THE NEWS WRAP: IR laws, red tape and skills shortage hurting business confidence: Survey

Workplace laws, red tape and skills shortages are the main reasons behind a decline in business confidence, according to a new survey of company directors.

An Australian Institute of Company Directors report, released early to The Australian Financial Review, found that 42% of the 500 directors polled believe that the Federal Government’s workplace regime is hampering confidence.

“Directors look through their lens at the business and see rising costs of production, stalled productivity and an increasingly competitive marketplace, so there is very little upside for these companies, ” Rod Eddington, JPMorgan Australia chairman, told the AFR.

NAB chief warns of downturn dangers

The chief executive of NAB has warned that another financial crisis is on the way, urging the Australian economy to be “match fit” in order to survive the downturn.

Cameron Clyne, speaking at the Lowy Institute annual dinner, said that Australia needed to be “vigilant to the dangers of complacency” and also avoid “economic xenophobia” in what has been dubbed the Asian Century.

Google data requests on the rise

Government surveillance of the online habits of individuals and businesses is on the rise, according to Google.

The search engine giant said that it received 21,000 requests for its data in the first six months of the year, with the respective governments of the US, India and Brazil the most curious about their citizens’ activities.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.23 to 12,815.16. The Australian dollar was down to US104.02 cents.