BE it a pizza chain, a gardening service, an accounting group or a string of furniture shops, members of the franchising sector are in a favourable position to ride out tough economic conditions, according to chartered accountants PKF.
Shining a light on fuel tax credits
MANY small businesses may be unaware of broader eligibility rules to reduce their fuel costs, the Australian tax office says.
Think about leasing, SMEs told
LEASING, not buying, is being put forward as an option for small businesses as tough times settle in.
It's looking a bit down
BANKS and other lenders to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be the first to feel the negative effects of a sudden steep fall in business confidence.
No quick fixes for the downturn
THE rises in interest rates have done their job and the economy has now pulled out of its gallop, which means many businesses are preparing for even worse times ahead.
FOUR out of five young Australian women have a solid, sensible plan for their financial futures - they're going to live off their partner's income, according to a new survey.
THE share market is expected to start the week higher, supported by financial stocks, after Wall Street shares finished mostly higher on Friday.
McCain backs Fannie, Freddie bailout
REPUBLICAN presidential hopeful John McCain backed a US government takeover of two mortgage giants overnight while his Democratic rival warned that taxpayers should not bail out their shareholders.
Exporters cheering dollar's decline
EXPORTERS are cheering the Australian dollar's recent decline, an industry group says.
Privacy dumped for better loan - study
MOST Australians would not shy away from allowing lenders to access their entire credit history if it meant getting a better home loan deal, a survey has found.
Wall Street retreats on new fears
AFTER ups and downs and mixed economic messages, Wall Street is now retrenching on renewed fears that the US economy is sinking fast and seems likely to enter a recession, analysts say.
THE share market is expected to start the week higher, supported by financial stocks, after Wall Street shares finished mostly higher on Friday.
McCain backs Fannie, Freddie bailout
REPUBLICAN presidential hopeful John McCain backed a US government takeover of two mortgage giants overnight while his Democratic rival warned that taxpayers should not bail out their shareholders.
China creates $45m Tibet mining company
CHINA'S top aluminium producer, Chinalco, has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in Tibet to explore and smelt mineral resources on the rooftop of the world.
Shares close 2pc lower
THE share market fell over 2 per cent, led by a sharp drop on Wall Street after weak US economic data.
Rio to spend $358m on iron ore
RIO Tinto has approved expenditure of million ($357.9 million) for continued expansion of its 58.7 per cent owned Iron Ore Company of Canada operations.
PERTH house prices have clawed back ground lost in a mid year slump.
Non-bank lenders attack banks on rate rise
NON-bank lender Resi Mortgage Corporation says the banks have misrepresented the true impact of the global credit crisis after a third big lender increased rates on home loans.
Building approvals surge, mostly in NSW
THE number of residential building approvals surged in November, but the jump was largely the result of growth in multi-unit dwelling approvals in New South Wales.
Housing affordability falls almost 10pc
HOUSING affordability declined by almost 10 per cent over the past year, a report shows, and there appears to be little relief in sight for renters and those looking to enter the property market.
New home sales tumble 2.6pc
THE sale of new homes and units among Australia's largest builders and developers fell 2.6 per cent in November, according to new figures out today.
TELSTRA has taken the knife to its technology services arm Kaz, axing jobs and streamlining back office functions.
NEHTA revamp on the cards
NATIONAL E-Health Transition Authority will adopt a "different focus" over the next 12 months, acting CEO Andrew Howard says.
Crazy John's widow sells to Vodafone
VODAFONE has acquired Patricia Ilhan's stake in Crazy John's for a figure believed to value the business at up to $150 million.
Iemma gone physically and virtually
UP until a few minutes ago, a smiling Morris Iemma greeted visitors to the NSW government website. Now a $22 plumbing deal beckons.
Chrome is Google's defence to Microsoft
GOOGLE'S Eric Schmidt admitted there was a "defensive component" to the search giant's launch of its own internet browser Chrome.
GOOGLE'S Eric Schmidt admitted there was a "defensive component" to the search giant's launch of its own internet browser Chrome.
