia Bank Ltd plans to take the pricing war between the major banks to a new level by offering discounted mortgages online. Australia's four major banks will not fund a planned coal-fuelled power plant at Morwell in Victoria, while environment groups plan to take legal action against the plant's approval by the Environment Protection Authority. Arrears on mortgage repayments spiked to a record high in the first three months of 2011, as more Australians struggle with rising costs. But Australia's economy is set to accelerate as exports recover from disruptions caused by extensive flooding early in 2011 and the mining sector continues to boom, according to the OECD. Business investment rose solidly last quarter as firms spent heavily on machinery and building, while spending plans for the next fiscal year were upgraded to a fresh record high in an upbeat sign for future growth. The government's corporate advisory body has urged Canberra to steer clear of another overhaul of executive pay laws, instead calling for improved disclosure. Construction work edged higher in the first quarter, but was below market expectations as non-residential work fell heavily, according to the ABS. There might be signs of recovery with retail sales environment in Australia showing signs of life and retail sales in the US have improved "enormously", according to Westfield Group executives. Goldman Sachs has tempered its growth outlook for China, citing a combination of high oil prices, supply constraints and a recent string of weak data. Australia will get the world’s first floating LNG facility. Royal Dutch Shell has taken the investment decision to make the largest floating structure ever built. Woodside Petroleum's plan to expand its $14 billion Pluto LNG project has been bolstered by another gas find off Australia's west coast. Wesfarmers has downgraded its forecast production at the Curragh metallurgical coal mine to a range of 5.1 to 5.4 million tonnes. The strong Australian dollar and catastrophic weather conditions have led rural services business Elders to post a first-half net loss and lower its full-year profit expectations. | 5/26/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 64b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson talks about the increase in capital expenditure, the mining boom and the employment prospects and participation rate of migrants. | 5/26/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 64a - Talking Business | Leon talks to Mark Birrell, Chairman of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia. | 5/26/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 63c - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk about the big news of the week that Australia’s four largest banks had their credit rating cut one notch to Aa2 by Moody’s Investors Service due to their reliance on overseas debt markets. Most Australians face a faster cost of living rise than the official rate of 3.3 per cent. The increase facing working families is 4.9 per cent, the increase facing age pension households is 4.1 per cent, and the increase facing Australians on welfare is 5.1 per cent. The number of home loans approved in March fell to a 10-year low, dragged down by the Queensland floods and by the November rate hike. The Reserve Bank has signaled its intentions to raise interest rates if current economic conditions “continue to evolve as expected”. Worries about rising interest rates and the Federal budget have caused consumer sentiment to fall in May. New motor vehicle sales fell by 3.5 per cent in April, with sales of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) dropping by almost 10 per cent for the month, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. ABS figures show that hourly rates of pay rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.8 per cent in the March quarter and 3.8 per cent over the past year. Australia's biggest insurance group QBE has raised $US1 billion in subordinated debt in the US debt markets to strengthen its balance sheet and provide funding for its operations as the spectre of disasters in 2011 continue to haunt the market. One of Australia's biggest fertiliser importers and sellers South Australian fertiliser business Megafert has become the latest company to go into administration. Australia's top 300 listed companies recorded stronger business conditions in the March quarter and expect to perform better than smaller companies in 2012, a bank survey has revealed. The newly created Seven West Media has become the latest media company to issue a profit downgrade as weak consumer confidence continues to eat away at print earnings. Construction company Leighton Holdings has announced a loss of $382 million for the nine months to the end of March. The shares of Sydney based miner Whitehaven Coal's shares have taken a hammering after it revealed it failed to find a suitor seven months after it put itself up for sale and ending speculation that the Chinese were finalising a $US3.74 billion ($3.5bn) bid. James Hardie Industries says an internal restructuring of the company will lead it to cut its contribution to the asbestos injuries fund next year possibly by more than $US11 million. Dulux Group expects to lift full-year profit as rebuilding after Queensland's devastating floods and a new entrant into the "big box" hardware sector boost demand for its products. Macarthur Coal Ltd has raised its net profit guidance for fiscal 2011 to between $240 million and $260 million, from $185 million to $205 million previously. The most significant women's pay decision in nearly 40 years, the workplace tribunal has ruled that gender was a key factor in the low pay of tens of