Telco iiNet has been placed in a trading halt ahead of what is reported to be a move to acquire Canberra ISP TransACT.
The move comes after the Australian Financial Review this morning reported the company has been speaking with ISP TransACT and that negotiations were in a late stage.
Such a deal would see iiNet take control over some infrastructure elements including networks in Canberra and Victoria.
The move comes after iiNet has already bought out AAPT’s residential customer base earlier this year.
iiNet has requested a trading halt until Friday, or until it makes an announcement.
The economy is still growing in line with long-term forecasts, according to the latest figures from the Westpac-Melbourne Institute leading index.
The index, which predicts the likely rate of growth for the Australian economy three to nine months in the future, showed the economy has slowed to 3.3% growth from 4.5% growth in August.
The result puts Australian growth in line with forecasts of 3.2%.
“The growth rate in the Index has slowed from the 4.5% which was reported for August and is now back around trend,” Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said in a statement.
“It appears that the boost to above trend growth we saw in July and August has now faded and the “around trend” story which has been generally the case since the beginning of 2011 is now appropriate,” he said.
Wages grew by 1.2% from the June to September quarters, and by 3.6% over the previous 12 months, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The figures show wages rose in original terms by 1.4% in the private sector during the September quarter, while public sector wages grew by 1%. Over the year, that growth was 3.7% and 3.3% respectively.
The Australian sharemarket has remained flat this morning after weak leads from overseas, where investors still remain nervous over Europe’s debt situation.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 9.6 points or 0.2% to 4295.2 at 12.10 AEST, while the Australian dollar remained flat at $US1.01c.
AMP shares rose 0.23% to $4.39, while Commonwealth Bank shares fell 0.71% to $48.80. NAB shares rose 0.49% to $24.64 as Westpac lost 0.47% to $20.89.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 17.2 points or 0.1% to 12,096.2.
Apple has named board member Arthur Levinson, chairman of Genentech, to a new chairman role.
The role was last filled by co-founder Steve Jobs before his death.
Levinson has been on the Apple board since 2000. His appointment comes as Walt Disney chief executive Robert Iger was also named as a company director.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
