THE NEWS WRAP: Carbon tax floor price removal could mean cost savings for business

The Federal Government has scrapped the carbon tax floor price, potentially saving Australian businesses hundreds of millions of dollars in costs.

Under government modelling, firms will save money if, as expected, Australia’s carbon price falls below $15 a tonne when it moves to a flexible market-based trading system in 2015.

Virgin Australia targets business price battle

Virgin Australia has cited an aggressive price war to capture business travellers as a key component of its strategy, after unveiling a healthy profit yesterday.

The airline transformed a $68 million loss into a $22.8 million profit in the last financial year, with chief executive John Borghetti saying that the corporate price battle was at its fiercest in decades.

He said: ”There is a lot of aggressive competition, but frankly we were expecting it and we will be as competitive as we can be to ensure we hold our position. We do have a cost advantage on our side.”

Workplace demographics show female future

The future of Australia’s workplaces is firmly female, with 70% of university graduates set to be women within three years, according to a new report.

The Regus study shows that older workers are invariably male, making up 72% of the greying global workforce.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 21.68 points, or 0.17%, to 13,102.99. The Australian dollar was up to US103.81 cents.