THE NEWS WRAP: NBN take-up rate severely behind schedule

The take-up rate of the National Broadband Network is severely behind schedule, according to new figures, with just 4,000 households connected to the network at the end of 2011.

This figure is well below the 35,000 homes the Government said should be connected to the NBN by June last year.

Opposition telecommunications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull says that the shortfall is “pathetic.” NBN Co. says that it has been delayed by the structural separation of Telstra.

Aussie manufacturers end 2011 on a high note

Australia’s manufacturers are starting to recover after a year blighted by a strong Aussie dollar, new data suggests.

The Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index rose by 2.4 points to 50.2 in December, moving above the 50-point level that separates expansion from contraction.

However, the increase was driven by a relatively small number of sub-sectors, including basic metals, transport equipment and paper.

App downloads hit record weekly high

The last week of 2011 saw more than a billion app downloads around the world for the first time in a seven-day period, a US research firm has reported.

Flurry says 1.2 billion apps were downloaded in the last week of December, the first time more than a billion apps have been acquired in a single week.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened the New Year by rising 232.50 points, or 1.90%, to 12,450.06. The Australian dollar was also up, to 103.75 US cents.