News Topic - Australia
Articles 81 - 90 of most recent articles
Australia's no-gag order for athletes in BeijingAFP - Australian athletes competing at the Beijing Olympics will be allowed to voice their opinions on human rights, Tibet and other contentious issues, but are banned from making public political displays.
Yahoo! – Jul 7, 2008 12:47 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in World
Nikkei slips for 13th straight session
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks fell further Monday, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 Average dropping for a 13th straight session, as transportation stocks such as Japan Airlines Corp. and Honda Motor Co. fell on concerns about high oil prices. The Nikkei gave up 0.3% to 13,203.73, extending its longest losing streak in 54 years, while the broader Topix index fell 0.2% to 13,215.58. Elsewhere, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.6% to 5,051 and South Korea's Kospi shed 0.6% to 1,569.06, while New Zealand's NZX 50 index slipped 0.2% to 3,151.62.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
MarketWatch.com – Jul 7, 2008 12:33 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Business: Markets
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks fell further Monday, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 Average dropping for a 13th straight session, as transportation stocks such as Japan Airlines Corp. and Honda Motor Co. fell on concerns about high oil prices. The Nikkei gave up 0.3% to 13,203.73, extending its longest losing streak in 54 years, while the broader Topix index fell 0.2% to 13,215.58. Elsewhere, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.6% to 5,051 and South Korea's Kospi shed 0.6% to 1,569.06, while New Zealand's NZX 50 index slipped 0.2% to 3,151.62.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
MarketWatch.com – Jul 7, 2008 12:33 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Business: Markets
Pope likely to say sorry for abuse
POPE Benedict XVI is likely to apologise to victims of sexual abuse during World Youth Day events, head of the Catholic Church in Australia says.
News.com.au – Jul 6, 2008 11:07 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in World: Oceania
POPE Benedict XVI is likely to apologise to victims of sexual abuse during World Youth Day events, head of the Catholic Church in Australia says.
News.com.au – Jul 6, 2008 11:07 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in World: Oceania
The biggest company you've never heard of
The new UK headquarters for the business-to-business behemoth IDG Communications is opposite the British Library and just a few blocks down from the Wellcome Trust, the medical research charity. It seems fitting for a company that made its fortune from charting the rise of the computer industry in the 20th century, and is now setting its course for the biotechnology revolution of the 21st. You may not have heard much about IDG, but the company is no small fish. In 2007 it had revenues of more than £3bn, it publishes more than 300 magazines and 450 websites globally (including Computerworld and InfoWorld), employs more than 13,000, and encompasses the huge global analyst organisation IDC. There is also a consumer division in China, where IDG publishes titles such as Cosmopolitan and National Geographic under licence. And, while B2B may not be the glamorous end of the publishing industry, media executives are increasingly drawn to the sector. Newspaper and magazine publishers are beginning to conceive of a future without print - but in the B2B sector, the digital future is already here. IDG has axed print editions of around half a dozen of its most popular magazines and Pat McGovern, the company's founder and now chairman, says he believes virtually all B2B publishing will move online in the next 10-12 years. "On the B2B side, where people want to get the information as quickly as possible and have decisions to make every day in their job and want to get the perspective of people like them who have similar job responsibilities, the web is a more complete solution for them," McGovern says, although he still expects print will remain strong in other areas. Similarly, Rufus Olins, managing director of Haymarket Brand Media (with a portfolio including Campaign, Media Week, PR Week and Marketing ) thinks the sector's ability to move beyond print is its strength. "We're not just operating in print products but we've also made the transition to events, data and digital quite successfully," he says. "Though we're still in the middle of a big transformation, these other areas are already profitable." While Olins can see that print's role is changing, he believes it will continue to play a part. "However, if a publisher is entering a new market they face serious questions about whether a print product is appropriate," he says. "Certainly in markets where the audience is particularly tech-savvy, such as IT products, I would expect to be the first to offer digital only." But axing print editions of popular magazines is a bold move and McGovern acknowledges this was a risky strategy - InfoWorld was distributing 180,000 copies in the US every week when it decided to ditch print, retaining online and events. "Many said without print people