“It is one of those cases of taking the good with bad and realising that whilst online retail is bound to experience a boom it actually presents another hurdle for many Australian retailers who must contend with that.

“However we need to understand that Australian retailers are currently in a position where the major banks are holding the guillotine above their heads in the form of interest rates coming into the Christmas
trading period and this is yet another hurdle.

“Consumers are smiling on this latest development but that could very quickly turn to a frown once interest rates rise leading into the Christmas holiday period,” Mr Driscoll said.

Source: http://www.unitedretailfederation.com.au/media_releases/2010

Mrs Calmy-Rey reminded her visitor that Switzerland had been involved in development aid in Bhutan since the 1960s. From 1983 to 2006 Bhutan was one of the priority countries of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). At present the SDC’s work in Bhutan is focussing on good governance projects aimed at helping the country in its transition to a democratic state. A sum of some 8 million francs has been budgeted for the period 2008-2013. The SDC’s projects include in particular setting up a judicial system (training for judges and administrative staff) and a committee for fighting corruption, as well as a decentralisation programme.

In view of the fact that respect for human rights is closely linked to the introduction of democracy, Mrs Calmy-Rey expressed her pleasure that the death penalty had been abolished in Bhutan in 2004. This Himalayan kingdom is one of the first countries in Asia to join the group of nations that have abolished capital punishment. The situation of minorities and refugees was also addressed.

Source: http://www.sdc.admin.ch/en/Home/News/Close_up?itemID=195924

The study undertaken by the ASSOCHAM reveals that in the first half of FY’ 11, there has been an increase of 38 fold in the outbound M&A activities by registering 59 deals worth USD 20769.88 million as against the corresponding period of last year.

The AFP Study titled “Trend of M&A in India (April-September 2010)” elaborated that the total number of M&A deals were increased from 86 in first half of 2009 to 141 during first half of 2010. In value terms, the overall M&A deals rose by 345.16 per cent from USD 11832.35 million (April-September 2009) to USD 52673.32 million (April-September 2010).

“The rise in outbound deals provides clear evidence that the Indian industry is consolidating, and at the same time aggressively working on global expansion”, said by Mr. D. S. Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM.

During the first half of the current fiscal, the inbound, outbound and domestic M&A deals occupied a share of 15.41 per cent, 39.43 per cent and 45.16 per cent with 14, 59 and 68 number of deals respectively, added the Assocham Study.

As per the sector wise the major mergers and acquisitions occurred in telecom, metal & mining and energy sector. During the first six months of FY ‘11, telecom sector topped the list with 31.51 per cent share of the total valuation of M&A deals that took place in India, followed by metal & mining sector accounted for 24.08 per cent, energy sector accounted for 23.59 per cent while pharmaceutical and BFSI sector accounted for 7.11 per cent and 5.28 per cent respectively.

The number of M&A activities in the past six months shows that the Indian telecom sector is all set to take on the global markets. There were 8 inbound, outbound and domestic M&A deals took place in telecom sector during April-September 2010, valuing to USD 16.60 billion, representing 31.51 per cent share in total valuation of the M&A deals that occurred during the period.

Source: http://www.assocham.org/prels/shownews.php?id=2619

NSW Farmers’ Association Vice President Fiona Simson says the decision to set up the inquiry, recognises the process being undertaken by the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) is flawed.

“The public outcry the Authority encountered this week was able to put a human face to the consequences of the proposed Plan,” Mrs Simson said.

“It’s encouraging to see the new Parliamentary committee for Regional Australia conducting this inquiry.
“Many country residents will take comfort knowing they’ve been given a voice, but it’s important this inquiry goes one step further,” Mrs Simson said.

The Association is now calling on the Federal Government to release the inquiry’s Terms of Reference.

“The devil is often in the detail, the Association wants this inquiry to consider all options to ensure a balanced Basin Plan is developed,” Mrs Simson said.

Source: http://www.nswfarmers.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/67503/191.10nr.pdf

“The NSW Government is saying that people accused of a breach of OHS laws should be assumed guilty. Not even murderers, child sex offenders or Guantanamo Bay detainees have to prove their innocence,” Dr Williams said.

“People who willfully or negligently breach safety legislation should feel the full weight of the law. But the current OHS laws in NSW deprive accused persons and defendants of basic legal and human rights. Why should employers enjoy lesser legal rights than anyone else accused of an offence?

“And why should organisations, like unions, that aren’t independent, be able to launch prosecutions against individuals? It undermines the process and goes against the principles of the Westminster legal system.
“We support the OHS harmonisation process, but we cannot support the inclusion of bad law from this State forming part of the new national regime.”

Dr Williams also said the idea that the new national laws will lead to a ‘lowest common denominator’ approach to safety is wrong.

