News

Four entrepreneurial couples that have the Valentine’s Day spirit

2:20PM | Friday, 10 February 2012 | By Michelle Hammond With Valentine’s Day just one day away, many retailers are relying on the temporary spending splurge to boost sales, despite consumers’ cynical views on the commercial nature of the event.

Google to launch facility for new ventures

2:20PM | Friday, 10 February 2012 | By Oliver Milman Google is to launch a $120 million overhaul of its headquarters with the addition of an ‘experience centre’ that will be used to create new projects and work with start-ups in secret.

Australian new business growth among world's best: Report

2:20PM | Friday, 10 February 2012 | By Oliver Milman Australia is performing strongly when it comes to new business start-ups, with the nation recording the third highest number of new ventures among the world’s G8 economies, according to a new report.

Businesses urge CBA, NAB not to raise interest rates

2:20PM | Friday, 10 February 2012 | By Michelle Hammond Business groups are urging the Commonwealth Bank and NAB to withhold interest rate hikes after increases from ANZ and Westpac, warning it could shatter the confidence of small firms.

Small firms lead insolvency surge as failures leap by 9.2% in 2011

2:20PM | Friday, 10 February 2012 | By Michelle Hammond Corporate insolvencies surged by 9.2% last year to 10,481, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, as small building firms and retailers buckled under pressure.

Cofounda launch aims to link entrepreneurs globally

2:20PM | Friday, 10 February 2012 | By Michelle Hammond A new smartphone app named Cofounda aims to change the way entrepreneurs connect with each other locally and globally, inspired by the concept of co-founder speed dating events.

Tech start-ups lament Labor’s living-away-from-home allowance crackdown

2:20PM | Friday, 10 February 2012 | By Michelle Hammond The tech industry says the decision to scrap the living-away-from-home allowance will make it harder to attract overseas talent, as firms become increasingly reliant on skilled foreign workers.

THE NEWS WRAP: SME borrowers braced for interest rate hikes

2:20PM | Friday, 10 February 2012 | By Oliver Milman Small business borrowers are set to be hit by further interest rate woes this week, with analysts predicting that the Commonwealth Bank and NAB will both hike their rates.

Aussie start-ups suffering commercialisation gap: AVCAL chief

2:20PM | Friday, 10 February 2012 | By Michelle Hammond Australian start-up are struggling to commercialise themselves, often because entrepreneurs fail to properly articulate their ideas to potential investors, claims the new chairman of the peak venture capital body.

Facebook targets developers with fbStart

2:20PM | Friday, 10 February 2012 | By Michelle Hammond Facebook has launched a program aimed at giving third-party developers advanced notice of new tools and features, in a bid to encourage them to build businesses around the Facebook platform.