wouldn't be reminded every week of our brand and 40% of our revenue would disappear overnight," he recalls. One year later McGovern, who still privately owns IDG, says InfoWorld's online revenues had trebled, the magazine's overall revenues were up 10%, and without the costs of print, paper and postage, profit margins went from -3% to 37%. But ditching print operations isn't a global strategy: the pace of migration to the web varies by country, according to McGovern. IDG doesn't have print titles in Korea, and has axed most of them in Japan, for instance, but in India, where internet penetration is less than 3% of the population, he believes print will be the primary platform for some time to come. It is, however, much cheaper to test the waters in new territories online. "To launch a whole new website costs maybe $20,000 [£10,000], versus $400,000 for a new magazine," McGovern says. In the UK, where IDG's B2B division is less than a decade old, titles such as Computerworld have been web-only from the outset, with 60% of the content on the company's B2B sites created by users. "It's nice to have more than double your content without any cost," says McGovern. He has further cash-generating plans - including the adoption of a network model where websites that are not linked from a consumer point of view are packaged together for advertising purposes. In China, IDG was one of the first venture capitalists, moving into the country soon after the implementation of Deng Xiaoping's "open door" policy. The company now has 20 titles of its own in China, and publishes a further 22 under licence from companies such as Condé Nast and Hearst. McGovern talks with pride about how he is a "trusted" partner for the Chinese government and claims that neither operating in China nor reporting on his own investments offers any ethical challenges. "We don't review government policy or economic policy - the issue doesn't come up because a publication like Harper's Bazaar is just not going to cover those subjects," he says. In the UK, IDG's focus remains on computing - but the company has branched out into reporting on biotechnology abroad, with magazines and websites in Australia and the US. McGovern also has interests outside publishing - he and his wife are personally funding neuroscience research in the US via the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, founded in 2000.
The Guardian – Jul 6, 2008 11:05 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Technology
The new UK headquarters for the business-to-business behemoth IDG Communications is opposite the British Library and just a few blocks down from the Wellcome Trust, the medical research charity. It seems fitting for a company that made its fortune from charting the rise of the computer industry in the 20th century, and is now setting its course for the biotechnology revolution of the 21st. You may not have heard much about IDG, but the company is no small fish. In 2007 it had revenues of more than £3bn, it publishes more than 300 magazines and 450 websites globally (including Computerworld and InfoWorld), employs more than 13,000, and encompasses the huge global analyst organisation IDC. There is also a consumer division in China, where IDG publishes titles such as Cosmopolitan and National Geographic under licence. And, while B2B may not be the glamorous end of the publishing industry, media executives are increasingly drawn to the sector. Newspaper and magazine publishers are beginning to conceive of a future without print - but in the B2B sector, the digital future is already here. IDG has axed print editions of around half a dozen of its most popular magazines and Pat McGovern, the company's founder and now chairman, says he believes virtually all B2B publishing will move online in the next 10-12 years. "On the B2B side, where people want to get the information as quickly as possible and have decisions to make every day in their job and want to get the perspective of people like them who have similar job responsibilities, the web is a more complete solution for them," McGovern says, although he still expects print will remain strong in other areas. Similarly, Rufus Olins, managing director of Haymarket Brand Media (with a portfolio including Campaign, Media Week, PR Week and Marketing ) thinks the sector's ability to move beyond print is its strength. "We're not just operating in print products but we've also made the transition to events, data and digital quite successfully," he says. "Though we're still in the middle of a big transformation, these other areas are already profitable." While Olins can see that print's role is changing, he believes it will continue to play a part. "However, if a publisher is entering a new market they face serious questions about whether a print product is appropriate," he says. "Certainly in markets where the audience is particularly tech-savvy, such as IT products, I would expect to be the first to offer digital only." But axing print editions of popular magazines is a bold move and McGovern acknowledges this was a risky strategy - InfoWorld was distributing 180,000 copies in the US every week when it decided to ditch print, retaining online and events. "Many said without print people wouldn't be reminded every week of our brand and 40% of our revenue