THE NEWS WRAP: Australian businesses holding off on mergers and acquisitions: Report

Australian businesses are holding off on merger and acquisition activity amid deepening caution over the past six months, according to a new report.

An Ernst & Young survey of executives around the world found that many Australian firms are taking a “wait and see” approach to M&A activity, potentially impacting start-ups.

Confidence among businesses has also softened, with 82% of executives feeling positive about the local economy, down from 91% who felt the same in April.

Ikea highlights Australia’s cost of doing business

Ikea has hit out at the high cost of business in Australia as it unveiled plans to increase the number of stores it operates in the country.

Ikea Australia managing director David Hood told Fairfax’s Business Day that the cost of business was “high in comparison” to other countries. Ikea plans to more than double its number of Australian stores to 11.

EU urges Google to have privacy rethink

Google has been given 12 recommendations by the European Union on how to change the way it gathers personal information to avoid privacy issues.

A nine-month investigation found that Google’s data collection methods were not illegal, but posed a “high risk” to the privacy of users.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 95.14 points, or 0.71%, to 13,423.99. The Australian dollar rose to 102.55 US cents.