The 2009 Suncorp result show the company is in real trouble. So, why is Suncorp Metway paying out dividends when it didn’t earn enough profit to cover the near $1 billion payment?
August, 2009
Media briefs: Another blow to Pirate Bay, Seven full-year profit falls, Obama’s holiday reading
Another blow to Pirate Bay, thanks to a Swedish court. Seven network’s full-year profit falls, Barack Obama’s holiday reading list and the Kyle and Jackie O furore had ‘minimal’ effect.
The Media Monitors' Top 20: Rudd’s media domination continues
A sign of unexpectedly benign economic times when the Treasurer doesn’t even make the Top 20. And vale Brendan Nelson.
And that was the Ashes; a sissy fight in the schoolyard
The truth is that the Ashes 09 were like two pretty ordinary sides that were fighting like sissy kids in the schoolyard. One of them won. It wasn’t Australia.
Churches today, political parties tomorrow
Conflict is occurring in Victoria between freedom of religion and freedom from discrimination. What counts as a relevant ground for discrimination and what doesn’t? It’s the state that has to decide.
Reaction to Pilger award reveals Zionist lobby’s fear of dissent
The Sydney Peace Foundation awarded its annual prize to journalist, author and documentary maker John Pilger, and Jewish leaders again are on the offensive.
Podger’s public service: the threat to good policy
Former Health Department Secretary Andrew Podger’s new book offers an intriguing insider’s perspective of how the Australian public service has both improved and regressed in recent decades.
Political snippets: Goods news for QLD economy
Some good news for Queensland, with sugar sweetening the Queensland economy’s woes. Plus, a sub-editor with a sense of humour about election speculation and campaigning.
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours: Performance reviews for Fairfax bosses
Fairfax media does performance reviews, further troubles for Qantas and which towns are listed as high risk for the upcoming Victorian bushfire season?
They’re building data pipes under the ocean: why no media coverage?
Over the weekend, a new undersea fibre-optic data link from Guam to Sydney was fired up, which will increase Australia’s international data capacity by almost 50%. Not that anyone seems to care.
American blokes advised to cut back on peanut butter cups
The American Heart Association has issued a new guideline recommending that adult men should eat no more than nine teaspoons of sugar a day. Too bad Australia isn’t copying them, writes David Gillespie.
Injectable heroin ‘more effective’ than oral methadone
Why can’t we provide an effective treatment to help heroin addicts and the victims of their crimes? Injectable heroin has proved more effective than oral methadone for getting highly dependent users off heroin.
Branch stacking brouhaha: Victorian ALP factions fight it out
Senior members of the Victorian ALP’s Left faction have accused John Brumby’s ruling Right faction of rank hypocrisy over branch stacking.
Consumer advocate goes eye to eye with ophthalmologists
Exploiting a vulnerable health consumer is unethical behaviour for a professional group campaigning to maintain their high incomes. Which is exactly what ophthalmologists are doing, writes Carol Bennett.
Bligh is right to resist abortion radicals
The political impasse on abortion in Queensland shows that there is still a debate to be had in this country about the human rights of the unborn, writes Jim Wallace.
Fake contractors gouging our tax base: unions
Australia is facing an ongoing drain on tax revenue as a result of the failure of the Howard Government’s attempts to prevent “bogus contracting” from undermining the tax base.
Fashion in fiction: jacket-less books
This season, the trendiest books will be baring it all with new “in” thing in book design: forgoing the jacket and printing the art straight on to a hard-back cover. Less is more.
US military screening embeded journalists
The US armed forces have employed a PR firm to “screen” journalists before they’re allowed to be embedded with military units in Afghanistan, analysing whether they have provided positive or negative coverage of the army in the past, according to Stars and Stripes.
HuffPo pushing past politics
More than half of The Huffington Post’s traffic now comes from people who aren’t interested in politics, according to The Huff herself. With that in mind, the aggregating empire is set to roll out sport, books and technology sections over the next few months.
Climate change: can its days be numbered?
Imagine a climate change index, Dow Jones style. Scientists would continuously update the index, providing a timeline for policy makers and the public on the impact and possibly future direction of climate change.
iCrap: when Apple gets it wrong
Apple is known for its sleek, hip, easy-to-use products — but the company doesn’t always get it right. Wired look at five Apple products that really missed the mark.
Craigslist: an ugly, anarchic success
Classifieds website Craigslist is ugly, run by an eccentric introvert who pretends to be a squirrel, does no marketing and employs only a handful of staff — yet it attracts millions of visitors (and dollars) every day. Wired examines the internet’s most unlikely success story.