would disappear overnight," he recalls. One year later McGovern, who still privately owns IDG, says InfoWorld's online revenues had trebled, the magazine's overall revenues were up 10%, and without the costs of print, paper and postage, profit margins went from -3% to 37%. But ditching print operations isn't a global strategy: the pace of migration to the web varies by country, according to McGovern. IDG doesn't have print titles in Korea, and has axed most of them in Japan, for instance, but in India, where internet penetration is less than 3% of the population, he believes print will be the primary platform for some time to come. It is, however, much cheaper to test the waters in new territories online. "To launch a whole new website costs maybe $20,000 [£10,000], versus $400,000 for a new magazine," McGovern says. In the UK, where IDG's B2B division is less than a decade old, titles such as Computerworld have been web-only from the outset, with 60% of the content on the company's B2B sites created by users. "It's nice to have more than double your content without any cost," says McGovern. He has further cash-generating plans - including the adoption of a network model where websites that are not linked from a consumer point of view are packaged together for advertising purposes. In China, IDG was one of the first venture capitalists, moving into the country soon after the implementation of Deng Xiaoping's "open door" policy. The company now has 20 titles of its own in China, and publishes a further 22 under licence from companies such as Condé Nast and Hearst. McGovern talks with pride about how he is a "trusted" partner for the Chinese government and claims that neither operating in China nor reporting on his own investments offers any ethical challenges. "We don't review government policy or economic policy - the issue doesn't come up because a publication like Harper's Bazaar is just not going to cover those subjects," he says. In the UK, IDG's focus remains on computing - but the company has branched out into reporting on biotechnology abroad, with magazines and websites in Australia and the US. McGovern also has interests outside publishing - he and his wife are personally funding neuroscience research in the US via the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, founded in 2000.
The Guardian – Jul 6, 2008 11:05 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Technology
Australia secure series whitewash
Australia beat West Indies by 169 runs in the fifth and final one-day match to complete a series whitewash.
BBC News – Jul 6, 2008 10:33 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Sports
Australia beat West Indies by 169 runs in the fifth and final one-day match to complete a series whitewash.
BBC News – Jul 6, 2008 10:33 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Sports
Australia beat West Indies in final ODIAFP - Mitchell Johnson starred with the ball, following a strong batting performance, as Australia completed a rare ODI series sweep in the Caribbean, when they cruised to a 169-run victory in the fifth and final ODI against West Indies on Sunday.
Yahoo! – Jul 6, 2008 10:17 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in World: Asia
Australian Adviser Urges Carbon Trading
Australia's climate-change adviser issued a draft report recommending the government adopt a tough, broad-based emissions-trading plan.
Wall Street Journal – Jul 6, 2008 10:10 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Business: Markets
Australia's climate-change adviser issued a draft report recommending the government adopt a tough, broad-based emissions-trading plan.
Wall Street Journal – Jul 6, 2008 10:10 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Business: Markets
Australia Inspects Foreign Investments
Australia will increase scrutiny of foreign investments, especially when the investor is also a key consumer of the goods produced by the target.
Wall Street Journal – Jul 6, 2008 10:01 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Business: Markets
Australia will increase scrutiny of foreign investments, especially when the investor is also a key consumer of the goods produced by the target.
Wall Street Journal – Jul 6, 2008 10:01 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Business: Markets
Australia maraud West Indies for record totalAFP - Australia's batsmen mauled West Indies' bowling to set the home team 342 for victory in the fifth and final One-day International on Sunday.
Yahoo! – Jul 6, 2008 6:48 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in World
Activist screens unclassified suicide film in public
A film teaching people how to kill themselves has been shown for the first time in New Zealand, despite being banned in Australia.Australian euthanasia campaigner Philip Nitschke played the short film - in which an elderly woman...
New Zealand Herald – Jul 6, 2008 5:00 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in World: Oceania
A film teaching people how to kill themselves has been shown for the first time in New Zealand, despite being banned in Australia.Australian euthanasia campaigner Philip Nitschke played the short film - in which an elderly woman...
New Zealand Herald – Jul 6, 2008 5:00 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in World: Oceania