THE NEWS WRAP: Australia has “wasted” $200 billion in mining boom proceeds: Report

Australia has “wasted” around $200 billion in proceeds from the mining boom by failing to support new infrastructure or up-skill workers, according to a new report.

Thinktank Per Capita said that around half of this windfall was used to bolster the Federal Government’s finances, while a further $25 billion was given away in tax cuts and concessions.

“We missed the opportunity to invest $75 billion in long-term productive assets,” the report states.

“We could have built a high-speed rail link down the east coast, or funded hundreds of thousands of skilled cadetships, or rolled out solar generation farms to power our mining and aluminium sectors.”

“The combination of tax cuts and spending growth left Australia ill-prepared for a change in economic circumstances.”

Europeans reluctant to ditch single currency

Europeans deeply dislike their single currency but are reluctant to leave it, a new survey has found.

A Pew Research Center study of the 17 euro zone nations found widespread concern over the debt crisis and the viability of European co-operation. But there was very little desire to scrap the euro and return to individual currencies.

RIM warns of job cuts

The maker of the Blackberry has warned that it will make “significant’ job cuts after it suffered a sharp dip in profits.

Research In Motion’s net profit slid to $1.2 billion in the past financial year, down from $3.4 billion in the previous year. 

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 127.37 points, or 1.02%, to 12,582.20. The Australian dollar dipped to 98.54 US cents.