Australian businesses reliant on exports or exposed to competitors’ imports have shed 90,000 jobs in the last three months due to the strength of the dollar, according to new figures.
A report by The Australian shows that manufacturing has been hardest hit, losing 30,000 jobs over the three month period.
Agriculture, hospitality and tourism have also been badly hit, with the strength of the Australian dollar, which has consistently traded above $US1 for the past six months, blamed for the job losses.
Trader arrested over $1.95bn fraud
A trader has been arrested in London after allegedly masterminding a fraud that cost Swiss banking giant UBS $1.95 billion.
The trader, named as Kweku Adoboli in media reports, worked in the exchange-traded funds part of UBS. Share in the company dropped by 10% amid fears the rogue trading will push the bank into the red.
RIM sees profits halve
Research in Motion, manufacturer of the Blackberry, has seen its second-quarter profits more than halve, due to falling demand for its older models.
Net profit fell to $329 million, despite RIM shipping 10.6 million Blackberry smartphones during the quarter. Shares in the company fell by 10% following the results.
Overnight
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 149.21 points, or 1.33%, to 11,395.94. The Australian dollar was up to 103.27 US cents.
