Wall Street’s biggest insider trading fiasco is growing, with another 14 arrested overnight in charges involving $US33 million in illegal profits. Will this be the scandal to define the noughties’ boom and bust?
Business / Companies
Rupert’s pay-up model for newspapers on the back-burner
Amid all the throwaway lines and bullish spin, Rupert Murdoch and his executives always bury some truths in their comments about quarterly profits. Yesterday’s quarterly profit announcement was no exception.
Tiger bites Roo with Melbourne-Brisbane flights
Another Qantas Cityflyer route is being munched on by Tiger, reports Ben Sandilands: this time, it’s the Melbourne to Brisbane route, with the low-fare airline offering flights up to three times daily from 28 March.
News Corp revenue slumps 4.1%
Rupert Murdoch loves to act positive, so his 2009/2010 first quarter profit report was upbeat, focusing on the 9% rise of the consolidated operating income. Except, it’s the cost reductions and cuts that you should pay attention to.
Sydney/Melbourne by plane or bust: Airbus vision kills the fast train
The notion of a Very Fast Train for the Melbourne-Sydney corridor has been shot down by new plans from Airbus to fly Very Large Planes between the two cities, because the entire cost, and risk, is funded by the privately owned airlines and airports.
Another year, another Telstra rave fest
While the whole experience was very frustrating for shareholders who wanted to hold the board to account, the AGM was a PR success for Telstra, with minimum scrutiny of the board’s performance.
China’s "judo diplomacy" on ore still kicking
China’s Vice-Premier Li Keqiang recent trip down under only serves as a salutary reminder of the increasingly sophisticated yet tough approach by the PRC in its dealings with weaker nation states such as Australia, writes Tony Lamond.
Corporate blogging: Telstra tries again
After its last disastrous attempt, Telstra is having another crack at social media. Full marks for effort, says Trevor Cook, but it’s still little more than a bit of gloss on a dull, besuited corporate empire.
Crap you don’t need: the most stupid products ever invented
A definitive HuffPo list of the 15 stupidest products available for sale. Which is the most inane? Tinkles the toilet cat that hides under your toilet seat ready to scare your guests? Or the phallic shaped boob separator?
High fliers at the core of the Telstra shareholder revolt
Telstra’s “shareholder revolt” has nothing to do with mum and dad investors: the criticism over the Telco’s structural separation is all coming from a clique of some of Australia’s wealthiest people and the big banks.
A new front in the battle for Fairfax
The battle for the Fairfax Media just became even more interesting with today’s revelation that the industry regulator, ACMA, is conducting a review of independent director David Evans.
All-American hero Buffett has a $26.6b rails bet
Warren Buffett has revealed a deal that defines his optimism in America’s future, spending $26.6b to buy out America’s second biggest railroad.
British banking break-up provides options to NAB
The plan for the partial break-up of Britain’s two state-owned banking behemoths is public, providing a few investment options for NAB, writes Ian Rogers, editor of banking e-zine The Sheet.
Forget mortgage holders, every rate rise hurts business
Why is the media so fixated on mortgage holders? More concerning is how much power the Big Four banks now hold over the economy, and how SMEs are struggling to get finance.
Tough new restrictions on visits to detention centres
Serco — the company behind troubled UK immigration detention centres and prisons and now the contractor in Australia — has introduced a tough new regime to inhibit visitors to Australian detention centres, writes Trish and John Highfield.
Why China hates the iPhone
The rest of the world may be experiencing iPhone fever, but public reaction to the phone’s release in China has been decidedly tepid. And it’s not just the high price that is turning consumers off — it’s the government’s continued stranglehold on the Net.
Qantas 767 aborts 700 feet above tarmac and wheels up
Last week, just 700 feet from landing, Qantas pilots were forced to abort a landing when it was realised that the wheels had not been lowered. It was a close call for a Qantas and the Boeing 767 is to be investigated,.
Thoughts after an Association of Superannuation Funds Australia lunch
If the Government raise compulsory super contributions from 9% to 12%, it will simply subsidise higher income earners’ retirement by foregoing taxes at a ridiculously high level and overtaxing those on lower incomes.
Safety screwed over wrong washer
The aircraft engineers union is pursuing claims that Qantas avoided a detailed safety investigation of a 747 last year, which could have caused some of its engines to fall off in flight.
Which bank? Definitely not a big one.
US investors lost confidence in large banks getting bailed out by the government. Community banks are cashing in and cleaning up, advertising directly to local customers angry about large CEO payouts and irresponsible investing.
Has British Airways lost its number 1 UK spot?
The classic British aviation brand British Airways may soon lose its title as the UK’s most popular airline as budget airline Ryanair grows its flights and passengers. But will Ryanair be able to continue its double digit growth?
What business can learn from the battlefield
Two US Marine infantry officers say the leadership and management lessons they learned on the battlefield in Iraq have a lot to offer businesses and their employees. Semper fi!
CIT becomes one of the largest corporate failures in history
US lender CIT has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. With $71 billion in assets and $65 billion in liabilities, it’s one of the largest corporate bankruptcies on record. Can a speedy court process save its skin?
The failed partnership of work and families
Gaby Hinsliff was political editor of the Observer, the Sunday sister paper of The Guardian, until she finally gave up MP interviews to be a full time mother. An honest look at the work/life balance mess that parents — even those in exciting, fulfilling careers — are struggling to cope with.
Don’t say “good choice!”: 50 things a waiter should never do
Working in hospitality is tiring enough, but Bruce Buschel has written 50 rules that a restaurant staffer should never do. Don’t compliment the customers. Don’t treat reading the specials like an acting audition. Nothing about flies in soup though.
