THE NEWS WRAP: Pressure on for Swan to make cuts as company tax revenues fall

A “hefty fall” in company tax collections has contributed to the Federal Government’s $43.7 billion deficit for the 2011-12 financial year, according to Treasurer Wayne Swan.

The deficit is slightly better than the government forecast of being $44.4 billion in the red, made in May. However, it increases pressure on Swan to make significant spending cuts in order to balance the national budget.

Wozniak praises NBN

Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, has said that he wants to become an Australian – with the National Broadband Network a key motivation for the move.

Wozniak told The Australian Financial Review that he had spoken to Communications Minister Stephen Conroy about his support for the NBN.

“I spoke to him and they plan to roll it out to everyone in the country,” Mr Wozniak said.

“I support it very much. It’s one of the reasons why I actually like this country and want to become a citizen. I live in a country where we don’t have any regulation of telecommunications.”

Facebook denies privacy glitch

A supposed glitch that showed Facebook users’ private emails in their public timelines didn’t actually occur, according to the social media giant.

Facebook said that old wall posts, rather than private emails, were republished on some people’s timelines. The denial came as Facebook’s share price slumped 11% after an influential journal said the stock is worth just $15.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 19.47 points, or 0.1%, to 13,560 points. The Australian dollar rose to US104.29 cents.