■ Independents warn ‘all bets are off’ ■ Caucus shows support for PM ■ Bligh tipped to benefit from a Rudd win
Rudd best to take on Abbott: Ferguson
Updated | The Labor leadership battle is increasingly polarising the cabinet, with Resources Minister Martin Ferguson joining other ministers lining up behind Kevin Rudd, declaring him the best person to take on Opposition Leader Tony Abbott at the next election ■ Gillard to renominate in leadership ballot and expects to win ■ Promises to go to back bench and renounce leadership ambitions if she loses ■ Calls on Rudd to do the same.
- In quotes | Politicians take sides
- Labor’s leadership war goes to Twitter
- Punters put big money on Gillard
- Bligh silent on Rudd's chances
- Timeline | PMs kicked out of office
- ‘Saviour’ Rudd’s pitch for power
- Pokies war spills into leadership fight
- Labor tears itself apart
- Opinion | Revenge-fuelled and clinging to Kevin ’07
- Tingle | The People’s Prince rides once again
- Opinion | You want Rudd back? Why?
- Editorial | Time to end the uncertainty
- Kitney | Electoral reality hits Gillard hard
■ Video | Watch Kevin Rudd resign ■ How the world’s media reported the story ■ Rudd resignation | What they said
Telstra outage leaves millions without internet
Millions of Australians were left without access to the internet this afternoon after Telstra suffered a network outage. Engineers are still investigating the cause of the problem.
RBA sees no US-style housing meltdown
Australian homeowners should get used to periods of falling house prices but the country’s not headed for a US-style property market meltdown, senior RBA official Luci Ellis says.
Shares close down 0.1pc
Australian shares have closed lower, with the S&P/ASX200 index down 6.9 points or 0.16 per cent at 4286.2, after sentiment was quelled by falls on overseas markets.
Shares lose ground on mixed earnings
Updated | The Australian sharemarket edged down almost half a per cent early on Thursday afternoon, as investors had a mixed reaction to a slew of company results earlier in the day.
Virgin profit doubles, restructure announced
Updated | Virgin Australia announced first-half net profit that more than doubled on a push into the domestic corporate market as the company proposed a split of its international and domestic airline units.
Optus seeks injunction against AFL
Optus will take on the AFL in the Federal Court on Thursday afternoon, in an attempt to gag its chief Andrew Demetriou from publicly accusing the telco of illegal practices.
Origin 61pc profit surge beats forecast
Origin Energy beat forecasts with a 61 per cent surge in first-half profit to $489 million boosted by its $3.25 billion acquisition of NSW power assets last year and lower spending.
Romney challenges Santorum in TV debate
Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, who has emerged as Romney's leading challenger in the Republican presidential race, have clashed over taxes and spending in possibly the final debate of the campaign to challenge President Barack Obama.
Iluka posts $541.8m profit
China's hunger for mineral sands has helped propel Iluka's 2011 full year net profit 15 times higher from the previous year.
Better service helps DJs slow sales decline
Updated | David Jones has attributed better than expected second-quarter sales to improved service levels and the company's decision to reduce discounting before Christmas.
‘Saviour’ Rudd’s pitch for power
Updated | Kevin Rudd has cast himself as the saviour of Labor and the country, and PM Julia Gillard as a serial compromiser of critical policy reforms who cannot beat Tony Abbott in the next election.
Chanticleer | Virgin profits top Qantas
Virgin Australia is a bit like the Liberal Party at the moment. It sits back smugly as its main rival hogs the negative headlines.
IAG rallies on ‘excellent’ result
Insurance Australia Group’s shares have jumped nearly 8 per cent to $3.13 after it posted net profit of $144 million for the December half.
Tech wars spill onto TV
From the Gmail Man, who peeks into people’s private mail, to the VMware salesman stuck in the ‘70s, Microsoft has gone on the front foot with a series of attack ads this year.
Policies short on saving grace for retirees
Market monitor - Low global interest rates can be a nightmare if you need a revenue stream that’s somehow tied to the prevailing cost of funds.
The People’s Prince rides once again
The Gillard camp has nothing on Kevin Rudd or his media chutzpah when it comes to changing the story line.
Electoral reality hits Gillard hard
Kevin Rudd has proved one thing that his opponents doubted about him: He does have the guts.
End the reform inertia
The hardest thing to achieve in politics is system-wide change. Too often legislative measures presented as significant reforms achieve little.
