Business leaders have urged Prime Minister Julia Gillard to stick to her decision to allow 1,700 foreign workers to be employed by Gina Rinehart after Gillard stated that no Australian jobs will be replaced by overseas staff.
According to the Australian Financial Review, Tony Shepherd, president of Business Council of Australia, rejected criticism of the first enterprise migration agreement to be struck with Rinehart’s Roy Hill iron ore mine.
“All of these firms advertise extensively throughout Australia for skilled positions and they can’t fill them, it is not that going offshore is their first resort,” Shepherd said.
Franchises warned over franchisee promises
A Victorian court has warned the $202 billion franchise industry to back up its promises when trying to attract new franchisees.
The Victorian Court of Appeal found that franchisees establishing a new Billy Baxter’s restaurant were misled over the revenue and profit they could expect in the first year.
Apple CEO turns down dividend
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has turned down a dividend payout that would’ve netted him around $US75 million, the company has revealed.
No reason was given as to why Cook decided to not cash in on Apple’s first dividend since 1995. Cook made $US378 million in share options last year.
Markets
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 74.92 points, or 0.60%, to 12,454.83, on Friday. The Australian dollar was steady at 98.1 US cents.
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