THE NEWS WRAP: Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou reportedly agrees to step down

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has reportedly agreed to step down after dropping plans to hold a referendum on the crucial Eurozone bailout.

Papandreou is understood to have admitted that calling on the Greek public to vote on the 130 billion euro bailout was a mistake. He will hand power over to a coalition government.

Global markets reacted badly to the referendum plans, with investors concerned that a failure to pass the bailout would destabilise economies in Europe and beyond.

Senators call for greater ACCC powers

A group of senators has called for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to be given more powers to break up excessive market power by large companies.

The five non-government senators said that the competition watchdog needed to do more to end anti-competitive behaviour, citing the stranglehold of supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths.

Apple admits iPhone battery problem

Apple has conceded that a “few bugs” in its new iOS5 operating system have caused the battery problems experienced by some iPhone users.

Thousands of users have complained that their iPhones have lost up to 15% of battery power an hour, even when they are not being used. Apple said it is working on a solution to the problem.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 207.52 points, or 1.75%, to 12,043.56. The Australian dollar was up to 104.33 US cents.