Federal Budget 2011: $3.5 billion budget surplus expected in 2012/13

(All prices are in Australian dollars.)

All highlighted words can be defined in the glossary at the bottom of the article.

The Australian Government has taken the tough decisions necessary to ensure the budget returns to surplus in 2012/13, while delivering on major spending priorities. The Australian Government is achieving this by making $22 billion in savings and limiting real growth in spending to certain areas.

Breakdown of each sector:

Economy:

• Budget deficit estimated at $22.6 billion in 2011/12.
• Total savings of $21.7 billion over four years.
• Return to surplus of $3.5 billion by 2012/13.
• Unemployment predicted to fall to 4.75 per cent in 2011/12.
• Inflation predicted to fall to 2.75 per cent in 2011/12.

Skills and Work:

• $558 million National Workforce Development Fund.
• Ann additional 130,000 new training facilities to be created.
• 16,000 skilled immigrants to fill labour shortages in key regions.
• Accelerate apprenticeships and $101 million national mentoring program for apprentices.
• Up to $1.75 billion for reforms of vocational education and training system. 

Participation:

• Cut effective tax rates for 50,000 single parents.
• Phase out Dependent Spouse Tax Offset beginning with partners under 40.
• Extend Earn or Learn requirements to 21-year-olds.
• $233 million in new support programs and 35,000 targeted wage subsidies.
• Slow growth of Disability Support Pension numbers by introducing new work tests and more wage subsidies.

Health Care:

• $1.8 billion investment in hospitals and health care for regional Australia.
• $717 million over five years for diagnostic imaging services and affordability of medicines and immunisations.
• $53 million to improve access to public dental services.
• $1.5 billion for new mental health initiatives.
• $419 million in early mental health intervention services.

Schools/Education:

• $425 million to reward top performing teachers over the next four years.
• $18.1 million to provide new pathways into teaching careers for professionals.
• $222 million to extend and expand National School Chaplaincy program.
• $200 million to support disabled school students.

Families:

• $771.9 million for an increase of the annual rate for the Family Tax Benefit Part A for dependant families.
• More flexibility for Child Care Rebate payments.
• Extending Education Tax Refund to cover school uniforms.
• Delayed implementation of Paid Paternity Leave for six months.
• Limited eligibility for Family Tax Benefit Part A.
• $12.1 million over five years for health checks for children starting school.

Regions:

• $4.3 billion for regional hospitals, health care, universities and roads.
• $232 million in new strategic investments.
• 16,000 skilled immigrants to fill labour shortages in regions.
• Drought assistance for primary producers and small businesses.

Major Savings:

• $2 billion from better targeting of family payments.
• $1.1 billion from increasing public sector efficiency dividend.
• $755 million from phasing out Dependent Spouse Tax Offset.
• $470 million from removing access to Low Income Tax Offset or unearned income of minors.

Glossary:

• Surplus: To have a certain amount remaining after the original requirement has been met. To have extra.
• Deficit: The amount by which a sum of money falls short of the required amount.
• Fund: A sum of money saved or invested for a particular purpose.
• Reforms: Improvements by removing faults.
• Vocational: Designed to provide the necessary skills for a specific job or career.
• Spouse: Somebody’s husband or wife.
• Offset: Something that counterbalances or compensates. An allowance made in order to counterbalance something.
• Subsidies: Money given by the government.
• Pension: A certain amount of money given to somebody during retirement by the government.
• Diagnostic: Used in identifying illnesses or problems.
• Intervention: A deliberate entry into a situation or dispute in order to influence the events taking place.
• Rebate: Money that is payed back.
• Implementation: To put something into effect or action.
• Sector: A component of an integrated system such as an economy or a society.
• Dividend: A certain amount paid.

Vanuatu hit by 7.1 magnitude quake, no tsunami warning issued

A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu earlier today, however there was no tsunami warning issued for the region.

The undersea quake was 26 kilometres deep and centred 133 kilometres southwest of the nation’s capital, Port Vila.

Undersea earthquakes of this size usually shake buildings and have the potential to generate a small tsunami, but they rarely cause significant structural damage.

Vanuatu, lies between Fiji, Australia and north of New Zealand, it is located in the "Pacific Ring of Fire" known for its high seismic and volcanic activity caused by moving plates in the Earth's crust.

