Jetstar shake up sees 500 jobs axed, planes redeployed
Changes for Jetstar flights to Asia are on the way with Qantas announcing a 'strategic restructure', that will see 500 jobs axed in Singapore, and 13 aircraft redeployed.
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News.com.au
10 hours ago
- News.com.au
Rice prices Japan's hot political issue, on and off the farm
All is calm at Satoshi Yamazaki's rice farm, with its freshly planted rows of vivid-green seedlings, but a row over the cost of the staple in Japan is threatening to deal the government a blow at the ballot box. Shortages of the grain caused by a supply chain snarl-up have seen prices almost double in a year, fuelling frustration over inflation -- and voters could let their anger be known in upper house elections due next month. To help ease the pain for consumers and restaurants, the government started tapping emergency stockpiles in March, having only previously done so during disasters. Yamazaki, who grows about 10 percent of his rice organically using ducks to eat pests, said he understands high prices are "troubling" for ordinary people. But he stressed that thin profits are a concern for many of those who produce it. "There's a gap between shop prices and what farmers sell rice for to traders and the like," he told AFP in the northern Niigata region. "Not all the money paid at shops becomes our income," said Yamazaki, a 42-year-old father of seven. A mosaic of factors lies behind the shortages, including an intensely hot and dry summer two years ago that damaged harvests nationwide. Since then some traders have been hoarding rice in a bid to boost their profits down the line, experts say. The issue was made worse by panic-buying last year prompted by a government warning about a potential "megaquake" that did not strike. - 'Old' rice - Meanwhile, the rising price of imported food has boosted the popularity of domestic rice, while record numbers of tourists are also blamed for a spike in consumption. Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi has pledged to cut prices quicker by selling stockpiled rice directly to retailers -- attracting long queues to some shops. It appears to be working: the average retail price has edged down for a second week to 4,223 yen ($29) for five kilograms (11 pounds), down from a high of 4,285 yen in May. That hasn't stopped opposition politicians -- with an eye on the elections -- and online critics branding the reserve rice "old", with some likening it to animal feed. But analysts also blame Japan's decades-old policy of cutting rice-farming land. The policy was introduced to support prices that were being hit by falling demand brought about by changes in the Japanese diet. Under the 1971 policy, farmers were told to reduce the amount of space used to grow the grain in favour of other crops. That saw the amount of land used for rice paddies -- not including for livestock feed -- plunge below 1.4 million hectares (3.5 million acres) in 2024, from a peak of 3.3 million hectares in 1960. While the policy was officially abolished in 2018, it has continued in a form of incentives pushing farmers towards other commodities like soybeans. Adding to the crisis is Japan's ageing population. Many rice farmers are old and their children have no interest in taking over. Eighty percent of rice farmers are part-time with less than two hectares of fields but they account for only 20 percent of production, said agronomy expert Kazunuki Oizumi, professor emeritus of Miyagi University. Their main revenue comes from other jobs or pensions, he added. - Agriculture 'destroyed' - Toru Wakui, chairman of a large-scale farm in the northern Akita region who has for decades fought against the acreage reduction, said Japan should "seek an increase in rice production and exports to foreign markets". "If you only think about the domestic market while increasing output, of course prices will fall," he told AFP. "We need to look for markets abroad." "The 55 years of acreage reduction destroyed Japan's agriculture," said Wakui, 76, who urged Koizumi in a letter last month to "declare an expansion in rice production". He also said Japan should consider a scheme to help young people start agriculture businesses without the burden of initial investment in fields and machinery, by involving other sectors including banks and trading companies. Public support for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's government has tumbled to its lowest level since he took office in October, which local media say was partly caused by the surge in inflation and soaring rice costs. He has told parliament that increasing production is "an option" to temper prices, but said food security and the livelihood of producers was also important. For the farmer Yamazaki, "wanting cheap rice with high quality" is a pipe dream. "We farmers are a little baffled by the limelight that suddenly shifted to us," he said. kh/kaf/dan
Perth Now
13 hours ago
- Perth Now
