Prime Minister Tony Abbott has hosed down speculation the government may call an early election after its small business-focused budget was received better than last year’s budget.
Business Spectator reports Abbott told the Nine Network on Wednesday morning the budget was not designed to pave the way for an election before the one already scheduled for 2016.
Abbott said his government will run its full term.
“That is what the people of Australia elected us to do – to govern the country as best we could, to deliver on our commitments as best we could, for a full three years,” the Prime Minister said.
Australian online surfwear retailer SurfStitch has today launched a $40 million funding round, part of which will fund its acquisition of online surf forecaster Magicseaweed and surfing publication Stab Magazine.
SurfStitch told shareholders of the planned acquisitions this morning, revealing the two businesses will be purchased for $13.8 million in cash and 4.8 million in SurfStitch shares.
The retailer said the acquisition will “accelerate the delivery of SurfStitch’s strategy to become the global destination for action sports and youth lifestyle content and online retail”. The additional cash raised during the funding round will also go towards continuing the company’s content strategy.
SurfStich said it is on track to reach $199 million in revenue this financial year, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation expected to come in at $7 million.
Australian shares have been buoyed by the federal budget this morning, shrugging off a slow international lead.
“Greek inspired wobbles in Europe and the US and falling bond markets provide a sour backdrop to a very busy trading session for Australian investors,” Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets.
Most budget measures were leaked before last night’s official announcement, meaning there are few surprises for investors. The positive of a balance between near-term stimulus and long-term deficit repair may be outweighed that some aspects of the initiatives may be obstructed in the Senate.”
“A federal budget, key industrial and retail data from China today and GDP growth numbers for most of Europe tonight mean sentiment could swing several times in this twenty four hour period.”
The S&P/ASX200 benchmark was up 22.9 points to 5697.6 points at 11:50PM AEST. On Tuesday, the Dow Jones closed down 0.20%, falling 36.94 points to 18,068.2 points.
Kirsten Robb is a former journalist at SmartCompany. Previously, she worked at News Corp as a property reporter for Leader Newspapers and the Herald Sun, and holds a Masters of Journalism at Melbourne University.
