Job ads rise again during October, Microsoft chief sells $1.3bn of stock: Economy Roundup

The number of job advertisements published rose by 0.6% during October, with newspaper ads continuing to fall as more listings head online, according to the latest ANZ job advertisements series.

The survey found the overall number of jobs increased by 0.6% during the month to an average of 179,040 per week. This figure represents a 36.7% increase from the same time last year, but is still below the May 2007 high of 40.2%.

“Although growth in total job advertisements continued to soften in October, trend monthly growth 1.1 per cent is still more than double its 10-year average pace of 0.6 per cent,” ANZ chief economist Ivan Colhoun told Business Spectator.

“This suggests that in aggregate, labour demand continues to improve moderately and further employment creation and falls in the unemployment rate over coming months are a distinct possibility, though likely not at quite the same pace as in recent months.”

Newspaper ads fell by 0.3% during October, the data shows, representing the fifth consecutive monthly decline for printed listings.

Colhoun also said that differences between the states and territories are still evident, with Queensland and South Australia recording relatively weak growth.

“In contrast, Western Australian job ads continue to outshine the rest of the nation, with strong performances also enjoyed by the Northern Territory and the ACT. Annual growth in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania is solid but unspectacular,” he said.

“In line with this month’s moderation in employment intentions, we believe the October employment report from the ABS, due on Thursday 11 November, will show relatively muted employment growth of 15,000.”

Orica has recorded a 5% increase in annual net profit, with the company expecting further growth in the 2011 financial year despite revenue remaining subdued.

The company’s net profit for the 12 months to 30 September came to $675.8 million, an increase of 4.6% from the previous corresponding period. Total sales revenue was down 12% to $6.54 billion.

“We expect group net profit after tax (pre individually material items) in 2011 to be higher than that reported in 2010, on a comparable basis, subject to the rate of global economic recovery and extent of further adverse movements in exchange rates,” managing director and chief executive Graeme Liebelt said in a statement.

However, the company also said there were “improved results for all businesses” due to newly developed efficiencies in pricing and productivity, and some recovery in volumes.

Shares remain flat on Wall Street lead

The Australian share market has opened flat today, despite following a solid lead from Wall Street last Friday.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 5.5 points or 0.11% to 4795.1 at 11.40 AEST, while the Australian dollar has remained above parity at $US101.32.

AMP shares lost 0.4% to $5.35, as ANZ gained 0.5% to $24.20. Commonwealth Bank shares gained 0.3% to $49.05 as Westpac lost 3.6% to $22.52.

DuluxGroup has recorded a net profit of $61.289 million during the 2010 financial year, although the actual result does not reflect a full 12 months, the company said.

In the company’s first result as a standalone business, the company declared a final dividend of three cents per share, with the business also forecasting further profit growth in the 2011 financial year.

“We expect 2011 DuluxGroup net profit after tax (before individually material items) to be higher than $71.5 million, being the 2010 pro-forma net profit after tax before one-off demerger costs, subject to economic conditions,” the company said in a statement.

“In 2011, we will continue to build upon that capability to grow DuluxGroup’s market leading positions in Australia, New Zealand and PNG and tailor those capabilities to capture the long term growth we see ahead in DuluxGroup’s targeted segments in the emerging high growth markets of Asia,” managing director and chief executive Patrick Houlihan also said.

Microsoft chief sells $US1.3b in stock

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has sold $US1.3 billion worth of shares, cutting his stake in the business by 12%. But he says the move is purely for diversification and is not any type of slight on the business.

In a statement, Ballmer said he sold the shares in order to diversify his holdings and prepare for taxes.

“Even though this is a personal financial matter, I want to be clear about this to avoid any confusion,” Ballmer said in a statement on the company’s website. “I am excited about our new products and the potential for our technology to change people’s lives, and I remain fully committed to Microsoft and its success.”

Ballmer sold 49.3 million shares in the past few days, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Meanwhile, Kansas City Federal Reserve president Thomas Hoenig has said the US Federal Reserve should increase interest rates, in order to protect the property market.

“Moving rates modestly off of zero, where they have been since December 2008, still represents highly accommodative monetary policy,” he told the National Association of Realtors.

“I worry that by pumping in significant amounts of dollars we then build the inflationary pressures for the future, and we do encourage then an easier credit environment that helped create this problem in the first place,” he said.