thousands of social and community workers. | 5/19/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 63b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson talks about the Australian banks getting downgraded and impact of cost of living increases rising above inflation. | 5/19/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 63a - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk to Phil Smith, CEO of Fletcher Jones, about The Skeleton Project. | 5/18/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 62c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry talk about the European crisis. Then to the first budget of the Gillard government which is not as savage as threatened, but if its economic forecasts are right it will get the government's balance sheet back into the black on schedule in 2012-13 anyway. The first Gillard government budget promises sweeping welfare reform, freezes family benefits for the wealthy and increases spending on mental health, while promising to be back in the black with a $3.5 billion surplus in 2012-13 and positions Australia to ride a massive new mining boom. Labor is counting on a second mining boom. The budget also seeks to tackle the skills shortage with a $3 billion, six-year plan to train thousands of new workers. The Budget papers shows that the natural disasters last summer -- including the Queensland and Victorian floods and Cyclone Yasi -- have cost the economy $6.6 billion. The number of people with jobs in Australia fell by 22,100, or 0.2 per cent, in April, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.9 per cent in April. Executives are increasingly pessimistic about the business outlook heading into the new financial year as they grapple with the spectre of further interest rate rises and increasing fuel costs, amid a two-speed economy. Expectations for sales now at a two year low and a number of key indices have entered negative territory, according to the latest Dun & Bradstreet Business Expectations Survey. Business conditions slipped in April, after recording a solid lift in March, as profitability and trading conditions decreased, according to the National Australia Bank monthly business survey. The number of companies entering insolvency in March reached a near-record high of just under 1500, according to the corporate regulator, with cautious consumers and rising rents believed to be behind the worrying result. Australia's trade balance returned to a very healthy surplus in March, led by a boom in exports. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) posted third quarter unaudited cash earnings of around $1.7 billion amid "subdued" credit demand and "fragile" consumer and business confidence and a rise in bad home loans. Both Myer and David Jones report falls in third quarter sales, but see hope in winter luring fashion-conscious buyers back into stores. BHP Billiton has urged the government to ''go slow'' on tackling carbon emissions, saying reform of the electricity sector should take priority over the rest of the economy. The spate of profit downgrades expected to flow from the soaring Australian dollar has started, with steel manufacturer OneSteel blaming the currency for a forecast $38 million fall in full-year profit. BlueScope Steel, Australia's largest steelmaker, has announced that it will report a full-year loss as the strengthening Australian dollar cuts the price of competing imports and the value of offshore earnings. | 5/13/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 62b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson talks about the Budget and the latest unemployment figures. | 5/12/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 62a - Talking Business | Economist Saul Eslake, program director at the Grattan Institute, talks about the Federal Budget and its impact on inflationary pressures. | 5/12/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 61b - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk to RMIT economist Alberto Posso about the Senate review on banking and statistics on the migrant labor force. | 5/5/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 61c - Talking Business | Garry and Leon look at the Federal Budget. In the lead up to the Budget, Treasury has warned the government of the danger of high inflation as the resources boom powers a return to high growth over the next two years. The federal budget is expected to help hundreds of thousands of families with teenagers by delivering Julia Gillard's election promise to increase the maximum family tax benefit for 16 to 19-year-olds by up to $4200 per child per year. The Baillieu government's first budget will double Victoria's public debt as the Coalition delivers the election promises that helped it win power. The Baillieu Government has abandoned its commitment to slash public debt, blaming weak revenue and a determination to deliver its election promises. The Reserve Bank of Australia has left interest rates on hold. Manufacturing activity has contracted in April for a seventh month in the past eight, as the stronger dollar dented local industry. Companies are taking longer to pay their bills. According to the latest Dun & Bradstreet Trade Payment analysis for the March quarter of 2011 reveals that average payment terms have risen to 55.6 days, which is the slowest rate of payment in three years and just slightly behind the 2008 figure of 55.9 days. Australian house prices decline in the first quarter by the most since 2008 as higher borrowing costs curbed demand and floods disrupted the property market in Queensland while the number of new home sales increases by 4.3% in March and building approvals rise 9.1 per cent in March