Why the internet of things is the next big thing
Marketing & Media - The ‘Internet of Things’ is probably the most apt description for the seismic shift blurring the lines between worlds.
Coleman keeps his cards close
Stevens - We all knew that Woodside’s days of megaphone diplomacy would end with the departure last year of the Omaha foghorn Don Voelte.
Coleman vague on exploration plans
In his heads-down, low-key way, Peter Coleman seems to be paving the way for some potentially significant changes at Woodside.
No free kicks in a tough market
A couple of things are clear from Ten Network Holdings earnings downgrade and Seven West Media’s interim profit.
Australia set to become regional dunce
Asia-Pacific observed - Education success in Asia presents Australia with new challenges about how to relate to a region that is being rapidly transformed.
Tiger economy puts the bite back into life
It seems that consumers are far more inclined to focus on negative news than on the positive variety.
Cherie Blair suing over phone hacking
Cherie Blair, the wife of former British prime minister Tony Blair, has became the latest high-profile figure to lodge a court claim over hacking of her phone.
HP’s Q1 earnings down 44pc
PC maker Hewlett-Packard says its net income fell, while sales fell 7 per cent in the first full quarter under new CEO Meg Whitman.
ATO counts the beans, literally
A short black and a long look at your books. That is the order set to stir cafes nationwide as the tax man does the rounds.
New tool exposes hidden prostate cancer risks
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A new tool has been created to help Australian men decide what to do when they are diagnosed with early prostate cancer.
Police hold Strauss-Kahn over orgy claims
Dominique Strauss-Kahn was held for a second day of questioning in an investigation into a prostitution ring accused of operating.
Tassie via Strasbourg? Count me in
After five years of frantic freelancing around the globe, all Marko Letonja wanted was a place to settle down and a coveted chief conductor’s role.
Dotcom ‘relieved’ to get bail in NZ
Multi-millionaire alleged internet pirate Kim Dotcom said he is looking forward to reuniting with his family after spending a month in a New Zealand prison.
Resources Daily
Brazil eyes move on Australian iron ore
Exclusive | Brazilian miner Vale is examining investment in iron ore assets in Western Australia to help overcome the disadvantage of the distance between Brazil and China relative to Australia and China.
- Origin 61pc profit surge beats forecast
- Iluka posts $541.8m profit
- BHP puts TEMCO on care and maintenance
- Lynas fights delay to Malaysia rare earths licence
- Blackthorn hits paydirt with copper find
- Ausdrill profits from positive resources outlook
- Feeling at home in a sweet spot
- Toll to diversify to boost earnings
Boom’s glory days drawing to a close
Australia’s resources boom is beginning to fade and most analysts expect the iron ore price to halve over the next three years.
DealBook
BAML’s Murray takes UK CFO role
Jason Murray, Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s head of capital markets is leaving the bank to take the chief financial office position at Sirius Minerals.
Sage challenges Archer’s MYOB claims
The Sage Group says it did not renege on an agreement to buy MYOB, as the Federal Court case brought by Archer Capital prepares to go to court next month.
Business
Virgin profit doubles, restructure announced
Updated | Virgin Australia announced first-half net profit that more than doubled on a push into the domestic corporate market as the company proposed a split of its international and domestic airline units.
- Better service helps DJs slow sales decline
- Fairfax plan to reignite fortunes
- Toll to diversify to boost earnings
- Origin 61pc profit surge beats forecast
- Iluka posts $541.8m profit
- IAG profit $271m as margins slide
- New Perpetual boss gets tough on costs
- Restructuring charges push APN into red
- Brazil eyes move on Australian iron ore
Consumers keen to buy premium
Some of Australia’s biggest blue-chip brands are seeing signs of life in consumer confidence and are tentatively formulating more aggressive plans to gain market share.
National
Optus seeks injunction against AFL
Optus will take on the AFL in the Federal Court on Thursday afternoon, in an attempt to gag its chief Andrew Demetriou from publicly accusing the telco of illegal practices.
ACT opposition staff to face audit
The ACT opposition leader's staff will be audited after allegations of irregular timesheets and payments for time they were not working for the parliament.
Tassie via Strasbourg? Count me in
After five years of frantic freelancing around the globe, all Marko Letonja wanted was a place to settle down and a coveted chief conductor’s role.
World
Share traders rush to open accounts
Last week 187,422 new Chinese investors opened share trading accounts, the highest weekly total in five months.
