The silly season is clearly not yet over for the local share market, with traders pushing it 1.4 per cent higher in thin holiday trade.
from Retail http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-29/local-share-market-rises-in-thin-trade/5991860
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The silly season is clearly not yet over for the local share market, with traders pushing it 1.4 per cent higher in thin holiday trade.
The Australian Retailers Association says businesses are reporting that Boxing Day sales have exceeded their expectations, while pre-Christmas trading got a late boost.
A Newcastle insolvency practitioner says he is getting a lot of enquires from businesses needing to restructure their finances, as a result of the Hunter's mining downturn.
Australians are expected to spend about $2.1 billion in today's Boxing Day sales, with some keen shoppers camping out overnight to secure themselves a bargain.
Australians spent in record numbers in the lead-up to Christmas, the peak retail body says, with those aged over 14 spending an average of $2,500 each in the six weeks leading up to today.
There were optimistic predictions of a jump in sales this Christmas, but retailers have not seen it so far.
WA's only mobile butcher completes his last outback trip for the year, making record Christmas sales on the marathon journey.
Christmas cheer has continued on the Australian share market, with the major indices gaining over 1 per cent.
A private survey of online spending shows sales fell last month, and grew less than 4 per cent over the year.
Administrators of a menswear store, operating in Griffith, Wagga Wagga and Albury, are trying to sell the business.
The National Retailers Association expects South Australians will spend $200 million across this weekend in preparation for Christmas.
Tasmanian retailers are hoping to see thousands of last minute shoppers in the lead up to Christmas.
Miniature supermarket for Darwin’s vulnerable experiencing record demand in lead up to Christmas.
New powers granted to the ACCC could be used to conduct an investigation into Canberra's high petrol prices.
An online group buying site has accepted a court enforceable undertaking after the consumer watchdog raised concerns about its contracts and its website advertising.
Entrepreneurial teenagers are selling second-hand clothes from a shipping container in their remote north-east Arnhem community.
The Woolworths supermarket has defended itself against accusations it bullied supermarket suppliers into paying for a discount campaign.
The supermarket giant admits to "crossing the line" in dealing with suppliers and agrees a $10 million fine with the ACCC.
The competition regulator and Coles appear to have reached a settlement over alleged supplier mistreatment.
Australians are expected to spend about $45 billion on Christmas gifts this year, despite mixed economic signals.
The Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) says online shopping is like a "cancer" for mainstream retailers in regional areas.
Granite paving stones laid at the west end of Hindley Street in Adelaide's CBD may be ripped up after the slippery surface was found to be a traffic hazard.
A new report delivers disturbing economic news for ACT businesses relying on good sales figures ahead of Christmas.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is investigating pharmacy chain Chemist Warehouse over its advertising practices.
A South Australian supermarket chain has made the decision to only stock free range eggs.
The head of the Shepparton Chamber of Commerce, Paul Lelliott, has welcomed federal Treasurer Joe Hockey's call to Australians to spend up big at Christmas.
Lower production and changing fashions trends are driving down sales of woollen garments across the globe, according to a wool industry analyst.
The Woolworths supermarket chain has started selling imperfect, and oddly shaped or sized, fruit and vegetables at discount prices.
Retail sales have defied weak economic figures, posting a solid 0.4 per cent rise in October.
The debate over free-range, barn-raised or caged hens, and appropriate stocking densities for each, has raged within the egg industry for years and now it's being played out in the market place.
The latest snapshot on online retail shows the smaller states and territories are punching well above their weight when it comes to internet shopping.
Fuel companies are asked to explain why Perth's petrol prices are dropping quicker than those in regional areas.
A local business group in southern Queensland says the region is facing a tough Christmas trading period mainly because of the drought.
A rare book store in the Brisbane CBD is being forced to throw out thousands of books damaged by water in Thursday's storm.
The developer of a new shopping centre on Rockhampton's northside says its will start clearing the site next week.
Slowing sales growth and the rise of competitor Aldi will have shareholders posing tough questions at Woolworths' annual general meeting in Brisbane on Thursday.
WA's first 24-hour department store, a Kmart, opens on the outskirts of Bunbury as restrictive trading hours prevent similar stores opening in Perth.
A shopping frenzy is predicted in the pre-Christmas trading period, with Australians expected to part with more money than last year - a whopping $43 billion.
Flat sales and falling profits are haunting the bosses at department store Myer as they faced investors at the annual general meeting in Melbourne.
A multi-million dollar supermarket is about to open in a remote central Australian Aboriginal community.
