Business confident about Dec qtr

BUSINESS confidence looks to be getting better, helped by a falling exchange rate and the expectation of another Reserve Bank of Australia rate cut.

The latest Dun and Bradstreet Business Expectations Survey showed that 24 per cent of businesses expect increased earnings in the fourth quarter of the year.

Dun and Bradstreet chief executive Gareth Jones said businesses were looking to the end of the year for better conditions.

"It's fair to say that business owners have had a tough time of it through the first part of this year; battling against high operating costs, poor cash flow and consumers that have generally spurned spending for savings," he said.

"Our first look at December quarter expectations, however, hints that operating conditions are stabilising along with a lower Aussie dollar and with expectations of a further interest rate cut to stimulate spending.

"As we await a period of sustained economic stability, it may be that the conclusion of the election is the event that kicks these initial findings on sentiment from stable to optimistic, he added.

The D&B survey shows that 38 per cent of businesses are likely to delay significant decisions and investment until after the September 7 federal election.

Dun and Bradstreet economic adviser Stephen Koukoulas said business expectations were still below those of a year ago.

"While the economy is not yet strong, the tentative signs of a bottoming or a moderate upturn in most components of the Business Expectations Survey is encouraging," Mr Koukoulas said.

"With a further interest rate cut and the lower Australian dollar still to show up in economic activity, there is a strong chance that we could see a turning point that could signal a stronger year for the economy in 2014."

The RBA board meets on Tuesday and is widely expected to cut the cash rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a new record low of 2.50 per cent.

The Australian dollar has lost more than 12 US cents since early May and is now trading below 90 US cents.

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Mandela threatened over utilities bill

AUTHORITIES admit they mistakenly delivered a utilities bill to Nelson Mandela's upmarket home and threatened to cut the icon's water and electricity supply.

Johannesburg city council apologised on Monday for the "unfortunate incident" after the 6,500-rand ($A744) bill arrived at the global peace hero's house in the suburb of Houghton over the weekend.

"The address and account number stated on the notice belong to another customer and property in a neighbouring suburb, not to the Mandela residence," said city spokesman Kgamanyane Maphologela.

The notice threatened "discontinuation or restriction of services" and legal action if the 30-day arrears were not paid, local media Eyewitness News reported.

With Mandela receiving treatment in a Pretoria hospital since June 8, the slip left the city council red-faced.

But it is not the first time an errant bill has embarrassed the city.

Last month a bill for over 3.5 million rand was erroneously sent to the African National Congress party headquarters.

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Japan needs 'credible' economic plan: IMF

THE IMF says Japan's "three arrows" economic stimulus program is boosting growth but is still pushing the country to follow through with fiscal and structural reforms.

It urged Tokyo to adopt a "credible" medium-term program that includes raising consumption taxes and deregulating farming and the service industry.

In its annual review of Japan's economy, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday the aggressive stimulus efforts of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had given a strong boost to growth.

The lender forecast that the economy would hold to a two percent pace this year and inflation would pick up gradually.

But it warned that, in addition to monetary and fiscal stimulus efforts, the government must follow through with the "third arrow" - economic reform.

"All three arrows need to be launched for the policies to succeed. Uncertainty about the ambition of fiscal and structural reforms is adding to underlying risks," the Fund said.

"Failure to follow through on fiscal and structural reforms could, however, lead to overreliance on monetary policy with negative consequences for Japan and the global economy."

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35 drown as heatwave grips Poland

THIRTY-FIVE people have drowned in Poland since the beginning of August, according to police, as Poles attempt to combat a heatwave by flocking to the beach.

Last weekend alone, 25 Poles drowned as the scorching weather that has gripped the country pushed the mercury to 36 degrees Celsius in some regions.

More than 300 people have drowned in Poland since May, as a heavy drinking culture and a lack of supervision on beaches contribute to a high level of accidental deaths in water.

In France, 91 people have drowned since the beginning of July, 37 of them while swimming in the sea. Most were men 40 and above who ignored red flag warnings on beaches, according to local government statistics.

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The Simpsons to get a Lego series

WANT to build a new home for Homer or try out a new hairstyle for Marge?

Danish toy company Lego on Monday confirmed it will launch a special series themed on The Simpsons family globally in 2014.

Lego spokesman Roar Rude Trangbaek wouldn't give any details about what characters would be included, but said the company hopes the series will "appeal to fans of The Simpsons family."

Lego, a privately held Danish company, has seen its sales soar in recent years after it started making series based on popular movies such as Star Wars and Ninjago.

