Wow Australia

Australia, N.Z. Dollars Fall With Equities on Recession Concern

The Australian and New Zealand dollars declined as Asian stocks fell for a fourth day, damping demand for higher-yielding assets. The currencies weakened as reports showed U.S. home prices plunged at the fastest pace in at least four decades and confidence among Japanese manufacturers declined the most on record. A deepening global recession may lead to interest-rate cuts in Australia and New Zealand, eroding their appeal as a destination for funds borrowed in nations such as Japan that have ...

Kerrin McEvoy on hot streak

INTERNATIONAL jockey Kerrin McEvoy proved he had re-adjusted to Australian racing with a brilliant winning treble at Rosehill. The hoop's great day in the saddle followed a Boxing Day double at Randwick courtesy of Serenissima and Referees, both for Darley Australia's head trainer, Peter Snowden. McEvoy landed the treble and a race-to-race double on the Adam Spitzer-trained Smart Punch after wins on Chiamaka for Paul Perry and Altavilla for Snowden. And it was Snowden who was happi...

Asbestos victim wins fight with Ford Australia

ANTONINO Lo Presti had just been admitted to hospital on Christmas Eve when he learned he had finally won his landmark six-year asbestos compensation battle with the Ford Motor Company. From his bed in Perth's Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, the former mechanic found out Ford had dropped its appeal against the $840,000 payout he won in February. The father of three had made legal history when the Supreme Court ruled he developed the asbestosis that now cripples him while he worked for Ford,...

Hard choices for soft drinks manufacturer Coca-Cola

THE Coca-Cola Company (TCCC), a soft drinks giant based in Atlanta, is poised to make two decisions over the next three months that will have profound implications for the future of the Australian beverages industry. The first relates to an agreement signed a decade ago with global food giant Cadbury, which gives TCCC a pre-emptive right to bid for Cadbury's soft drink business in Australia. This pre-emptive right was triggered on Christmas Eve when Cadbury announced it had received a 550 mil...

Fiji move unhelpful: Australia

Australia’s Government has branded as unhelpful and destructive a decision by Fiji's interim Government to expel Canberra's South Pacific Defence Adviser. The unnamed official had been in Suva on a visitor visa awaiting a decision by the interim Government on his long-term visa status. Australian Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon told The Australian newspaper: "The interim (Fiji) Government has indicated that no visa will be granted. "This is an important position, not only in relati...

Lleyton Hewitt and Casey Dellacqua to lead Australia

CASEY Dellacqua will unleash a new service action next week, which, she hopes, will preserve her career. Just when Australian tennis needed a shot of optimism, Lleyton Hewitt and Dellacqua will team to make their comebacks at next week's Hopman Cup in Perth. Hewitt returns to court for the first time since hip surgery in August, and Dellacqua hasn't played since September because of a torn ligament in her shoulder. While Dellacqua's early exit from the Beijing Olympics was blamed on a c...

Shark horror: snorkeller dead, kayakers menaced

THIS is the horrifying moment when a giant shark menaced kayakers off Sydney yesterday. White pointers caused terror on opposite sides of Australia yesterday, with snorkeller Brian Guest killed as he swam with his son at a beach near Perth. Sydney paddlers Justin Stanger and Steve Kulscar were lucky to survive, with Mr Kulscar falling from his craft as the four-metre white pointer circled them about a kilometre off Long Reef. Fisherman Glenn Morgan was in a runabout nearby when he saw ...

Australia to maintain Iraq presence

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Australia says it will maintain its military presence in Iraq until at least the middle of next year. Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon says he has welcomed an Iraqi parliamentary resolution authorizing foreign troops to remain in the Gulf nation until the end of July 2009. Fitzgibbon said Wednesday it would be up to Iraq to decide if Australian forces remain beyond that deadline. American troops can stay until the end of 2011 under a separate security agreement....

Josiah wins his third successive race in Australia

KUALA LUMPUR: Josiah Ng chose to race instead of taking a Christmas break and it paid off with a third successive win in the Latrobe Carnival in Tasmania yesterday. Josiah got the better of Australian national team rider Jason Niblett and his Melbourne-based Malaysian team-mate, Azizul Hasni Awang, in the keirin final. Another member of the Australian sprint team, Scott Sunderland, was placed fourth. The respective winners of the heats advanced to the final and Josiah was pleased to have ...

Clarke proves he has mettle to lead

IF there was ever any doubt that Michael Clarke would be Australia's next captain, he dispelled it with the most cool and calculating Test innings of his life at the MCG. Clarke has expensive tastes - buying fiancee Lara Bingle a $300,000 Aston Martin for Christmas - but he also has common sense in spades. His rise from Pup to Top Dog is assured after he provided the batting glue (88 off 208 balls) that stuck Australia's wonky top order together in the most important Test match of the year...