THE NEWS WRAP: Gillard set to call a leadership ballot today

Julia Gillard is expected to call a leadership ballot today, in response to yesterday’s dramatic resignation of Kevin Rudd, her predecessor as prime minister.

Gillard is to hold a press conference in Adelaide this morning to call for a caucus ballot to take place on Monday, when parliament resumes.

Meanwhile, business leaders have called for a speedy resolution to the leadership turmoil, with several senior CEOs claiming that the instability is causing uncertainty for business.

WA government plans sovereign wealth fund

The Western Australian government is looking to establish its own sovereign wealth fund, in a bid to capitalise upon the state’s booming mining sector.

State premier Colin Barnett said that he was determined that “future generations” of West Australians benefit from the mining boom, promising to reveal further details, including any potential assistance for small businesses, in his government’s budget in May.

Google tipped to rival Facebook ad dollars

Google is set to overtake main rival Facebook in terms of display advertising revenue, a research firm has predicted.

eMarketer expects Facebook to bringing in $2.58 billion versus Google’s $2.54 billion. However, Facebook’s growth is expected to fall to 13% by 2014, with Google increasing its growth rate to 30%.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 1.25 points, or less than 0.1%, to 12,964.44. The Australian dollar moved down to 106.70 US cents.