Out of Africa, mobiles move more money. Many people know that “mobile money”, that is, financial transactions on mobile phones, has taken off in Africa.
How far it has gone, though, still comes as a bit of a shock. Three-quarters of the countries that use mobile money most frequently are in Africa, and mobile banking in some of them has reached extraordinary levels. Next step in phasing out cash. Black hole of jobless set to consume ALP. A sharply contracting budget next week from Treasurer Wayne Swan could have brutal political implications for Labor federally.
Photo: Alex Ellinghausen John Black When the jobs market is dissected region by region, it’s clear the apparently benign headline unemployment rate masks a slow deterioration in many places that is about to get worse. Profiles for employment and unemployment in the 12 months to March show a stagnant national labour force, with virtually no net jobs growth. The labour market is overly reliant on mining in the private sector and part-time blue-collar jobs in the public sector, particularly in the health industry. At current levels of federal spending, the labour market has been heading for unemployment of 6 per cent plus this year, with a prospective downswing in the employment cycle led by inner-urban professionals, to be followed by job losses for white-collar clerical and sales workers. Budget cuts under fire. Derek Woolner The announcement that some $4 billion will be cut from the 2012-13 Defence Department budget, with further reductions over the following three years, might be seen as a contribution to the Gillard government’s commitment to a surplus next financial year.
In fact, it confirms that Australia has entered a new era for national security policy. It isn’t a coincidence that these announcements occurred in the context of bringing forward the next defence white paper by a year to 2013. Most analysts have concluded that the Defence Department has been so underfunded since the release of its 2009 white paper that the document is virtually dead.
Budget cuts to go deeper in defence. Prime Minister JUlia Gillard, Defence Minister Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare released a raft of pre-budget defence announcements on Thursday. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen John Kerin More than $5 billion in defence spending is likely to be cut in the budget on Tuesday, a decision experts said would undermine Australia’s defence capability and further poison the military’s relationship with the Gillard government.
The cut would mean defence spending, which reached $26.5 billion last year, could fall to its lowest level as a percentage of gross domestic product in a decade – from about 1.8 per cent to as low as 1.6 per cent. End the price gouging. Richard Denniss The standard excuse for why Australians pay far higher prices than Americans for clothes, consumer goods and cars is to highlight the high transport costs associated with the tyranny of distance.
Late convert turns on carbon tax. Redesign carbon scheme, don’t scrap it: industry. Soaring costs trigger Rio coal retreat. Michael Smith and Perry Williams Rio Tinto CEO Tom Albanese is expected to highlight the pressures of industry-wide cost inflation and the strong dollar at a conference on Thursday.
Photo: Erin Jonasson Rio Tinto is reviewing its coal expansion plans as soaring capital costs and investor pressure to return more cash force global miners to reassess spending plans. Analysis: Delta's refinery bid looks better on second glance. Petrol price probe starts. We need a corporate bond market. China syndrome fears ease. New growth engine. EU snags again on Basel rules. La twittosphère se met en jambes ce soir en attendant le 6 mai. « Mickael est dans l'avion, je répète, Mickael est dans l'avion »...
Le nouveau code #RadioLondres pour les résultats du 6 mai a déjà été trouvé, Mickael Vendetta ayant annoncé qu'il quitterait la France si François Hollande était élu. En attendant l'hypothétique victoire du candidat socialiste, la twittosphère se met en jambes avec le débat l'entre-deux-tours. Quelques conseils pour suivre l'évènement ailleurs qu'à la télévision et une sélection des meilleurs tweets que nous enrichirons au fil de la soirée Les « hashtags » (« mots-clés ») #RadioLondres, devenu un classique, et ce soir #LeDébat. Quelques comptes à suivre @LeLab2012, @_RadioLondres12 et @presidentweb ! Les tweets de la soirée >> RT @ledemocrate Hollande a offert des iPad en Correze mais Sarkozy a voulu offrir un EPAD à son fils #LeDebat #VoteHollande >> OSEO... >> Sarkozy bouge trop vite on voit pas la marque de sa montre >> Une âme volontaire aura-t-elle le courage de recenser TOUS les chiffres avancés pendant #ledebat ?
China’s Bright Food bites up 60pc of Weetabix. Miners say there’s plenty of fish in the sea. China buys Weetabix majority stake. China has gobbled up a majority stake in Weetabix. China's state-owned Bright Food announced on Thursday that it had bought a 60% stake in the 80-year-old breakfast cereal. The deal values Weetabix, which is produced in the small town of Burton Latimer, near Kettering, Northamptonshire, at £1.2bn. Zongnan Wang, chairman of Bright Food, said he was "excited" about bringing Weetabix to breakfast tables across China and Asia, where western eating habits are slowly catching on as wealthier citizens begin to shun traditional rice and steamed bread. "We are excited by the many growth opportunities for the business, especially in international markets, and Asia in particular.
Cornell Banks reporting season - Sometimes less is more. CBA, ANZ reshape amid volatility. Asian returns prop up ANZ 6pc rise. Westpac switches focus to deposits. Westpac takes the heat. NAB rate cut falls short of RBA. Ubank cuts rates more than parent NAB. Banks, resources drag down market values. Fitch backs banks’ margin grab. Homeowners prove the biggest losers.
Insurers recover from calamity. IAG rolls out Asian expansion strategy. QBE finalises Argentinian buy. QBE rejigs executive line-up. RBA cuts rates 50bps. In the mood to cut . . .
RBA governor Glenn Stevens arrives at the central bank in Martin Place, Sydney, on Tuesday ahead of the bank’s decision to lower official interest rates by 0.5 of a percentage point. Jacob Greber and Laura Tingle The Reserve Bank of Australia has challenged the nation’s banks to slash mortgage rates, with the biggest cut in official interest rates since the height of the global financial crisis. The central bank’s board lowered the benchmark overnight cash rate target on Tuesday by 0.5 of a percentage point to 3.75 per cent, a dramatic decision designed in part to push the dollar down and make it easier for manufacturers in Victoria and NSW to compete against cheap imports. Business leaders, unions and the federal government welcomed the bank’s decision, which they said would provide a badly needed confidence boost to cautious consumers. Bond rate lows lift commercial sector. Big four can’t afford the full cut.
Rate cuts are no panacea: Smith. After the bonfire of the verities. When 50 basis points doesn't equal panic. MAY DAY CHARTS: We Don't Currently Reward Our Workers. By Annie-Rose Strasser on May 1, 2012 at 11:45 am "MAY DAY CHARTS: We Don’t Currently Reward Our Workers" via Occuprint The 99 Percent Movement is bringing May Day, the worldwide annual celebration of labor, to the United States today with protests in over 135 cities.
Narev pleads for political stability.