The jobless rate has improved and given the Reserve Bank the chance to avoid cutting interest rates again. The jobless rate dropped to 5.1 per cent from 5.2 per cent and the economy created 28,900 new jobs in December. CBA senior economist Gareth Aird tells Janine Perrett the result was unexpected. “This report has seen […]

German retailer Kaufland is pulling out of Australia before its first store opened. Kaufland has announced it will withdraw from Australia after buying the site for its first store and spending months building its first distribution centre. It says the decision was made to concentrate its business in the European market. The first stores were […]

The federal Treasurer is refusing to say whether the government’s forecasted budget surplus will still be delivered this year. The mid-year budget update in December downgraded the surplus to $5 billion dollars this financial year but will be impacted by half-a-billion-dollars promised to the bushfire recovery effort. Treasurer Frydenberg repeatedly refused to say if the surplus […]

An inquiry into Crown Resorts has heard a license breach may have occurred after the failure to alert authorities about the sale of shares to Macau-based Melco International. The inquiry began after the announcement that Melco plans to buy 19.9% of Crown and allegations of the involvement of organised crime in Crown’s Melbourne casino. Fairfax […]

Popular hotel comparison website Trivago has been found to have misled customers on the best hotel deals. The Australian Federal Court ruled that Trivago engaged in misleading conduct and made false representations to consumers. ACCC chairman Rod Sims tells Deborah Knight the online hotel booking site was promoting its best advertiser as the best deals […]

CoreLogic has exposed flaws in the government’s first home buyers deposit scheme. Under the new scheme, first home buyers can apply for a loan with just a five per cent deposit, instead of 20 per cent. CoreLogic’s head of residential research Eliza Owen has found it has an inadequately high-income limit, fails to address housing […]