THE NEWS WRAP: Exporters call for RBA to curb strong Aussie dollar

The Reserve Bank is coming under pressure from business groups to ease Australia’s soaring currency, amid fears that the strong dollar is hurting exporters.

The dollar, which moved above US106 cents yesterday, has become a “safe” bet for central banks in Europe concerned about the future of the euro.

“The RBA has powers to intervene in markets if the currency is noticeably out of sync with the fundamentals,” said Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox.

”In the current environment, one would expect that the bank has been considering the level of the currency and its options to influence its levels.”

States battle PM over energy costs

The NSW and Queensland state governments have hit back at Prime Minister Julia Gillard after the she called on them to do more to help cut household electricity prices.

Gillard wants the state governments to lower energy bills by abolishing network “gold-plating” due to weaker electricity use forecasts.

However, NSW Energy Minister Chris Hartcher said the Prime Minister had shown a “gross misunderstanding” of the issue.

Gambling app launches on Facebook

The first real money gambling app, Bingo Friendzy, has launched on Facebook.

The app, created by UK-based online gambling operator Gamesys, will be restricted to people aged over 18, with Facebook ‘age-gating’ access to it.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 83.52 points, or 0.64%, to 13,201.03. The Australian dollar moved up to US106 cents, before falling back to US105.53 cents.