================================ UNLIMITED NEWSWATCH Today's local and international business news, to you. UnlimitedNet - business with imagination online. http://unlimited.co.nz ================================ Wednesday, 26 July 2006 DOMESTIC NEWS * Govt move puts tax cuts back in spotlight * Is that it? Govt is asked on tax review * Cheaper mobile plans drag down telco revenue * Telecom pays after speed shortfall * Kiwis could have been spared Telecom plunge * Provenco closes Foodstuffs deal * Reserve Bank tipped to sit on cash rate * Tax cut plan 'not enough' * Timid' step in right direction * WTO breakdown puts NZ focus on own deals INTERNATIONAL NEWS * Trade talks cost millions and achieve five years of hot air * U.S. Economy: Consumer Optimism Gains, Offsetting Home Slowdown * Vodafone's Sarin Re-Elected as Some Shareholders Oppose Him * BP profit surges; chief sets last day * Amazon.com adds grocery store * India's tiffinwalas fuel economy * Genzyme bets Campath to be blockbuster * Bubbles caused by cheap cash menace world economy * ASEAN aims for integration five years early * Big Oil renews Asian crude hunt as reserves dwindle * Biofuels fire up Teesside production ------------------------------------------------------------ GOVT MOVE PUTS TAX CUTS BACK IN SPOTLIGHT The Government has raised expectations of a corporate tax cut and is set to come under renewed pressure to deliver personal tax cuts as a result. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10393057 NZ Herald ------------------------------------------------------------ IS THAT IT? GOVT IS ASKED ON TAX REVIEW Revenue Minister Peter Dunne says it is the "most significant review of business taxation since 1988" but businesses are wondering "is that it?" http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10393016 NZ Herald ------------------------------------------------------------ CHEAPER MOBILE PLANS DRAG DOWN TELCO REVENUE Vodafone is earning less from each mobile phone customer and adding fewer new customers. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10393011 NZ Herald ------------------------------------------------------------ TELECOM PAYS AFTER SPEED SHORTFALL Telecom will pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars of compensation to its wholesale customers after a study on the state of its network showed that 23 per cent of its broadband wholesale and retail customers are not achieving the maximum promised download speed. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10393003 NZ Herald ------------------------------------------------------------ KIWIS COULD HAVE BEEN SPARED TELECOM PLUNGE http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3743764a13,00.html Stuff ------------------------------------------------------------ PROVENCO CLOSES FOODSTUFFS DEAL The Provenco Group has closed a three year deal to provide point-of-sale technology to Foodstuffs supermarkets in the South Island.  http://www.nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=15745&cid=4&cname=Business%20Today National Business Review ------------------------------------------------------------ RESERVE BANK TIPPED TO SIT ON CASH RATE http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3743727a13,00.html Stuff ------------------------------------------------------------ TAX CUT PLAN 'NOT ENOUGH' http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3743754a13,00.html Stuff ------------------------------------------------------------ TIMID' STEP IN RIGHT DIRECTION Fisher & Paykel Appliances chief executive John Bongard said a business tax cut proposed by the Government would "obviously be of assistance" in maintaining the competitiveness of the company's local operations. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10393013 NZ Herald ------------------------------------------------------------ WTO BREAKDOWN PUTS NZ FOCUS ON OWN DEALS http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3743737a13,00.html Stuff ------------------------------------------------------------ TRADE TALKS COST MILLIONS AND ACHIEVE FIVE YEARS OF HOT AIR THE world is set to wait years for trade reform. The World Trade Organisation has given up trying to negotiate a Doha Round agreement this year, after a deadlock between the European Union and the US scuttled the last bid. http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/trade-talks-cost-millions-and-achieve-five-years-of-hot-air/2006/07/25/1153816182772.html The Age ------------------------------------------------------------ U.S. ECONOMY: CONSUMER OPTIMISM GAINS, OFFSETTING HOME SLOWDOWN Confidence among U.S. consumers unexpectedly rose for a second month, offsetting the impact of a decline in home sales on spending. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a_ftohxLGdds&refer=home Bloomberg ------------------------------------------------------------ VODAFONE'S SARIN RE-ELECTED AS SOME SHAREHOLDERS OPPOSE HIM Vodafone Group Plc Chief Executive Officer Arun Sarin was reelected to the board of the world's biggest mobile- phone company, overcoming opposition from investors representing 9.5 percent of the shares voted. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aRHeRMZ6B6zk&refer=europe Bloomberg ------------------------------------------------------------ BP PROFIT SURGES; CHIEF SETS LAST DAY BP, the British energy giant, on Tuesday reported record second- quarter earnings as a result of soaring crude oil prices and healthy refinery earnings. http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/25/business/BP.php International Herald Tribune ------------------------------------------------------------ AMAZON.COM ADDS GROCERY STORE Now sitting atop Amazon.com's best- seller list: coffee. Not the book. The bean. http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/25/business/ecom24.php International Herald Tribune ------------------------------------------------------------ INDIA'S TIFFINWALAS FUEL ECONOMY Every morning, 65-year-old Dhondu Chaudhary picks up a lunchbox from Arpana Rao's home in the suburbs of Mumbai. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5210092.stm BBC ------------------------------------------------------------ GENZYME BETS CAMPATH TO BE BLOCKBUSTER Genzyme Corp. is optimistic its cancer drug Campath will become a blockbuster if it is approved to treat multiple sclerosis, a senior executive said. http://today.reuters.com/business/newsarticle.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=2006-07-25T160111Z_01_N24349424_RTRUKOC_0_US-GENZYME-CAMPATH.xml Reuters ------------------------------------------------------------ BUBBLES CAUSED BY CHEAP CASH MENACE WORLD ECONOMY Call it the weapon of financial destruction. There is so much cheap financing sloshing around the global economy, despite simultaneous interest rate tightening at the world's three major central banks, that some analysts warn that financial bubbles are bound to keep building. http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=2006-07-24T165551Z_01_L24613325_RTRUKOC_0_US-ECONOMY-CASH.xml&archived=False Reuters ------------------------------------------------------------ ASEAN AIMS FOR INTEGRATION FIVE YEARS EARLY Southeast Asia hopes to accelerate by five years to 2015 its plans to integrate the region's diverse economies in order to remain relevant, Singapore's foreign minister said. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/221199/1/.html Channel NewsAsia ------------------------------------------------------------ BIG OIL RENEWS ASIAN CRUDE HUNT AS RESERVES DWINDLE Oil majors are stepping up exploration in aging or neglected areas of Asia, potentially helping lift output a decade after shunning the region to hunt for giant oilfields in more prospective patches. http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=2006-07-24T122653Z_01_SP265591_RTRUKOC_0_US-ENERGY-ASIA-UPSTREAM.xml&archived=False Reuters ------------------------------------------------------------ BIOFUELS FIRE UP TEESSIDE PRODUCTION Biofuels Corp, the Teesside-based biodiesel producer, said today it was planning to expand capacity as its existing plant ramped up towards full production. http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1828612,00.html The Guardian ================================ Unlimited Newswatch is compiled by Mark Revington (mailto:mark_revington@idg.co.nz) ================================ ADVERTISING ================================ For information on advertising in this newsletter or on UnlimitedNet, contact mailto:julie@infego.co.nz or visit: http://unlimited.co.nz/unlimited.nsf/newsletters/ECC2A758D81008B6CC2570200013BE1F ================================ UNLIMITED - unlimited.net.nz ================================ http://unlimited.co.nz ================================ PRIVACY STATEMENT ================================ http://infego.co.nz/privacy