Tag: Economy

Westpac will cut around 400 jobs from its head office, technology and operations teams this year, to compensate for a slow down in loan growth.

The number of trading businesses in Australia rose 0.4 percent in 2010-11, thanks to an increase in new business registrations and a decline in exit rates, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said.

Business confidence improved slightly in December despite challenging economic conditions in the Eurozone, though conditions remained flat across the majority of industries.

Businesses are pessimistic about trading conditions and their performance for the first quarter of 2012, as concerns about the European debt crisis and the slowing Chinese economy pulled down the majority of indicators in the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (ACCI) Survey of Investor Confidence.

Two consecutive interest rate cuts have failed to boost post-Christmas consumer sentiment, a result economists have called “disappointing.” But slowing inflation means businesses may benefit from more rate cuts in the months to come.

Almost three in five Australian small business owners (55 percent) will work during the Christmas/New Year holiday break and more than one in three (36 percent) will not take any time off.

A survey conducted by financial software Reckon has found that 66 percent of small businesses have reported either increased (41%) or stable (25%) revenue this year and more than 80 percent of business expect to have positive or stable revenue in 2012.

Opposition spokesperson Senator Scott Ryan on how the Federal Government has failed small business:

“Small businesses comprise 96 percent of all Australian enterprises. It is a sector that is only ignored at our greater peril, yet it is one to which this Labor Government has refused to listen.”

Sid Edwards blogs about using the Christmas season as a time to plan for your business’ future.

“The Christmas break is a time for family and to recharge, however it is also a time when business owners can reflect on the past year and review their decisions over that year to evaluate what has worked and what hasn’t worked so well.”

We’re always hearing about how the Australian dollar compares to the US dollar, and its value is vital to many in the business world. But how many of us actually know what drives the Aussie dollar? A Forex expert explains.