Asian stocks slip as trade, geopolitical tensions weigh
Global stocks and the dollar have slipped as investors size up a benign US inflation report and the fragile trade truce between Washington and Beijing, while rising tensions in the Middle East and lingering tariff anxiety dent risk sentiment. Attention in financial markets this week has been on the US-China trade talks that culminated in a framework agreement that would remove Chinese export restrictions on rare earth minerals and allow Chinese students access to US universities. "We made a great deal with China. We're very happy with it," US President Donald Trump said. Markets though were guarded in their response, awaiting fuller, concrete details of the agreement and remained wary of another flare up. Trump also said the US would send out letters in one to two weeks outlining the terms of trade deals to dozens of other countries, which they could embrace or reject, adding yet another dose of uncertainty in the markets. "The US China deal really just leaves the tariffs in place after they've been cut back following the Geneva meeting, so it doesn't really change things," said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy and chief economist at AMP Capital. "Ultimately the trade tension is yet to be resolved between the US and China." MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.3 per cent lower in early trading on Thursday after hitting a three year-high on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.7 per cent, while US and European stock futures fell. China's blue-chip stock index fell 0.37 per cent, moving off the near three-week top it touched in the previous session. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 0.74 per cent, also inching away from Wednesday's three-month high. Trump's erratic tariff policies have roiled global markets this year, prompting hordes of investors to exit US assets, especially the dollar, as they worried about rising prices and slowing economic growth. The euro, one of the beneficiaries of the dollar's decline, rose to a seven-week high and was last at $US1.1512. The Japanese yen was 0.4 per cent firmer at 144.03 per dollar. That pushed the dollar index, which measures the US currency against six other key rivals, to its lowest level since April 22. The index is down nine per cent in 2025. Data on Wednesday showed US consumer prices increased less than expected in May as cheaper petrol partially offset higher rents, but inflation is expected to accelerate in the coming months on the back of the Trump administration's import tariffs. The soft inflation report led Trump to renew his call for the Federal Reserve to push through a major rate cut. The president has been pressing for rate cuts for some time even as Fed officials have shrugged off his comments. Traders are pricing in a 70 per cent chance of a quarter-point reduction in the Fed policy rate by September. Policymakers are widely expected to keep rates unchanged next week. In commodities, oil prices were pinned at two-month highs, close to $US70 a barrel, on worries of supply disruptions in the Middle East after Iran said it will strike US bases in the region if nuclear talks fail and conflict arises with Washington. Gold prices also got a boost from safe-haven flows, with spot gold up 0.5 per cent at $US3,370.29.
Sky News AU
13 hours ago
- Sky News AU
ASX 200 see-saws on Thursday as Monash IVF rises following second embryo mix-up, CEO departing
The ASX 200 has see-sawed on Thursday with an embattled health company jumping and a luxury fashion brand nosediving. The index is up flat after the first hour of trading after jumping 0.2 per cent in the first 20 minutes. Qantas has soared 4.8 per cent, Beach Energy jumped four per cent and gold miner West African Resources added 3.8 per cent. Luxury fashion brand Cettire is down 21.5 per cent after its CEO warned of weaker US demand, despite revealing sales revenue was up 1.7 per cent year-on-year. Embattled healthcare company Monash IVF has jumped again on Thursday after the company dropped 26 per cent when it informed the public of a second embryo mix-up at a clinic. The company informed shareholders on Thursday its chief executive Michael Knaap was resigning, leading to a four per cent bump in the share price, and its CFO Malik Jainudeen was appointed acting CEO. 'Since his appointment in 2019, Michael has led the organisation through a period of significant growth and transformation, and we thank him for his years of dedicated service,' Monash IVF's statement read. The bourse hit a new high on Wednesday as it shot up more than half a per cent before sinking throughout the day. The Dow Jones fell flat on Wednesday while the S&P 500 sank 0.3 per cent and the Nasdaq dropped 0.5 per cent. London's FTSE 250 Index added 0.2 per cent, Germany's DAX fell 0.2 per cent and the STOXX Europe 600 dropped 0.3 per cent on Wednesday. New Zealand's NZX 50 Index is down 0.2 per cent on Thursday and Japan's Nikkei 225 has dropped 0.6 per cent.
