THE NEWS WRAP: Aussie surfwear icon Rip Curl up for sale

Rip Curl, the Australian surf icon founded by two friends in 1969, has been put up for sale, with analysts anticipating the business will go for around $300 million.

The company was started by Doug Warbrick and Brian Singer in the Victorian surfing town of Torquay, where its headquarters still resides.

Although Rip Curl hasn’t suffered to the extent of rival Billabong, The Australian Financial Review reports that it has been hurt by the rising Australian dollar and the retail downturn.

Abbott rules out GST hike

A federal Coalition government would not increase the GST rate or reform the tax, according to leader Tony Abbott.

Liberal NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell said it was time to look at changes to GST to help bolster flagging receipts collected by the states. However, both Abbott and Prime Minister Julia Gillard have ruled out making any change.

Australians have bad attitude to China: Stokes

Australia’s crucial trading relationship with China is under threat due to a poor attitude towards the regional economic powerhouse, according to media mogul Kerry Stokes.

Billionaire Stokes, who is chairman of the Seven Network, said that comments made about the sale of Cubbie Station in Queensland to Chinese interests have been deemed racist by some bloggers in China.

“We want to be in a position then that prices are not the only reason that we trade with China, because in the future, [if] price is the only reason we trade with China, we will lose,” Stokes said.

Markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 53.51 points, or 0.40%, to 13,593.37 on Friday. The Australian dollar was up to US105.85 cents.