The competition regulator has allowed Wesfarmers' takeover of Pacific Brands workwear division, which includes Hard Yakka, King Gee and Stubbies.
Two major pharmacy bodies say Chemist Warehouse is misleading consumers in the way it advertises its discounts on some of its products in store, as well as on dockets given to customers.
Their shops are called warehouses and products are sold in bulk, while customers are known as 'members' and actually pay a fee to shop there.
A $150 million project to build a new shopping complex at Munno Para in northern Adelaide gets underway later.
The Reserve Bank says economic growth may get worse before it improves, but low rates are helping and look like they are here to stay for some time.
A widely-watched index of consumer sentiment has disappointed, stuck in negative territory for nine straight months.
Department store Myer has reported the smallest possible lift in sales during its first quarter.
E-commerce giant Alibaba reports sales of more than $9 billion in one day as part of major turnover during China's anti-Valentines Singles' Day.
Nearly 20 years after closing its doors, department store Georges on Collins is being remembered in a new book for its elegance rather than its arrogance.
The Mayor of Bunbury says he is surprised a proposal to partially close the city's main street during summer was not supported.
The Horsham council is considering an application for another bottle shop in the city.
A blind Sydney woman launches a claim of unlawful discrimination against Coles over its website, and her lawyer says if she succeeds it could have implications for other websites.
Albany's peak business lobby says a lower than expected turnout to the city's Anzac centenary commemorations has caused financial headaches for many local businesses.
Activity in Australia's services sector shrank to a 15-month low in October.
The ABS says the iPhone 6 release was the main reason why retail sales growth was three times bigger than economists expected.
The Australian share market finished the day lower, dragged down by mining companies and a raft of soft economic data.
Blue Mountains business owners and leaders say the area is still open for business despite a contained bushfire that gutted one Katoomba home and damaged another.
A fall in fuel sales has held back Woolworths' overall first quarter retail turnover.
Perth retailers are given permission to open from 7:00am during extended Christmas shopping hours for the first time.
Wesfarmers, the owner of Coles, has seen a pick-up in food and liquor sales, but petrol sales fell.
A resourceful program run by three Australian National University (ANU) students is helping feed hungry students on a shoestring budget while also reducing major supermarket food wastage in Canberra.
An online retailer in California is making no apologies for marketing Ebola-themed outfits for grown-ups looking to add some shock value to their Halloween get-ups.
Wellington's business community has sprung into action following the announcement the town's Target store is to close.
The Federal Court has ordered Reebok Australia to pay $350,000 for making false claims about its EasyTone shoes.
European supermarket chain Aldi has confirmed it is considering opening a store in South Australia's Riverland.
The Hunter Development Corporation has thrown Renew Newcastle a lifeline, providing $30,000 in annual funding for the next three years.
With more than half a billion mobile phone users in China, many tech companies are desperate to cash in on the country's lucrative smartphone market.
With funding about to dry up, the Renew Newcastle project is warning the city could see dozens of empty shopfronts again.
The Federal Government's Green Paper on competitiveness in agriculture, launched this morning at the National Farmers Federation Congress, details plans for more dams and water infrastructure as well as changes to the way supermarkets and farmers interact.
American retail giant Costco has hit a hurdle in its Australian expansion, with an Adelaide court knocking back its application for a licence to sell liquor.
The Australian Food and Grocery Council says testing allegations about the mistreatment of suppliers by a major supermarket is the best way to ensure a competitive market and fair deals for consumers.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has accused Coles of engaging in "unconscionable conduct" in breach of the Australian Consumer Law.
Among the most serious allegations are that Coles used undue pressure and commercial threats to obtain payments from five suppliers when Coles lost money on their products for reasons such as markdowns or damage.
Supermarket chain Aldi has confirmed it is looking to open a store in south-east South Australia but is yet to commit to a specific site.
Coles is taken to court by the ACCC for allegedly bullying its suppliers to boost profits.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has launched further proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia, alleging Coles supermarkets demanded money from suppliers that it was not lawfully entitled to.
The Australian share market rose on Wednesday, marking the first time it managed two straight sessions of gains since the start of the month.
A widely-watched consumer sentiment index has remained negative for the eighth straight month.
Five young Australians will represent their country at the biggest meat judging competition in the world. The selection followed the Australian Inter-Collegiate Meat Judging contest which attracted 150 finalists and marks 25 years of meat judging in Australia.
Two small supermarket owners in Canberra have taken their fight against the redevelopment of a local shopping centre to the High Court.
Cyclists want cars banned from sections of Chapel Street, one of Melbourne's busy shopping precincts.
