Top Stories

  • To join EU, Croatia may give up its wine AAP - 9 minutes ago

    Does Croatia's Prosek jeopardise Italy's Prosecco? Croatia is gearing up to celebrate its entry into the Europen Union (EU), but don't pop the corks just yet. A heated trademark battle over the country's ...

  • A new path for families to find homes AAP - 9 minutes ago

    almost from the day she came to America - Hyo Kwon dreamed of buying a home. She scanned newspapers. She surfed the internet. But Kwon and her husband, Ki, could never save enough to afford a house. That ...

  • Leighton to renew its board AAP - 10 minutes ago

    Construction giant Leighton plans to name new board members within weeks following an upheaval earlier this year. The company is working to find four new independent directors, chairman Bob Humphris told ...

  • Qantas 'crippling' the Territory ABC - 47 minutes ago

    Qantas is crippling the Territory's tourism industry, the national Transport Workers Union has said. The airline cancelled its seven flights a week to Central Australia, as well as direct flights between ...

  • Aust bonds weaker after more good US data AAP - 50 minutes ago

    Australian bond futures prices are lower as more good US economic data increases speculation that the US Federal Reserve is close to winding down its economic stimulus program. On Friday (US time), both ...

  • Neighbours protest about tiny apartments AAP - 1 hour 9 minutes ago

    Judy Green was well-suited to move into a 3.3 metre by-3.3 metre apartment in Seattle's University District. Green spent the previous decade on a boat before finding a home in one of the nearly 50 microhousing ...

  • NYC set to pass sick days plan AAP - 1 hour 9 minutes ago

    A national push for paid sick days is poised to score a significant victory, with lawmakers in the United State's largest city set to vote on requiring businesses to provide the benefit to an estimated ...

  • Uni fees: Aussie students better or worse off than US? ABC - 1 hour 32 minutes ago
    Uni fees: Aussie students better or worse off than US?

    A survey has found some tertiary students are going without proper meals and other essentials as they struggle financially. Universities Australia said 17 per cent were finding life a struggle as they ...

  • Samoa lifts ban on high-fat turkey tails ABC - 2 hours 24 minutes ago

    Samoa has been forced to lift a ban on high-fat turkey tails, which was introduced amid concerns about diabetes, obesity and heart disease. The turkey offcuts will be available on Samoan menus for the ...

  • Spring Gully boosting production shifts ABC - 2 hours 34 minutes ago
    Spring Gully boosting production shifts

    Food business Spring Gully is taking on extra staff to help cope with a boost in sales. The South Australian pickles and spreads maker went into voluntary administration recently, due to big debts. Managing ...

  • $A higher after Wall St rallies AAP - 2 hours 36 minutes ago

    The Australian dollar is slightly higher, but has failed to make any significant gains despite US stocks rising to a new all-time record at the end of last week. At 0700 AEST on Monday, the local unit ...

  • Stocks to watch early on Monday AAP - 2 hours 40 minutes ago

    Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange on Monday, May 20: VAH - VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LTD - up four cents at 42 cents Virgin Australia shares regained some ground after their 17.39 per cent ...

  • Commodities markets summary AAP - 2 hours 42 minutes ago

    Oil prices sank along with the euro after the European Central Bank forecast that the eurozone would continue to contract next year and only return to growth in 2014.

  • Australian market set to open higher AAP - 3 hours ago

    The Australian market looks set to open higher after Wall Street again set new records. At 0630 AEST on Monday, the June share price index futures contract was up 19 points at 5,212. In economic news on ...

  • International markets roundup AAP - 3 hours ago

    A roundup of trading on major world markets: NEW YORK - US stocks resumed their upward push with both the Dow and S&P 500 closing at new all-time highs following favourable US economic reports. The Dow ...

  • $A higher after Wall St sets new records AAP - 3 hours ago

    The Australian dollar is slightly higher after strong gains on Wall Street at the end of last week. At 0630 AEST on Monday, the local unit was trading at 97.60 US cents, up from 97.37 cents on Friday. ...

  • Economy wide spending up in April AAP - 7 hours ago

    The prospects for Australian businesses are looking healthier, with spending across the economy rising for the eighth consecutive month. Commonwealth Bank's Business Sales Indicator (BSI) found that spending ...

  • Britain's Cameron makes personal plea to tax havens AFP - 11 hours ago
    Britain's Cameron makes personal plea to tax havens

    British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday wrote to leaders of oversees tax havens, urging them to help the country's efforts to combat tax evasion and avoidance. Cameron sent a letter to 10 British ...

  • Westpac drops fixed rate AAP - 12 hours ago
    Westpac drops fixed rate

    Westpac has dropped its one year fixed home loan rate for new customers to 4.79 per cent. Customers applying for new loans at Westpac will be able to fix mortgages over $150,000 for one year through the ...