ahead of market expectations. Sales of new vehicles in Australia fall 8.8 per cent in April and retail sales slip 0.5 per cent. Australian banks have posted a profit before tax of $15.7 billion for the 2010-2011 half year, up 8 percent from last year’s $14.5 billion. Westpac’s profit is up 38 per cent to $3.96 billion, ANZ’s rises 38 per cent to $2.64 billion and NAB’s rises 15.9 per cent to $2.428 billion. Westpac has technology problems with its ATMs. Ratings agency Moodys has issued a warning about Australian banks being more dependent on foreign funding than other banks in developed economies. News Corporation Ltd has reported a slump in third quarter net profit, saying film revenue was lower after a record contribution by Avatar in the third quarter last year. News Corporation reported a net profit of $US639 million for the three months to March 31, down from $US839 million. News Ltd has entered into a joint venture with several automotive dealer groups through its car sales website Carsguide.com.au. Fairfax Media has warned that its revenue has fallen and revised its profit outlook. The Maritime Workers Union has warned that there will be further strike action if Patrick Stevedores does not meet some of its demands. Coca-Cola Amatil says the high Australian dollar is wiping between 1-2 percentage points off its first-half profit growth, which is now forecast at 5 per cent and says it might have to move operations offshore. A Federal Court judge has thrown out Fortescue Metals' attempts to get access to Rio Tinto's rail lines in the Pilbara. Explosives and chemicals manufacturer Orica has reported an almost five-fold increase in first-half net profit and says it expects full-year profit above last fiscal year's performance. Macarthur Coal Ltd says record prices for metallurgical coal mean its annual net profit will be $185 million to $205 million, well up from its profit last year. | 5/5/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 61a - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk to Frank Farrall, director of Online Business at Deloitte Consulting. | 5/5/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 60c - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk about the prospect of the next American president being the last to preside over the world's largest economy, as the International Monetary Fund predicts China will surpass the US in 2016. All this coincided with Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s trip to China. She has met Premier Wen Jiabao for talks about trade and the regional political outlook. She is there to see a deal where iron ore miner Gindalbie Metals secures additional funding from China to develop its Karara Project in Western Australia. The agreement provides an extra $300 million in loan facilities, plus $300 million in loan guarantees, all from the China Development Bank and Bank of China. A jump in consumer prices has rate rises back on the Reserve Bank's agenda and has increased the pressure on Wayne Swan to deliver tough spending cuts in next month's budget. The 1.6 per cent rise in inflation in the first three months of the year is the highest quarterly rate since the GST was introduced in 2000. Housing credit growth will remain fragile over the next 12 months, forcing banks to try and maintain profit margins by finding better deals on their own borrowing, according to a joint report released on Wednesday by JPMorgan and Fujitsu Australia. The companies building Victoria's multibillion-dollar desalination plant are seeking compensation from taxpayers because of the impact of this year's floods on construction. Hot commodity prices that have propelled the Australian dollar's meteoric rise could soon push it to $US1.10, its strongest since 1982 and a level that several weeks ago was considered unthinkable. But analysts are saying the Aussie could hit a ceiling if the US economy picks up. The Canadian dollar may take over from the Australian dollar as the best performing commodity currency once the US economy and expectations of Federal Reserve policy tightening pick up. The dollar’s rise delivering mixed results for the economy. Treasurer Wayne Swan has blamed the mining sector's rosy future for the need to deliver a Budget next month that will concentrate on spending cuts. Family trusts are tipped to be targeted in next month's budget, in a move experts warn could have a significant impact on Australia's small businesses. An Independent Review of State Finances found Victoria was technically $1 billion in deficit last financial year because of the way one-off federal funds were accounted for. The world's largest scrap merchant, Sydney-based Sims Metal Management, said it expects net profit over the nine months to the end of March to be $123 million, up 74 per cent on the previous year. Breads and spreads maker Goodman Fielder has downgraded its full-year profit guidance after a "soft" third quarter. Australia's top banks are set to report record profits on falling bad-debt charges and out-of-cycle mortgage rate increases, though weak credit demand and rising costs will make it hard for them to repeat those. Telstra has secured exclusive rights to live stream every game of the Australian Football League (AFL) season, including all finals, from 2012 as part of a new five-year deal. The service will be available to Telstra's T-Box customers through mobile devices connected to its Next G network. | 4/28/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 60b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson talks about the latest inflation figures and the work that needs to be done at the forthcoming Tax Summit. | 4/28/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 