The Simpsons has been on the air for 22 years, becoming the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program and a cultural phenomenon with colleges devoting courses to studying it.

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European stocks close mixed

EUROPEAN stocks ended Monday's session in mixed mode as markets digested positive eurozone data amid a drop in retail sales and weaker-than-expected profits at global banking giant HSBC, dealers said.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares fell 0.43 per cent to end at 6,619.58 points and Frankfurt's DAX 30 slipped 0.10 per cent to 8,398.38 points.

The CAC 40 in Paris finished 0.11 per cent higher, meanwhile, at 4,049.97 points.

In Monday's foreign exchange trading, the euro slipped to $1.3257 from $1.3279 late in New York on Friday. The dollar dropped to 98.60 yen from 98.89 yen.

On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold fell back to $1,304.75 an ounce from $1,309.25 on Friday.

The eurozone recession seems to be fading out at last, with key growth indicators giving a surprisingly strong showing, economics experts said on Monday.

A key leading indicator of activity, the Markit Eurozone Composite Purchasing Managers Index for July switched to give a growth reading for the first time for 18 months.

But eurozone retail sales, a key indicator of demand in the economy, slipped by 0.5 per cent in June from the previous month, official data showed Monday.

On the corporate front, shares in HSBC finished 4.37 per cent lower to close at 721.7 pence after half-year net profits at Europe's biggest bank came in below expectations.

Profit after tax jumped to $US10.28 billion ($A11.59 billion) in the six months to the end of June compared with the first half of 2012 on lower costs and bad-debt charges, the British lender said in an earnings statement.

The result came in slightly below analysts' consensus forecast of profit after tax totalling $US10.52 billion, according to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires.

Meanwhile in France, utilities group Veolia Environnement reported a six-month profits slump to just 4.0 million euros owing to provisions and warned that its activities in China were slowing.

However shares in the group which provides water and waste management services in many countries rose by 3.41 per cent to 10.62 euros as the company held to its targets to cut costs and debt this year.

In midday trading on Wall Street, US stocks were lower as investors adjusted to a lighter economic calendar following the busy pace of recent weeks that pushed the Dow and S&P 500 to record highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.13 per cent to 15,607,67 points.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.14 per cent to 1,707.32, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.03 per cent to 3,688.53.

Asian stock markets closed mostly lower on Monday after lower-than-expected US jobs growth sounded a warning about the recovery of the world's biggest economy, traders said.

The release at the weekend of a slightly improved Chinese non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI), compiled by HSBC bank, also failed to give Asian stocks a boost on Monday.

Last week, Wall Street closed at record highs despite the job figures indicating that growth remains sluggish.

Official data on Friday showed that the US unemployment rate fell to a better-than-expected 7.4 per cent in July from 7.6 per cent in June, but jobs growth disappointed.

The Labor Department reported that the United States added 162,000 jobs last month, well below the 175,000 expected on average by analysts.

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Norway closes Saudi, Jordan embassies

NORWAY has closed its embassies in Saudi Arabia and Jordan to the public due to threats of attacks by Al-Qaeda, the foreign ministry says.

The Scandinavian country has also raised the security level at other diplomatic missions in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as sensitive locations such as Nairobi, the ministry said.

"We have limited public access by closing down, for example, the consular sections (in Riyadh and Amman)," ministry spokesman Frode Andersen said on Monday.

"The embassies are not closed down. We keep working, and communicate by telephone and mail."

The United States has closed down 19 diplomatic missions in the Middle East and Africa until August 10. France, Britain and Germany have also temporarily closed their embassies in Yemen.

This came after the United States issued a worldwide alert late last week warning of plans by al-Qaeda to launch an attack in the Middle East or Africa in August.

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Clashes in north Nigeria kill 35

CLASHES between Nigeria's military and Islamist extremist group Boko Haram in two northeastern towns have left at least 35 people dead, most of them insurgents, the army says.

A clash in the town of Bama sparked by an attack on a police base "led to the death of one policeman and 17 Boko Haram terrorists", a military statement said on Monday.

Fighting in the town of Malam Fatori after an attack on troops "led to the death of two soldiers and 15 Boko Haram terrorists", it said. Both incidents occurred on Sunday.

According to the military, the insurgents were armed with "sophisticated weapons" and explosives during the attacks.

Both Bama and Malam Fatori are located in Nigeria's Borno state, Boko Haram's home base.

Borno, badly hit by insurgent attacks as well as heavy-handed military raids, is one of three states currently under a state of emergency while security forces pursue an offensive aimed at ending Boko Haram's four-year insurgency.

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