THE NEWS WRAP: Greens threaten to scuttle tax cuts for big companies

The Federal Government’s plan for $2.4 billion in tax cuts for large businesses has been thrown into doubt after the Greens said they will only support tax cuts for small firms.

The Greens need to support the plans in order for it to pass Parliament. They back the minerals resource rent tax, which will fund the tax cuts, but have insisted that there should be no relief for corporate Australia.

Labor plans to cut the corporate tax rate from 30% to 29% for small businesses beginning July 1, and for bigger businesses a year later.

ATM withdrawals on the slide

Australian consumers are moving closer to a cashless society, according to new figures, with the number of ATM withdrawals down by nearly one million in January compared with the same month last year.

The Reserve Bank said that, alongside the drop in ATM usage, the average cashpoint transaction amount has fallen to $89.53.

Brooks arrested in phone hacking probe

Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks has been arrested for the second time as part of police investigations into phone hacking in the UK.

Brooks and her husband were two of six people arrested by detectives looking into the wrongdoing that led to the closure of the News of the World last year.

Overnight

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 37.69 points, or 0.29%, to 12,959.71. The Australian dollar was up to 105.49 US cents.