60a - Talking Business | Leon talks to Giam Swiegers, chief executive officer of Deloitte in Australia. He has led the firm through a period of spectacular growth and cultural change. He has introduced many exciting initiatives at Deloitte, from social networking to an “inspiring women” initiative at the firm which has received lots of acclaim. | 4/28/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 142 | VideoEpisode 60a video - Talking Business with Giam Swiegers | Leon and Garry talk to Giam Swiegers, chief executive officer of Deloitte in Australia. He has led the firm through a period of spectacular growth and cultural change. He has introduced many exciting initiatives at Deloitte, from social networking to an “inspiring women” initiative at the firm which has received lots of acclaim. | 4/27/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 59c - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk about how Standard & Poor's has put the US credit rating on a negative watch, meaning there is a substantial possibility the country could lose its AAA credit rating over the next couple of years if it does not rein in its mountainous deficits and debt. The news has hit the Australian share market and sent the Australian dollar soaring. Australia's export prices rebounded last quarter, courtesy of voracious Asian demand for the country's commodity riches, lifting the terms of trade to near historic heights and fuelling a boom in mining investment. And a leading index of the Australian economy has pointed to robust growth ahead, while sharp upward revisions suggested the economy fared better in the face of damaging flooding than some had feared. Despite these good economic signs, Treasurer Wayne Swan has flagged a tough Federal budget and the big question for the ALP is whether it will cost it further support at a time when it’s getting a hammering in opinion polls. Treasurer Wayne Swan says revenues will fall $4.5 billion following the Queensland floods and Japanese earthquake. And Victorians can expect some savage budget cuts too. will deliver the state government's election commitments but little else, with a national spending slump expected to slice an extra $1.5 billion from Victoria's GST collections. The May 3 state budget is expected to also contain a blunt warning that Victoria's property boom is set to end. And the bad weather continue to affect companies. Pay television company Austar says the devastation from this year's natural disasters has cost the company 8,500 subscribers in the first quarter. Woodside Petroleum has blamed higher than normal cyclone activity in the north of Western Australia for a fall in first quarter sales and production. Newcrest Mining Ltd has downgraded its full-year guidance for gold production on the back of flooding and the suspension of operations at its Bonikro mine, after posting a 16 per cent fall in March quarter output. Newcrest Mining Ltd has downgraded its full-year guidance for gold production on the back of flooding and the suspension of operations at its Bonikro mine, after posting a 16 per cent fall in March quarter output. | 4/20/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 59b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Jonathan Boymal talks about the impact of a carbon price on the economy. | 4/20/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 59a - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk to Daniel Feiler of eBay Australia about online retail and shopping trends. | 4/20/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 58c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry talk about how Australian Climate Change Minister Greg Combet has announced that more than 50 percent of the revenue raised by placing a price on carbon will be used to assist households. The Gillard government is on a collision course with the Greens over carbon tax assistance for big polluters, with the minor party angered at Labor's enthusiastic embrace of the abandoned 2009 compensation package and its focus on trying to please big business. The government also appears on a collision course with unions, after two senior cabinet ministers warned that wages settlements in the offshore resources sector were too high. Treasurer Wayne Swan signals a tough budget. Australia's central bank governor, Glenn Stevens, says the world economy's center of gravity is shifting rapidly to Asia. Australia’s biggest construction company Leighton Holdings now expects to report a full year loss of $427 million and plans to raise $757 million in a new share sale to offset the losses. Shareholders of West Australian Newspapers have voted to approve the purchase of the Seven Network's media assets but there's been a big protest vote t o the $4 billion deal. Resources giant BHP Billiton Ltd has denied market chatter. It says it is not about to launch a takeover bid for Woodside Energy Ltd, Australia's top oil producer and one of the world's biggest producers of liquefied natural gas. Global miner Rio Tinto has acquired majority control of Riversdale Mining after more than 50 per cent of the target's shareholders accepted its $US4 billion takeover offer. The banks are getting nervous about the new pokie rules coming in. Banks are believed to be reviewing their lending practices with pokie venues, although none have publicly disclosed it. Toyota will halve production at Altona affecting 3300 workers and Ford will cut 240 jobs from its Victorian plant. Meanwhile, Holden is back in the black after five years of losses on its car making operations in Australia. The red lion brand banked a $112 million profit on its operations through 2010, finally reversing