Microsoft not bothered by Chrome's shine
MICROSOFT remains confident of IE's position despite early predictions of a Chrome market share surge, says local chief Tracey Fellows.
Nestle ad bets on social network
NESTLE has created Australia's biggest internet-based social-media advertising campaign to promote its new Kit Kat Chunky product.
Google Chrome debuts in Australia
GOOGLE has taken the wraps off Chrome, the browser that's poised to make waves in the online world at the expense of IE and Firefox.
Google Chrome to tackle Internet Explorer
GOOGLE will today launch its own web browser called Google Chrome in another expansion by the search giant.
UP until a few minutes ago, a smiling Morris Iemma greeted visitors to the NSW government website. Now a $22 plumbing deal beckons.
NEHTA revamp on the cards
NATIONAL E-Health Transition Authority will adopt a "different focus" over the next 12 months, acting CEO Andrew Howard says.
Victoria defends $20m myki project
THE Victorian government has defended paying the consortium behind the troubled myki public transport ticketing system $20 million.
NBN in starter's hands
THE federal Government will today reveal November 26 as the deadline for national broadband network tenders.
Conroy sets deadline for NBN tenders
THE federal Government will tomorrow reveal November 26 as the deadline for national broadband network tenders.
UP until a few minutes ago, a smiling Morris Iemma greeted visitors to the NSW government website. Now a $22 plumbing deal beckons.
Chrome is Google's defence to Microsoft
GOOGLE'S Eric Schmidt admitted there was a "defensive component" to the search giant's launch of its own internet browser Chrome.
NEHTA revamp on the cards
NATIONAL E-Health Transition Authority will adopt a "different focus" over the next 12 months, acting CEO Andrew Howard says.
Crazy John's widow sells to Vodafone
VODAFONE has acquired Patricia Ilhan's stake in Crazy John's for a figure believed to value the business at up to $150 million.
Dell netbook to sell for $599
DELL has jumped into the burgeoning netbook market, launching its own version of the cheap and cheerful notebook class with the Mini 9.
TELSTRA has taken the knife to its technology services arm Kaz, axing jobs and streamlining back office functions.
NEHTA revamp on the cards
NATIONAL E-Health Transition Authority will adopt a "different focus" over the next 12 months, acting CEO Andrew Howard says.
Crazy John's widow sells to Vodafone
VODAFONE has acquired Patricia Ilhan's stake in Crazy John's for a figure believed to value the business at up to $150 million.
Iemma gone physically and virtually
UP until a few minutes ago, a smiling Morris Iemma greeted visitors to the NSW government website. Now a $22 plumbing deal beckons.
Chrome is Google's defence to Microsoft
GOOGLE'S Eric Schmidt admitted there was a "defensive component" to the search giant's launch of its own internet browser Chrome.
DELL has jumped into the burgeoning netbook market, launching its own version of the cheap and cheerful notebook class with the Mini 9.
Sydney motorists wrongly billed
THE operator of Sydney's Lane Cove Tunnel says it has mistakenly issued toll demands to 650 motorists.
Tech relief for emergency workers
A QUEENSLAND hospital has been trialling locally developed software that can predict the number of patients expected at its emergency department.
Microsoft joins electronic prescribing project
MICROSOFT has joined a national project to create a secure gateway for doctors to send scripts to pharmacies online.
St George expands Teradata deal
TAKEOVER target St George Bank is still signing off on technology deals despite its looming $20 billion takeover by Westpac.
MICROSOFT will feature comedian Jerry Seinfeld and former chairman Bill Gates in a million ($342 million) advertising campaign.
Palm grows another Treo
PALM has introduced a second Treo email phone in less than two months to challenge Research in Motion's BlackBerry and Apple's iPhone.
IBM beefs up global recovery centres
IBM, the world's largest provider of computer services, is spending million ($340 million) on 13 new disaster recovery centres to protect customers' data.
Palm grows another Treo
PALM has introduced a second Treo email phone in less than two months to challenge Research in Motion's BlackBerry and Apple's iPhone.
ITunes hit after Tibet song
APPLE is investigating why access to iTunes appeared to be blocked for users in China after a pro-Tibet album became a hit on the online music store.
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