Job ads decline in October: Midday roundup

The number of job ads published on the internet and in newspapers dropped for a seventh consecutive month in October, according to the latest figures from ANZ.

The numbers show job ads fell by a seasonally adjusted 4.6%, following a downwardly revised decline of 3.9% in September.

Total job ads are now down by 15% compared to the same time last year.

The biggest decline was in internet advertising, which fell by 4.6%. The number of jobs online is down 14.4% compared to the same time last year.

Retail sales rise in September

Retail sales rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.5%, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The figures show retail spending rose by 0.5% to $21.59 billion during the month of September, although analysts had only expected a 0.4% increase.
It follows an upwardly revised 0.3% rise in August.

Shares down after weak offshore leads

The Australian sharemarket has opened flat this morning, ahead of the US elections this week and after a weak lead from offshore markets.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 8.6 points or 0.2% to 4,451.5 at 12.00 AEST, while in the United States last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 139 points or 1% to 13,093.2

Local councils win against ABN Amro and S&P for structured financial products

Local councils that lost millions on structured finance products have successfully sued investment bank ABN Amro, credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s and the finance company they bought them from, Local Government Financial Services.

The 12 councils lost $16 million on the constant proportion debt obligations which were created by ABN Amro and assigned a triple A rating by Standard & Poor’s.

Today’s finding is the first adverse judgment against S&P worldwide and may leave S&P exposed to a further $200 billion in claims.

Federal Court Justice Jayne Jagot said the councils were entitled to succeed in their damages against LGFS, ABN Amro and Standard & Poor’s which included negligence and misleading or deceptive conduct.