the trend that had built cumulative losses of more than $550 million since 2005. IAG CEO Mike Wilkins has cited poor planning and lack of flood mapping for insurers' refusal to cover homes in disaster-prone zones. Iron ore shipped by Fortescue Metals Group during the three months to the end of March dropped nearly 16 per cent from the previous quarter to 8.4 million tonnes, as heavy rain in the Pilbara iron-ore producing region interrupted operations. One of the world's largest uranium producers, Energy Resources of Australia, is suspending processing operations in the Northern Territory until late July because of continuing heavy rain. Rio Tinto's production of almost all its major commodities has fallen in the first three months of the year, largely due to heavy rainfall and flooding. The company's iron ore production totalled 42 million tonnes, which was down 3 per cent on on the first quarter last year, and 16 per cent on the December quarter. Bank of Queensland's first half profit slumps 45 per cent as it was hit by a significant increase in bad debts. And in the wake of the bad profit figures, it has lost its chief executive David Liddy who told the market he will not be renewing his contract after 10 years with the bank. Qantas engineers have voted overwhelming to take industrial action next month in their fight for better pay and conditions, threatening the travel plans of thousands of people. | 4/15/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 58b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Alberto Posso talks about the latest ABS stats on indigenous health and welfare and their implications for education and economic development. | 4/15/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 58a - Talking Business | Leon and Garry talk to Freddy Sharpe, CEO of carbon management company Carbon Friendly. | 4/15/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 57c - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk about how home owners are spared higher mortgage payments with the RBA keeping interest rates on hold. But rising fruit and vegetable and fuel prices are pushing inflation up. At the same time, business expectations continue to decline with weak consumer spending and rising fuel prices. Home loans have fallen to their lowest level in 14 years and construction activity is driven to a two year low. Still, civil construction work in Australia is forecast to rise substantially in coming years, driven by a surge in mining and liquefied natural gas-related activity and flood reconstruction efforts in Queensland. With fewer buying houses, rents are also going up. A new Veda Advantage study finds that one in five Australians is struggling to pay their debts. But jobless figures are falling with the ANZ job advertisement survey showing the number of jobs being advertised is 19.2 per cent higher than March 2010 and ABS figure showing the unemployment rate falling to 4.9 per cent. Australia meanwhile posts a surprising trade deficit as exports drop with Treasurer Wayne Swan saying the Japanese earthquake and tsunami is likely to cut about $2 billion from Australia's export earnings and yhe Treasury Department warns the government that eight years of robust company tax revenues supporting the federal budget are drawing to a close. Western Australia technically slips into recession. Treasurer Wayne Swan says the takeover of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) by its Singaporean counterpart is not in the national interest and the decision is slammed by business. Woolworths chief Michael Luscombe is to step down, just weeks after the powerhouse grocer dismissed speculation that his retirement was imminent. He will be replaced by former shelf stacker Grant O’Brien. Things are hot in the biotech space with bids going on for various companies. Rio Tinto now has 49.53 per cent of Riversdale Mining. Hong Kong listed Minmetals which is majority owned by the Chinese government makes a $6.3 billion bid to buy Perth –based Equinox Minerals, signaling strong by the Chinese in our resources sector. Atlas Iron posts record production figures for March. QBE Insurance spent almost half its yearly allocation for large catastrophe claims but still expects its profit to grow by 30 per cent this year. Ten Network Holdings says it will downgrade sport after a double-digit slide first-half net profit. Leighton Holdings Ltd is expected to cut its profit forecast for a second time this year. Qantas faces industrial action with unions threatening to wage a campaign of "guerilla warfare" and the airline sending manager offshore to learn how to break strikes. Qantas is also is also putting up for sale its 21-strong fleet of ageing Boeing 737-400 aircraft - known as the workhorse of the skies - as it cuts flights because of the uncertain outlook for travel demand. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has launched its case against the 2007 board and senior executives of Centro Properties Group over allegations they should have known the company accounts were incorrect. | 4/8/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 57b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson talks about the latest jobless figures, the decision to reject the Singapore Exchange bid for the ASX and the soaring Australian dollar. | 4/7/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 57a - Talking Business | Leon and Garry talk to Scott Kilmartin, founder of Haul, a Melbourne company that makes and distributes bags and carry cases manufactued from recycled material. | 4/7/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 56c - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk about the soaring