Australia & New Zealand
Australian, New Zealand Dollars Jump as Fed Decision Bolsters Risky Assets The Australian and New Zealand
dollars rose toward the strongest in more than a month as the
Federal Reserve retained its pledge to hold interest rates near
zero for an extended period, spurring demand for riskier assets.
Qantas's Jetstar Expects Lower Costs as Demand, New Routes Boost Traffic Jetstar, Qantas Airways Ltd.’s
budget airline cost unit, expects to further reduce costs as
rising Asian travel demand and new routes boost traffic.
Greenhill to Buy Caliburn for at Least $91 Million, Advancing Asia Push Greenhill & Co., the New York-based
merger advisory firm founded by Robert Greenhill, agreed to buy
Caliburn Partnership Pty for at least $91 million in stock as it
expands in Australia.
David Jones First-Half Profit Rises 10% as Retailer's Margins Improve David Jones Ltd., Australia’s
second-biggest department store, said first-half profit rose 10
percent on cost reductions and demand for clothing and cosmetics.
New Zealand Consumer Confidence Declines for Second Quarter, Westpac Says New Zealand consumer confidence
declined for a second quarter as households lowered their
expectations on future conditions, Westpac Banking Corp. and
McDermott Miller Ltd. said in a report today.
AWB Cuts Forecast of Profit Before Tax, Items to as Much as $101 Million AWB Ltd. expects profit before tax
and significant items for the year ending Sept. 30 will be
between A$85 million to A$110 million, less than its previous
guidance of A$115 million to A$140 million
Council of Europe Said Planning to Increase Kangaroo Bonds Due in 2014 Council of Europe Development Bank
plans to add at least A$125 million ($115 million) to its
existing line of 5.75 percent kangaroo bonds due in September
2014, according to a person familiar with the transaction.
Contact Energy Says February Generation Volume Fell 17% From Year Earlier Contact Energy Ltd., New Zealand’s
biggest publicly traded power company, said electricity
generation fell 17 percent in February while one of its biggest
plants was shut for maintenance.
Dexus to Buy U.S. West Coast Industrial Properties on Trade Bet, CEO Says Dexus Property Group will buy more
industrial properties on the U.S.’s west coast this year as it
repositions its portfolio away from other parts of the country,
Chief Executive Officer Victor Hoog Antink said.
Australia to Provide $920,000 in Emergency Aid to Fiji After Cyclone Australia will provide as much as
A$1 million in initial emergency humanitarian assistance to help
Fiji recover from Cyclone Tomas.
Rich China Communists Echo U.S. Tea Party Activists in Property-Tax Debate Zong Qinghou, China’s richest man,
says a property tax will hurt homeowners. Wang Jianlin, the 16th
wealthiest, agrees. Lu Guanqiu, No. 19, says China isn’t ready
for such a levy.
Mumbai Terror Plot Suspect Headley Will Change Plea to Guilty, Lawyer Says David Coleman Headley, a Chicago
man accused of helping plot the November 2008 Mumbai terror
attacks and a never-executed assault on a Danish newspaper, will
enter a guilty plea before a U.S. judge, his lawyer said.