Microsoft close to acquiring Skype

Software company Microsoft is close to finalising a deal worth over $US7 billion to buy internet phone company Skype Technologies. This is the largest move made yet by Microsoft in the world of communication and entertainment.

The deal could be announced ‘done’ as early as tomorrow, people familiar with the matter stated. However they also mentioned that negotiations aren’t final yet and could still fall apart. The total value of the deal is estimated to be worth $US8.5 billion.

If Microsoft was to close the deal it would give the company a recognised brand name on the internet at a time when they are struggling to get more stability in the consumer market.

Microsoft has invested heavily in marketing and improving the technology of its Bing search engine. While it has made some market share improvements over the past year, Google still dominates the search industry.

The Skype deal would rank at or near the top of the biggest purchases made in Microsoft’s 36-year history. Microsoft is not known for making large deals, many current and former Microsoft executives are glad that the company didn't follow through on a $US48 billion offer for Yahoo. Yahoo is worth half that sum today.

Investors have become more and more concerned about Microsoft's ability to amass continued growth out of the Windows and Office software systems, as rival technologies from Apple, Google and other companies put more pressure on profits. 

NBA: Miami Heat too hot for Celtics, take 3-1 lead in series

The Miami Heat have taken a 3-1 lead over Boston with an overtime win in Game 4 of the NBA'S Eastern Conference semi-finals in Boston today. Miami only requires one more win to make it to the NBA Eastern Conference finals in the best-of-seven series. 

LeBron James led the way for Miami, scoring 35 points in the 98-90 overtime win. Miami's Dwayne Wade also chipped in with a handy 28 points, Chris Bosh completed the all-star trio with 20 points and 12 assists.  

The next game will take place in Miami on Wednesday (Thursday AEST). If the Heat eliminate the defending Eastern Conference champions they will go on to face either the Chicago Bulls or the Atlanta Hawks. 

Miami made big news in last year's post season when they signed LeBron James from the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chris Bosh from the Toronto Raptors. Miami's season was full of ups and downs but they found found their form at the right time, heading into the playoffs.

Earlier in the week the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks in a 4-0 clean sweep. It is now the end of an era for the Lakers as head coach Phil Jackson calls it quits, ending a 12 year coaching career at the Lakers. 

The Lakers just couldn't find an answer to Dallas as they struggled through a tough series. Los Angeles had endured a season of high hopes and expectations. They were hoping to win the championship and go back-to-back-to-back as NBA champions.

Apple becomes world's biggest brand

Apple has become the world’s most valuable brand after surpassing Google who has held the top spot for the last four years.

(All values are in $US unless otherwise stated)

The annual BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study found the Apple brand has increased in value by 859 per cent since 2006 and is worth $153.3 billion, a sum equivalent to $AU144 billion.

The calculation was carried out by researcher Millward Brown Optimor to identify and rank the world's most valuable 100 brands by dollar value, an analysis based on financial data combined with consumer measures.

The joint value of all the brands in the top 100 has increased by 17 per cent and is now worth $2.4 trillion.

This year 19 of the 100 brands originate in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies, a huge improvement from 2006 when only two brands slotted into this category.

Millward Brown chief executive Eileen Campbell said Apple had been able to charge higher prices and weather tough economic times by constantly innovating.

"Compared with an overall enhancement of 13 percent in the world's equity markets during 2010, the best brands increased their value 30 percent faster," she said.

Facebook was a newcomer to the top 100 and had a 246% increase in value to $1.91 billion and no. 35 on the list. Chinese search engine Baidu was the second-fastest grower, leapfrogging dozens of older brands with a 141% increase to land at No. 29 on the list at $22.6 billion.

Eight of the top ten brands on the list are U.S. based however China now has 12 brands in the top 100, an increase of three since last year.

Online shopping brand Amazon edged out Walmart as the most-valuable retail brand, rising 37% in value to $37.6 billion as Walmart dropped 5% to $37.3 billion. This finding suggests a rise in online buying.

Bouncing back from a tough year of battling widespread recalls and reports of quality problems, Toyota's brand value rose 11% to $24.1 billion last year, putting it back atop automotive brands.

