THE NEWS WRAP: Coles and Woolworths close to fuel docket deal with the ACCC

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is close to reaching a deal with Coles and Woolworths over fuel docket vouchers, which could place a cap on discounts.

A deal would see the competition regulator continue to allow the retail giants to offer discounts, while preventing the offers spiking to 40 cents off per litre.

It is hoped a deal, which could be announced by Christmas, will take the political heat out of the issue, after independent retail groups called on both sides of politics to outlaw the practice entirely prior to the last election.

Retail sales figures beat forecasts

Australian retail sales beat analysts’ forecasts during the month of October, according to new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The figures show a 0.5% increase for the month, following a rise of 0.9% in September, beating analysts’ forecasts of a 0.4% rise.

The result marks the sixth consecutive month of increases in retail sales, with results up in all states and territories except South Australia.

Dick Smith shares expected to trade strongly after listing

Shares in electronics retailer Dick Smith are expected to trade strongly after listing today.

The mid-cap retailer expected to reach a market capitalisation of $520 million just one year after being sold to private equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners for just $94 million by Woolworths.

“We are opening a fair few stores in coming days,” Dick Smith chief executive Nick Abboud says.

“Eight shops in basically four weeks, it’s fairly significant. There wouldn’t be many retailers opening eight shops in four weeks and this is where the excitement is for us, and more so for fiscal 2015 because you get a full year [of new stores].”

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down to 15903.6 The Aussie dollar is up to US91.42 cents.