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THE NEWS WRAP: Quiksilver’s sinking second quarter pulls Billabong’s survival chances
6:31PM | Monday, 10 JuneSurfwear giant Quiksilver has missed second quarter revenues and sales targets, announcing that it will dump non-core brands and liquidate excess inventory, placing further pressure on embattled rival Billabong. Quarterly losses at Quiksilver blew out to $US32.4 million, up from $US5.1 million a year ago, as revenue fell 6.8% to $US458.7 million. “Asia-Pacific revenues fell 9%, with the shortfall driven by headwinds in the Australia wholesale market. But we were pleased to see solid positive comp store sales growth in our full-price retail stores in that market,” Quiksilver chief financial officer Richard Shields said. Echo attacks Crown as Sydney casino battle intensifies Echo Entertainment chairman John O'Neill has lashed out at James Packer-controlled rival crown, alleging the casino giant is waging a “smear campaign” against Echo chief executive John Redmond as part of its campaign to win a second Sydney Casino licence. According to reports, the leaked emails allegedly detail an internal investigation by Echo into whether Redmond fell asleep in one of the bars at its Star Casino just weeks before taking over as chief executive. “These allegations are entirely baseless and the timing of this cheap smear campaign comes as no real surprise," Mr O'Neill told The Australian. Virgin looks to spread its wings further into Asia Virgin Australia is looking to begin running flights to Singapore using its long-range Boeing 777 or A330 aircraft in a bid to strengthen its alliance with Singapore Airlines. For its part, Singapore Airlines has purchased 19.9% of the shares in Virgin, with Virgin in turn recently cleared to take a controlling stake in Singapore Airlines controlled low-cost carrier Tiger Airways Australia. The move comes as Qantas moved its new international hub to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Overnight The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.06% to 15,238.59. the Aussie dollar is down to US94.64 cents.
Canadian coffee chain Esquires looks to Australia following NZ success
5:13AM | Monday, 28 MayCanadian coffee chain Esquires Coffee House is expanding into Australia following an entry to the New Zealand market, spearheaded by a high-tech store concept.
Wind turbines create drinking water
5:57AM | Tuesday, 15 MayEngineers have created wind turbines that can conjure drinking water out of thin air.
Solar power – a no dawn start
7:06AM | Wednesday, 6 JulyThroughout the world research and development on energy is all about providing renewable base load power –something traditional solar photovoltaic and solar thermal generation has been unsuccessful at achieving. That is until now.