A Newcastle retailer says the days of window smashing and anti-social behaviour are long gone, thanks to the ongoing success of hotel lockouts and early closing times.
Newcastle's popular Olive Tree Markets will move from The Junction to the city's Civic Park in 2015.
German discount supermarket chain ALDI has announced a major expansion into South Australia and Western Australia.
Coles supermarkets is teaming up with Western Australia's largest agribusiness Milne AgriGroup (MAG) in a deal that will see farmers in the Great Southern the only national suppliers of free range pork.
Five young Australians will represent their country at the biggest meat judging competition in the world. The selection followed the Australian Inter-Collegiate Meat Judging contest which attracted 150 finalists and marks 25 years of meat judging in Australia.
Legal action has been dropped against retailer Coles in the Federal Court after an agreement was reached over its payment of trolley collectors.
The Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) says promises by the Napthine Government and State Opposition will go a long way in stimulating jobs growth in regional centres.
The major supermarkets are pulling out all stops to convince politicians, the public and the competition watchdog that the way they do business is fair.
A prominent Newcastle retailer is warning that the retail trade industry is in for a slow death if costs involved in doing business are not reduced.
A steep fall in sales for department stores and household goods retailers has kept turnover fairly flat in August.
Overall, the Bureau of Statistics figures show retail turnover edged up 0.1 per cent in the last month of winter to $23.3 billion.
However, economist forecasts had centred on a rise of 0.4 per cent for the month, and the Australian dollar was quickly sold off on the data.
The Hobart City Council has estimated the total value of support for Myer redevelopment in the city would reach about $14 million.
The Australian share market opened strongly on the back of overnight gains on Wall Street, but lost most of its momentum by the close.
Shops opened for all but three days a year, deregulated pharmacies and a shake-up of the competition watchdog - they're just a few of more than 50 recommendations from a landmark review into competition laws.
Consumers can look forward to longer shopping hours, buying alcohol and pharmacy products at the supermarket and potentially cheaper road tolls if the Federal Government's competition review panel gets its draft recommendations into law.
Independent senator Nick Xenophon says he will move to reinstate a part of the competition law that prevented companies from charging different prices to different companies for the same product or service.
Salvatore Gerace, 22, from Pennant Hills sits in chair number one outside the Apple store in Sydney awaiting delivery of the tech company's newest offerings.
"I've been here since Tuesday last week, sitting through the rain and sunshine," says Mister Gerace.
A Bunbury small business owner has taken her case to the State Administrative Tribunal for the second time this year in a bid for zoning approval to expand her business.
An announcement that Myer will not open a department store at the Westfield Woden shopping centre has sparked concerns for the centre's future.
Newcastle council is working to improve pedestrian safety in one of the inner city's main dining precincts, Darby Street, after several accidents and near misses as people cross the road.
Newcastle council is working to improve pedestrian safety in one of the inner city's main dining precincts, Darby Street, after several accidents and near misses as people cross the road.
Traders say the Bendigo council has learnt lessons from previous projects in the city centre and done a good job a managing the redevelopment of a main street.
The RACT has slammed petrol retailers claiming they were making unprecedented margins at the expense of Tasmanian motorists.
Department store Myer's profit has slumped nearly 23 per cent, causing it to cut its dividend by almost a third.
The arrival in Australia of large and prestigious international fashion chains is threatening local retailers who are already struggling with slow consumer spending and confidence, and competition from online shopping.
Westpac says negative sentiment around the budget, as well as the economy, has dragged consumer confidence down.
The Mackay Chamber of Commerce says the CBD revitalisation project is a case of "a little bit of pain for long-term gain".
Retail giant Woolworths is selling 54 of its hotels to an industry super fund and property management group.
The Australian share market closed lower, dragged down by the mining sector after the price of iron ore tumbled further.
The Australian share market has closed lower, with losses among the banking and mining sectors.
The latest official retail and trade figures have both come in around, or slightly better than, expectations.
Canberra has become the first jurisdiction in Australia where Woolworths will no longer sell caged eggs.
The share market has closed flat with gains in the property and banking sectors weighed down by mining sector losses.
Electronics and furniture retailer Harvey Norman has reported a near-50 per cent rise in full-year profit, as a home building boom drives demand for furnishings and appliances.
Volunteers share cakes and memories to to mark the final closure of the YMCA's iconic op shop at Kingston
The nation's biggest retail group continues to reap a fortune from its domination of food and liquor markets.
The largest shopping centre in Alice Springs has been put on the market.