BP, hit hard by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, took a 27% drop in value. Experts say they may not bounce back as quickly as Toyota. BP faces problems of confidence in its employees and efficiency.

Growth of tablets and smartphones led to big gains in brand value for a lot of tech and telecom brands, which occupied the top three spots and six of the top 10. All but one of those, No. 2 Google, gained brand value year over year. Google slipped 2% despite the success of its Droid operating system.

Blackberry’s brand value dropped a staggering 20%. The once-dominant smartphone brand suffered due to not as much new product news as competitors.

Wells Fargo led a number of brands whose fortunes rebounded from the financial crisis and recession of 2008 and 2009. Its brand value nearly doubled, up 97% to $36.9 billion, or No. 16. Wells Fargo expanded their brand very well and bought naming rights for the old Wachovia Centre in Philadelphia.

Fast-food brand McDonalds increased its value by 23% to $81 billion and no. 4 on the list. This is due to consumers turning away from pricier food chains.

Coke led beverage brands, up 8% to $73.8 billion, beating Budweiser, staying even at $15.9 billion and Pepsi, up 1% to $12.9 billion.

Opinion: Why killing bin Laden is not enough

The death of Osama bin Laden is historic and is the reward for years of hard work and patience. Some say that justice has been served but nothing will bring back the thousands of family members and loved ones killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

I believe that justice may well have been served but the families of deceased loved ones will always be hurting from that fateful day nearly 10 years ago. I think that it is too early for people in the US to be celebrating the death of bin Laden.

Al Qaeda or another terrorist group will retaliate and if the US is in celebration mode the consequences of an attack could be horrific. 

It is far too early to be celebrating as there are a lot of terrorists still at large and willing to make a point. However it is good to see the US and other countries on high security alerts. The world (and especially the US) should be very wary and prepared for terrorist retaliation.


I believe that the death of bin Laden changes nothing but tells the world that if you want to plan terrorist attacks on the US you will be hunted down and killed. This is a message that means nothing for the terrorists who are willing to kill themselves in order to kill innocent people. These terrorists have no regard for their own life and will continue to sacrifice their lives to make a point. 

Osama bin Laden dead but war on terrorism far from over

 

Obama has killed Osama

The man behind the worst terrorist attacks in America is finally dead. This historical day comes almost 10 years after the attacks that killed roughly 3,000 civilians.

The leader of Al Qaeda was killed by U.S. forces in a mansion in Abbottabad, north of Islamabad in Pakistan. He died after a firefight that lasted 40 minutes. Four others in the building were killed including bin Laden's adult son.

In a surprise statement U.S. President Barack Obama called bin Laden's death "the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat Al Qaeda." 

Bin Laden's body was later buried at sea. Many Muslims believe that bodies should be buried within one day. 

In his speech President Obama said that no Americans or civilians were harmed in the battle. The death is a result of years of intelligence work and months of following a specific lead to find bin Laden.

As the news broke on the other side of the world, the scene outside the White House was one of pure American pride and joy. Chants of "USA!" and the singing of "Star Spangled Banner" could be heard.

However there was no better place to be than New York. A cheering crowd gathered at ground zero, the site where the two towers of the World Trade Center stood before bin Laden's terrorist group flew two planes into the buildings on September 11, 2001. "God Bless America" could be heard through the crowd.

A New York fire-fighter forced to retire after lung failure due to the dust from the rubble of the World Trade Center wreckage said he was there to let the 343 fire-fighters who died in the attacks know "they didn't die in vain."  

"It's a war that I feel we just won," he said. "I'm down here to let them know that justice has been served."

Bob Gibson, a retired New York police officer, said the news of bin Laden's death gave him a sense of "closure."

"I never thought this night would come, that we would capture or kill bin Laden," he said. "And thank the Lord he has been eliminated."

The news also brought some relief to family members of those killed on 9/11.

Bin Laden evaded capture for years, once reportedly slipping out of a training camp in Afghanistan just hours before a barrage of U.S. cruise missiles destroyed it. However today his luck ran out, after years of hiding he was finally found and killed.

A travel alert warned of the "enhanced potential for anti-American violence given recent counter-terrorism activity in Pakistan." Some fear Al Qaeda supporters may try to retaliate against U.S. citizens or U.S. institutions.

But for now, Americans and many more are soaking up this historic moment.