THE NEWS WRAP: Twitter files papers for $US1billion IPO – StartupSmart
Social networking giant Twitter has filed papers with the US Securities and Exchanges Commission ahead of an IPO in which it seeks to raise $US1 billion.
The company revealed that it had 218 million users as of June 30, compared to around 1.2 billion for Facebook and 240 million for LinkedIn.
Twitter also revealed it lost $US69.3 million during the first half of 2013, compared to a $US49.1 million loss for the same time last year, but revenues grew to $US254 million from $US122 million.
Turnbull names Switkowski as new NBN chairman
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has named former Telstra and Optus chief executive Ziggy Switkowski as the chairman of NBN Co.
The German-born nuclear physicist replaces current NBN chairwoman Siobhan McKenna, while also temporarily replacing Mike Quigley as chief executive until a full-time replacement is appointed.
“In appointing Dr Switkowski to the board as chairman, we’re appointing one of the most experienced telecom executives in Australia … someone who’s been the CEO of not just Telstra but Optus as well, a very distinguished company director and chairman,” Turnbull says.
Retailers renew calls for GST threshold cut as online shopping figures are released
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released figures showing consumers spent more than $7.6 billion on online retailers on purchases below the $1000 GST threshold, prompting calls to remove the low-value threshold.
Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman says the higher than expected sales point to an uneven playing field in the sector between local retailers and overseas-based online retailers.
“The concern isn’t that people are spending money online – either locally or overseas. The concern is that it’s not a level-playing field,” Zimmerman says.
“We believe that the firm of online [shopping] generally will grow, and as that figure grows, there will be a bigger loss of income to the states and territories if they don’t do something about the low-value threshold.”
Overnight
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down .9% to 14996.48. The Aussie dollar is at US93.96 cents.