THE NEWS WRAP: Foster’s to pull key brands from Coles and Woolworths

Beer is the new milk when it comes to supermarket price battlegrounds, with Foster’s reportedly pulling key brands from Coles and Woolworths after learning of a plan to sell its products at below cost.

According to The Age, Foster’s has stopped deliveries of VB, Carlton Draught and Pure Blonde to the supermarkets after discovering that Coles was to sell a slab of VB for $28 – well below the normal retail price of $38.

Cash Converters moots debit card plan

Second hand retail chain Cash Converters is planning to offer debit cards and savings accounts to consumers, should a proposed alliance go ahead.

The pawn broking firm, which is headquartered in Perth and has stores across Australia and the UK, said it will offer the products if a deal with US retailer Ezcorp gets the green light.

China denies Gmail interference

The Chinese Government has denied tampering with Gmail accounts, following an allegation from Google that it was restricting access to the email service in the country.

A government spokeswoman said that Google’s claims were “an unacceptable accusation.”

Overnight

The Dow Jones industrial average fell by 15.37 points to 12,021.16. The Australian dollar bounced back from its recent dip, climbing to 101.16 US cents.