Australian dollar. It’s in record territory against the greenback and is tipped to hit $1.10 by year’s end. Prime Minister Julia Gillard a review into the formula for the GST and the mining states are expected to be the big winners. Treasury has warned that the Japanese earthquake and tsunami will hit Australia's export industry, as new figures show Japan's manufacturing industry has slumped. Most older Australians are worried about their approaching retirements and expect they will have to keep working., according to a new survey. Australia faces a flood of foreign capital as the mining boom continues to attract foreign investment, says the RBA. The Government makes two new appointments to the RBA board. RBA research shows cash is falling out of favour and more people are using debit cards and hardly anyone writes a cheque. Mastercard has a campaign to roll out more contactless payment terminals in competition with the Eftpos system. Sensis says its revenues will fall for the next three years but wants to arrest this with a move into digital. Qantas is combating rising fuel costs with plans to sack managers, retire aircraft and cut domestic and international flights. But that hasn’t stopped Moody’s from cutting the Qantas credit rating because of its high debt blowing out. Retail spending increases 0.5% in February. Disgraced ex-David Jones CEO Mark McInnes takes over at Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments. Coles says the next battle with Woolworths will be over frozen chickens. Franklins says matching Coles and Woolworths on low milk prices is costing it $20,000 a week. A new report from Rabobank shows that private labels will take a 50% share of the food retail market by 2025. Harvey Norman says it’s finally going to launch an online retail store. JB Hi Fi announces a share buyback, sending its share price up despite a $25 million profit downgrade. The Colorado Group, the company behind brands like JAG and Diana Ferrari, is in receivership after lenders pull the plug with it owing them $396 million. Beef is becoming more expensive because of low herd numbers, coinciding with Australia’s biggest cattle beef producer AACo announcing it will spend $27 million buying 53,000 head of branded cattle from the Tipperary Group. Farm chemicals group Nufarm is back in the black, declaring a small profit of $4.4 million and Sigma Phamacueticals has almost halved its full year net loss. The growth of companies like Origin Energy might be in doubt with the new O’Farrell Government in NSW reviewing the sale of electricity assets to Origin and TRUenergy. | 3/31/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 56b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Jonathan Boymal talks about the latest ABS figures on retail spending, building approvals and job vacancies. | 3/31/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 56a - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk to Billy Tucker, CEO of group buying website Cudo.com | 3/31/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 55c - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk about how soaring oil prices caused by the Libyan crisis is creating problems in Australia with Virgin Blue now facing a loss, Qantas raising domestic airfares and Caltex saying its refiner margins are shrinking. The World Bank says the slowdown in Japan following the earthquake is temporary but Moodys says Japan faces a recession. Still, investors have shrugged off these “black swan” events. They are focusing on growth and markets are booming. Treasurer Wayne Swan is softening us up for a tough Budget to help pay for the rebuilding after the Queensland floods. Labor grants concessions to the miners over its mining tax. The Future Fund sells out of Telstra. A lot is happening in retail with Nasdaq listed pawn shop operator Ezcorp taking a controlling stake in Cash Convertors, Solomon Lew looking to buy Colorado Group, Foster’s fighting with retailers over the price of beer, David Jones reporting lower sales and consumers spending $150 million on retail using smart phones. Online retailing is expected to grow over the next 12 months. But iconic cake company Susan Day is put in the hands of administrators. Woolworths is being taken to court for its “honest to goodness” campaign which Organic Marketing Australia says was stolen. In Queensland, premier Anna Bligh says it will two years to rebuild after the floods. ASIC chairman Tony D’Aloisio to step down. The Sinhapore Exchange is soldiering on in its attempts to take over the ASX but it faces strong political opposition Mining magnate Andrew Forrest is now ranked the richest man in Australia on the BRW Rich List. Macquarie Group is struggling to hold on to staff because it might not be able to pay them enough. Coca Cola-Amatil does a deal with Beam Global, the company behind Jim Beam, creating potential for more sales revenue through Beam and Coke. Unions are pushing for $28 a week pay increase for the minimum wage and Qantas faces stroke action. A new survey from DBM shows Westpac is the most popular bank. In the legal battle between Seven and Ten, Seven claims outgoing executive James Warburton took sensitive confidential documents. The Productivity Commission raises concerns about the carbon tax, farmers are set to make a killing from it, Gillard says she will compensate low income families and the new head of Treasury says it will only cost families an extra $1.30 a week. Russia’s state owned Rosatom Corporation withdraws its takeover offer for Mantra Resources after the Japan nuclear crisis. ISP TPG announces 23% rise in profit to $33.8 million. There is a management shakeout at Fairfax. Banks are still