Latest Australia Headlines
All the headlines from our Australia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
AMP Hints it May Improve AXA Asia Bid
Feb 18 2010 // Australia’s No.2 wealth manager AMP Ltd signaled on Thursday that it had room to improve its $11.6 billion bid for AXA Asia Pacific, but said it had yet to decide on its next move. AMP is in a bid battle with the...
AXA Asia-Pacific Returns to Profit; No Comments on Takeover Bids
Feb 17 2010 // Takeover target AXA Asia-Pacific’s promise of strong growth in 2010 prompted analysts to suggest suitors may consider raising their bids for the firm but top officials declined comment on the $12 billion...
Catlin Opens Office in Melbourne
Feb 16 2010 // Catlin Group Limited has expanded its Australian operations with the opening of a second office in Melbourne in addition to the head office in Sydney. Catlin appointed Rory Morison to head the new operation He has...
Australia Competition Watchdog Concerned over NAB’s AXA Apac Bid
Feb 10 2010 // Australia’s competition watchdog raised concerns on Wednesday over National Australia Bank’s (NAB) $11.6 billion bid for fund manager AXA Asia Pacific, tipping the scales toward rival bidder AMP. NAB, already...
AMP to Consider Position on $11 Billion AXA Asia Deal
Feb 8 2010 // Australian wealth manager AMP Ltd has let its exclusive deal with French insurer AXA SA expire for a joint $11 billion buy of AXA Asia Pacific Holdings, paving the way for rival bidder National Australia Bank to start...
Tropical Storm Magda Threatens Northeastern Australia
Jan 22 2010 // A report from Risk Management Solutions on tropical storm Magda places it at around 500 miles (800 kms) northeast of Port Hedland, Australia, and 520 miles (830 kms) west-southwest of Darwin, according to the Joint Typhoon...
AXA Asia Pacific Profit Upgrade Stirs Talk of Higher Bid
Jan 21 2010 // Life insurer and fund manager AXA Asia-Pacific Holdings Ltd expects to report a forecast-beating profit for 2009, putting pressure on rival bidders to raise their offers in a $12 billion battle for the company. AXA...
Flooded Australian Regions Declared Disaster Zones
Jan 5 2010 // Authorities declared two flooded farming regions in southwestern Australia natural disaster zones Monday as residents in one town nervously watched a rising river in hopes that it wouldn’t break its levees. Parts of...
Wildfires Destroy Homes in Western Australia
Dec 31 2009 // Wildfires roared across a swath of Western Australia on Wednesday, razing almost 40 homes and sending hundreds of people fleeing for their lives, officials and witnesses said. At least three people were injured. Two major...
AIR Analyzes Impact of Tropical Storm Laurence on Western Australia
Dec 17 2009 // According to a report from catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide, “severe Tropical Cyclone Laurence made a second landfall this evening [Dec. 16] along the Kimberley coast of north Western Australia State....
NAB Trumps AMP in $12 Billion Offer for AXA Asia-Pacific
Dec 17 2009 // National Australia Bank made a surprise trump bid for AXA Asia Pacific Holdings’ Australian and New Zealand units on Thursday, in a cash deal that would value all the target firm at around $12 billion. The bid tops...
France’s AXA Eyes Asia Growth with Takeover Bid
Nov 9 2009 // AXA Asia Pacific rejected a $10.3 billion bid from parent AXA SA and Australian rival AMP Ltd on Monday, an initial hurdle for the French insurer’s bold ambitions to expand in Asia. AXA SA, Europe’s...
Climate Talks Now ‘in the Balance,’ But Some Hints of Progress
Oct 20 2009 // Prospects for a new U.N. climate pact in December remained in the balance after talks among big emitters on Monday but with signs of action by Brazil, India and Australia. “It’s more do-able today than...
Best Affirms Ratings on QBE and Operating Companies
Oct 1 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a+” of UK-based QBE Insurance (Europe) Limited , Australia’s QBE Insurance...
Over 500 Reported Dead in Sumatra Quake; AIR Analyzes Disaster
Oct 1 2009 // Not long after the Samoan earthquake and tsunami struck in the South Pacific, a major earthquake occurred 9500 kms (5900 miles) away off Sumatra in western Indonesia. Latest news bulletins have raised the initial death...
Report: Australian Court Allows Claims against Lehman Brothers
Sep 28 2009 // An Australian court has ruled that local governments can pursue financial claims against collapsed U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in Australia and elsewhere, a firm that is funding the litigation said on Monday. IMF...
Dust Storm Blankets Sydney as Drought Bites
Sep 23 2009 // A huge outback dust storm swept eastern Australia and blanketed Sydney on Wednesday, disrupting transport, forcing people indoors and stripping thousands of tons of valuable farmland topsoil. The dust blacked out the...
Reinsurers’ Rendezvous Reveals Reflection; Sea Level Rise Imperil Coasts; Pirates Ahoy!
Sep 21 2009 // The world’s reinsurers gathered in Monte Carlo over the first weekend in September for their annual conclave. This year’s meetings were calm by comparison with prior years — no hurricanes ravaging...
Coastal Home Owners Face Huge Losses from Rising Seas
Sep 3 2009 // Australians Lesley and Doug McGrath have for decades battled ocean swells that have eaten away at the backyard of their multi-million dollar Sydney home. They bought an old beach shack on Collaroy Beach in 1976 and...
Doha Round Talks Now an ‘End-Game’ Says Australian Trade Minister
Sep 3 2009 // The World Trade Organization’s Doha round to free up trade is nearly complete and world leaders are voicing the political will to reach a deal next year, Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean said on Wednesday. But...