Obama urges US corporate tax cut, closing loopholes
US President Barack Obama made an opening offer in what could be a long negotiation with corporate America on Wednesday, putting forward his first detailed plan to cut the corporate tax rate.
US companies target Dublin
When Bill Clinton told American executives that they’d be nuts not to invest in Ireland, many were already ahead of the former president as they buy up and lease Dublin office space.
Markets
Equities, $A stumble on economic outlook
Before the Bell | With Europe heading closer to recession and doubts about the financial future of debt-stricken Greece, there’s little buying enthusiasm ■ US stocks in the red ■ SPI down 12pnts ■ $A slips
- Brazil eyes move on Australian iron ore
- Wyatt | Steady price erosion expected
- BHP raises $4.9bn in US bond market
- China to outshine India in gold market
- Coleman keeps his cards close
- China sends positive signal on free trade
- China’s manufacturing sector shrinks again
- Australia set to become regional dunce
- US wages fall behind
Medicine is making Greece sicker
The efforts of Europe and the IMF to plaster over Greece’s budget problems look likely to soon lose their last vestiges of credibility.
Property
Global giant Hines buys in Brisbane
One of the world’s leading property groups, Hines, has entered Australia, buying the global headquarters of Ausenco in Brisbane for $88 million.
- Sales slowdown cuts FKP profit by 21pc
- Charter Hall posts 58pc half-year net profit drop
- RCL Group enters receivership
- Investa Office Fund eyes CBD buying spree
- Profit in serviced apartments
- There’s the exit
- Tax takes wind out of older-home sales
- Noosa’s Seahaven tests market again
- Investa on course to beat deadline on its $2.3bn refinancing
Bespoke malls now the norm
Retail sales have been flat-lining for months but some shopping centre owners are still pouring money into renovating their malls.
Personal finance
ATO counts the beans, literally
A short black and a long look at your books. That is the order set to stir cafes nationwide as the tax man does the rounds.
- NAB lifts its business rate
- Mining boom stokes wage increases
- RBA governor backs banks on rate rises
- Platforms try new degree of difficulty
- January respite for super funds
- Accountants won’t be restricted, says Shorten
- RBA fed up with banks’ glitches
- Non-banks raise rates
- Government rejects Greens super demands
Snowball’s on weather watch
If Australia’s general insurance cycle is at its nadir, then Suncorp is headed for fattening profit margins and a capital management program in excess of $500 million.
Technology
HP, Dell watch Apple’s rising labour costs
Hewlett-Packard and Dell are keeping a close eye on a big jump in wages for workers that assemble Apple’s iPhone in China, and could be forced to nudge up prices for their own products if labour costs keep rising.
- Australians lead BBC iPad content demand
- HP’s Q1 earnings down 44pc
- Sony’s Vita faces smartphone battle
- Sage challenges Archer’s MYOB claims
- Social media helps tennis return $1bn wager
- Tech wars spill onto TV
- MacTel boosts interim dividend
- IT innovation underutilised
- IBM steps up cyber security efforts
Labor’s leadership war goes to Twitter
The internet has become the latest battleground for Labor’s public leadership fight with politicians broadcasting their allegiances on social messaging site Twitter.
Marketing & Media
Fairfax plan to reignite fortunes
Fairfax Media unveiled a three-year plan to improve the company’s fortunes after reporting a 41 per cent plunge in interim net profit to $96.7 million after restructuring and impairment charges.
- Restructuring charges push APN into red
- Cherie Blair suing over phone hacking
- Why the internet of things is the next big thing
- Shares drop as Ten flags earnings fall
- Leckie hopeful on ad outlook
- Hacking suspect pleads guilty to conspiracy
- Remember Lachlan? Rupert does
- News Corp must act, top US investor warns
- Expansive role for McLennan
No free kicks in a tough market
A couple of things are clear from Ten Network Holdings earnings downgrade and Seven West Media’s interim profit.
Lifestyle
Money no object
This week’s must haves:Baume et Mercier, Gucci, John Varvatos, Bulgari and Calvin Klein.
A wolf in sheep’s clothing
Performance and value make the latest Audi a strong contender in a tough market segment.
New York | The table test
It’s hard to bag a prime-time spot at one of these restaurants – but it can be done.
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Executive property
The pick of this week’s high-end homes for sale: one of Sydney’s best beachfront houses listed at $7.5 million.
