THE NEWS WRAP: Coles set for aggressive expansion of its liquor operation

Coles is set to launch an aggressive expansion of its liquor operation in a bid to outflank archrival Woolworths.

The supermarket giant has negotiated $130 million in annual discounts from its alcohol suppliers, according to The Australian, allowing it to escalate its price war with Woolworths.

Coles plans to boost its 19% market share in the packaged alcohol market by opening a further 183 liquor stores over the next four years.   

IMF warns of further rate rises

Australia will need to raise interest rates further and overhaul the tax system in order to ease the two-speed economy caused by the mining boom, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

Ray Brooks, the head of the IMF’s Australian mission, said that house prices are 10 to 15% overvalued and will remain flat for the coming years.

He added that further tax reform was needed to entice more people into the workforce and cope with the demands of companies not in the mining industry.

Sun website users’ data stolen

Thousands of people who entered competitions on the website of UK newspaper The Sun may have had their personal information stolen.

News International, the paper’s owner, said that data was stolen during a hacking attack on July 19.

High-profile hacking group Lulz Sec claimed responsibility for the original breach, which resulted in a false story about the death of Rupert Murdoch posted on The Sun’s homepage.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped by 265.87 points to 11,866.62. The Australian dollar trended down to 108.90 US cents.