THE NEWS WRAP: Twitter finalises $US40 million purchase of Tweetdeck

Twitter is set to finalise its $US40 million purchase of UK-based start-up Tweetdeck, in a cash and shares deal.

The deal, set to be officially announced today, will make Tweekdeck’s 36-year-old founder Iain Dodsworth a millionaire.

Since its foundation in 2008, Tweetdeck has received $3 million in funding but has never recorded a profit. It has 15 staff and is based in an area of east London known as “Silicon Roundabout” due to its proliferation of tech start-ups.

Greens signal flexible carbon price approach

The Greens have signalled that they are prepared to take a flexible approach to negotiations over the proposed carbon price, boosting the Government’s chances of striking a deal.

Christine Milne, the party’s deputy leader, told the Australian Financial Review that the Greens would support a less ambitious scheme if it was subsequently ramped up.

Milne recently said that a carbon price of more than $40 would be needed to drive change in Australia’s energy consumption, a statement that has drawn concern from the business community.

Tiger posts loss

The Australian arm of beleaguered airline Tiger made a loss after tax of $6.75 million in 2011, new documents have revealed.

The budget airline filed its 2010 and 2011 figures to ASIC on the same day after a nine-month delay in submitting its 2010 report. Since starting its operations in 2007, Tiger has made losses of $74 million.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 25.05 points to 12,356.21. The Australian dollar was up slightly to 105.59 US cents.