  • Yahoo! to buy blog-maker Tumblr for $1.1 bn: report AFP - 13 hours ago
    Yahoo! to buy blog-maker Tumblr for $1.1 bn: report

    Yahoo!'s board has approved a deal to purchase the popular blogging platform Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. The deal, if confirmed, would be the largest for Yahoo! ...

  • Aust market tipped to open higher AAP - 19 hours ago
    Aust market tipped to open higher

    The Australian market is expected to start strongly this week after Wall Street reached record highs. AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver says he expects the Australian market to bounce higher on ...

  • EU, China have 'much to lose' in case of trade war AFP - 19 hours ago
    EU, China have 'much to lose' in case of trade war

    The latest tit-for-tat EU-China trade disputes could signal worse to come but both sides have a lot to lose if things get out of hand and harm the much-needed economic growth they seek, analysts said. ...

  • German energy shift faces headwinds AFP - 19 hours ago
    German energy shift faces headwinds

    Tense engineers have their eyes peeled on complex colour-coded diagrams on a wall-sized screen that makes their control room look like the inside of a spaceship. They work with a power system that would ...

  • Google boss defends British tax affairs AFP - 21 hours ago
    Google boss defends British tax affairs

    Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt on Sunday defended the US Internet giant's tax arrangements after claims it has unethically dodged paying vast amounts of British tax. Writing in Britain's Observer ...

  • Greece enters sixth year of recession AFP - Sun, May 19, 2013 9:11 AM AEST
    Greece enters sixth year of recession

    Data released last week showed Greece entered its sixth straight year of recession, but there is now cautious optimism about the economy's prospects although unemployment is still hitting record highs ...

  • China police billions spell profit opportunity AFP - Sun, May 19, 2013 7:25 AM AEST
    China police billions spell profit opportunity

    Mannequins in riot gear, armoured cars and drones line a police equipment and "anti-terrorism technology" trade fair in Beijing as vendors seek to profit from China's huge internal security budget. ...

  • Angola's skewed lending said to stifle economy AFP - Sun, May 19, 2013 6:14 AM AEST
    Angola's skewed lending said to stifle economy

    There is no shortage of cash or credit in Angola -- Africa's second oil producer -- but the struggle small businesses face to get loans is stimying efforts to diversify the economy. According to the central ...

  • Al-Jazeera in big gambit with planned US launch AFP - Sun, May 19, 2013 6:09 AM AEST
    Al-Jazeera in big gambit with planned US launch

    Can Al-Jazeera win hearts and minds in America? The pan-Arab news giant is laying the groundwork for the launch of Al-Jazeera America after its purchase of Current TV, a struggling US cable channel. It ...

  • Weak yen helps drive Japan earnings, but no cure-all AFP - Sun, May 19, 2013 5:42 AM AEST
    Weak yen helps drive Japan earnings, but no cure-all

    Japan's earnings season has drawn to a close with the sharply weaker yen helping inflate profits at some of the nation's top exporters, but, some commentators warn, the drop is not all good news. Sony ...

  • Thousands join anti-austerity march in Rome AFP - Sat, May 18, 2013 9:05 PM AEST
    Thousands join anti-austerity march in Rome

    Tens of thousands of people joined a union-organised march in Rome Saturday, protesting against the new coalition government's austerity measures. The metal workers union FIOM said the rally was to demand ...

  • Slovenia says reforms on track despite ratings downgrade AFP - Sat, May 18, 2013 6:44 PM AEST
    Slovenia says reforms on track despite ratings downgrade

    Slovenia on Saturday said it was confident its newly-adopted action plan would stabilise public finances and lead to an economic recovery, a day after international ratings agency Fitch downgraded the ...

  • Serbia arrests eight over pharma firm embezzlement AFP - Sat, May 18, 2013 6:35 PM AEST
    Serbia arrests eight over pharma firm embezzlement

    Serbian police on Saturday arrested eight people suspected of embezzling some 12 million euros ($15 million) from the country's main pharmaceutical firm Galenika. The eight, including a former Galenika ...

  • Labor and coalition rule out GST hike AAP - Sat, May 18, 2013 5:44 PM AEST
    Labor and coalition rule out GST hike

    For all their bickering, Labor and the coalition appear to be unified on one policy front. Both have adamantly ruled out hiking the GST rate if elected in September, with Labor claiming it would hurt poorer ...

  • Algeria pilots' strike grounds national carrier AFP - Sat, May 18, 2013 5:34 PM AEST
    Algeria pilots' strike grounds national carrier

    Air Algerie planes were grounded for several hours on Saturday when the national carrier's pilots staged a wildcat strike over pay, officials in the North African country said. Air Algerie said in a statement ...

  • Labor savages Abbott's super plans ABC - Sat, May 18, 2013 3:54 PM AEST

    Labor has launched a nationwide attack on the Coalition's plans for superannuation, warning millions of workers will be left worse off in retirement. In his budget reply speech on Thursday night, Opposition ...