“Retaining these draconian laws in the name of better safety outcomes is a falsehood,” she said.

“A national OHS framework is crucial to improving safety in workplaces across the country. It will eliminate the tangled web of red tape across State borders, particularly for people working in companies that operate in a number of jurisdictions. The new Model Act will finally allow us to focus solely on safety and health, rather than wrestling with eight different compliance regimes.

Source: http://www.nswmin.com.au/Media-Speeches-and-Info/Media-Releases/default.aspx

“By buckling under union pressure the NSW Government has defied the Prime Minister who has deemed the national OHS laws set were among her most significant achievements as Minister for Workplace Relations. The ARA regards COAG harmonisation of regulations as a vital project for reform in the seamless national economy agenda and sees this move by Keneally as discouraging the goodwill needed to bring all parties to the negotiating table,” Zimmerman said.

In another retrograde move, the NSW Government also announced this week that it is the first jurisdiction in Australia to designate Easter Sunday as a public holiday in 2011. Easter Sunday is currently not a declared public holiday in any Australian State or territory legislation.

“Retailing in Australia in 2010 is a 24/7 proposition. Consumers demand access to goods and services at a time and place convenient to them. Sunday trading is very important to Australians who need to shop at weekends for practical and leisure purposes or while travelling. Contemporary working patterns have resulted in Sunday becoming an ordinary working day in many industries.

Source: http://www.retail.org.au/index.php/news_media

“For a small retailer, administering the Government’s parental leave payments is a costly, time consuming administrative nightmare.

“To become the ‘paymaster’ for parental leave payments means upgrading payroll systems, seeking professional advice from accountants and employment relations specialists, managing wages without normal benefits likes superannuation and work compensation.

“All these operational changes cost time and money and create more red tape for retailers who are already dealing with major industrial relations changes,” Zimmerman said.

Source: http://www.retail.org.au/index.php/news/Retailers_support_Bill_to_reduce_parental_leave_red_tape_

“What is concerning is that a self declared Atheist Prime Minister has dramatically decided that such a level of Government intervention is acceptable. It smacks of State control and restriction of trade and expression
that is more at home in Stalin’s Russia than Australia in 2010.

“What’s next…will we see Buddha, Muhammad, Amun or the Witches of Eastwick converted to contraband?
“I have today written to Pope Benedict to implore him to intervene and make contact with Prime Minister Gillard so that Mary MacKillop’s name can again be “owned” by the people, not restricted in its use by a Government.

“It would be a disgrace if we got to a position where people wishing to purchase items of symbolism or commercial materials were forced to source goods online out of China to celebrate Mary MacKillop, rather than domestically in the home of this great Australian.

Source: http://www.unitedretailfederation.com.au/media_releases/2010

The Chamber President, Dr. Swati Piramal said, the Indian economy requires expansion of lendable resource base of banks to meet increased investment requirements due to accelerated activities.

Despite gradual reduction, the ASSOCHAM chief said, CRR and SLR are still high compared to international averages. Given the government’s resolve to reduce fiscal deficit , the relevance of CRR to control expansion of credit has significantly lessened and SLR should not be treated as a major instrument for funding Public Sector.

The chamber has further stated that while the economy has moved on to a path of high growth rate, the headline inflation continues at discomforting levels, even after repeated tightening measures taken by RBI from time to time.

One result of the RBI’s attempts to control inflation through monetary measures has been that the credit growth in the current year has slowed down which could impact growth momentum in the coming months.

ASSOCHAM feels that the inflation is more on account of supply side constraints, rather than excessive money in the system.

Source: http://www.assocham.org/prels/shownews.php?id=2615

Mining, manufacturing and electricity sectors respectively grew at 7.0 percent, 5.9 percent and 5.6 percent during the month. These figures pull down the cumulative growth in industrial production since April 2010 from 11.4 percent to 10.6 percent.

The pull has mainly resulted by the fall in the growth rate of mining (from 10.0 percent to 9.4 percent) and manufacturing (from 12.2 percent to 11.3 percent).

As against the general growth in industrial production, some of the labour intensive industries like the wood and wood products, furniture & fixtures and textiles (including wearing apparel) have shown negative growth.

While the negative growth in the production of consumer non-durables continues to be a cause of concern, the month has seen that the production of capital goods too slipping.

In a statement, ASSOCHAM President, Dr. Swati Piramal expressed her apprehensions about the nature of industrial recovery that the country has been witnessing so far and the sustainability of industrial recovery in the absence of government support still remains a major concern. The implications of falling industrial production will pull down the services sector as most of its products are intermediate in nature and the combined effect on employment poses a grave concern to the economy.

Source: http://www.assocham.org/prels/shownews.php?id=2612