running into problems with technology with NAB’s UBank bought down by technical issues. Super returns are set to slump because of markets falling. The director of one of Australia’s biggets Ponzi schemes, Graeme Hoy, is jailed for 13 years. Customers holding Borders and Angus & Robertson gift cards have until April 3 to use them. Swiss commodites trader Glencore takes a controlling stake in Blackthorn Resources. | 3/24/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 55b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Sinclair Davidson talks about the impact of the carbon tax on the economy. | 3/24/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 55a - Talking Business | Garry and Leon speak with Anna Maria Lapetina, chief executive of Ernest Hillier Chocolates. | 3/24/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 54c - Talking Business | Leon and Garry talk about the impact of the triple whammy in Japan – earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis – leaving global equity and insurance markets reeling, wiping tens of billions off exchanges worldwide. Share prices in Japan have fallen nearly 20% and are lower across the region. The impact is likely to affect trade with Australia, at least in the short term. The biggest impact in Australia has been on uranium producers, with their shares plummeting. Shares in the insurance sector are vulnerable too, with QBE confirming it has an exposure in Japan. We can also expect downgrades for insurance companies. The impact is likely to be felt with other resources too. The Yen has hit a record high against the dollar and the Aussie has fallen way below parity. The earthquake has also hit the profits of Billabong and Australia’s car industry is bracing itself for the impact with Japanese car makers shutting plants. It’s also likely to affect technology stocks with Japan accounting for 20% of the world’s semi conductor production. Prices have already risen by 20%. Downer EDI says it will suffer a $10 million hit on its profits after the Christchurch earthquake and Westpac is also expecting credit losses of up to $73.9 million from the Christchurch quake. The RBA signals that the Queensland floods could put a bigger dent in the Australian economy than was first envisaged and Australia’s growth is expected to slow over the next three to nine months as a result of the natural disasters that have gripped the globe. Still, the disasters are likely to see the RBA leaving interest rates on hold. The government’s climate change advisor Ross Garnaut says the carbon price should come in with $5.75 billion in personal income tax cuts. Concerns about rising living costs among female consumers could be responsible for the weak retail spending outlook, according to research from the Commonwealth Bank. And Myer has copped the worst of it, reporting an 8.8 per cent fall in first-half net profit and saying people are buying fewer electric goods. The number of Australian homes worth more than $1 million has surged more than 35%. Sales of new motor vehicles are up 0.2% but housing starts are down, falling 5.3%. Wesfarmers has put its Premier Coal division on the market and Chinese nd Indian interests could buy it. Mortgage delinquencies have also increased. The head of the Future Fund David Murray says Australian house prices are high by world standards and have made the economy vulnerable to overseas events that might see a decline in their value. Murray is facing challenges for his position from within the fund's own board of directors. Get ready for the hardware wars as Bunnings dedicates more than $385 million to build new warehouses in the growing scramble against Woolworths to control the $36 billion home improvement market. Chadstone remains Australia’s biggest shopping centre in terms of turnover. Metcash has gone to the Federal Court in an attempt to try and overturn the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) ruling against its acquisition of 85 Franklins stores. The case will run two weeks. NAB has management changes and big changes in its banking operations in the UK, even considering an offer for the Lloyds banking group. The Commonwealth Bank says smart phones are changing the way people bank and wants to get ahead of it. Smart phones are transforming the way people bank, with an increasing number of customers accessing their accounts and making payments on their mobiles, the Commonwealth Bank says. Alinta Energy Group's shareholders have voted to pass the debt-laden company to lenders, following years of prolonged negotiations. | 3/17/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 54b - Talking Business | RMIT economist Jonathan Boymal talks about falling housing starts and lending finance. He also looks at the impact of Japan on Australia. | 3/17/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Episode 54a - Talking Business | Garry and Leon talk with Victoria's Premier, Ted Baillieu, about his style of government, and the challenges it faces, not least the clean=up of the Victorian floods, the cut in GST funding from the Federal Government, and the delay to the regional rail project, issues he describes as "black holes" left by the Bracks/Brumby administration. He talks about the environment and his pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent over the next decade, something that will have an effect upon current electricity generation dependent upon brown coal energy in the Latrobe Valley. Measures to improve the state's productivity, currently rated the third worst on the country are also discussed along with the serious issue of population growth. | 3/17/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 160 Episodes |
