THE NEWS WRAP: Business leaders perform well in Australia Day awards

Business leaders have made a strong showing in this year’s Australia Day honours list, with entrepreneurs from a range of sectors rewarded.

 

Entrepreneur, futurist and StartupSmart mentor Colin Benjamin has been made a Member of the Order of Australia.

 

Greenhill Caliburn co-chief executive Simon Mordant has been also made a Member of the Order of Australia, for his work in arts and culture, while Infrastructure Australia chairman Sir Rod Eddington has been awarded the Officer of the Order of Australia.

 

Meanwhile, Maggie Beer, the high-end produce entrepreneur, has been made a Member of the Order of Australia.

 

 

Soros warns of global economic crisis

 

Billionaire investor George Soros has compared the global economy to an out-of-control car at the annual World Economic Forum gathering in Switzerland.

 

Soros warned that austerity measures taken in the debt-ridden eurozone will add to the downward spiral, but German chancellor Angela Merkel said that the reforms were “essential” if Europe was to recover.

 

 

Nokia unveils huge loss

 

Nokia has fallen further behind in the mobile phone market, with the company reporting a $1.4 billion loss in the final three months of last year.

 

The former market leader has launched a Windows-based phone in an attempt to gain ground on Apple and Android-powered devices, but this did little to stop a 21% year-on-year sales dip.

 

 

 

Overnight

 

The Dow Jones industrial average rose by 40.11 points, or 0.3%, to 12,797.07. The Australian dollar was up to 106.36 US cents.