The new Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA), signed on 8 July 2014, will strengthen economic ties between the two nations. Japan is Australia’s third largest direct foreign investor with A$130 million worth of investment stock in Australia in 2013.

Wilcox Industries’ manufacturing and assembly facility in Victoria will be a joint venture with its Melbourne-based distributor and partner, Aquaterro – a leading supplier of law enforcement and defence equipment in Victoria.

Global ratings agency, Moody’s, has reaffirmed Australia’s AAA rating and stable outlook, consistent with recent assessments by Fitch and Standard & Poor’s. Australia’s sovereign credit rating is based on the nation’s highly resilient economy, high level of government financial strength and low level of event risk.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has reaffirmed Australia's triple-A credit rating and stable economic outlook, stating that the sovereign credit ratings on Australia benefit from the country's strong institutional settings, its wealthy and resilient economy, and a high degree of monetary and fiscal policy flexibility. “These factors provide Australia with a strong ability to absorb large economic and financial shocks, as was demonstrated during the global recession in 2009,” S&P said.

Australia remains a top 10 global destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) for a third straight year after attracting US$50 billion in foreign direct investment in 2013, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) World Investment Report 2014. Over the three years to 2013, FDI flows to Australia rose nearly 55 per cent to US$171 billion from US$110 billion over the previous three years. This impressive growth has expanded Australia’s share of global FDI inflows to 3.8 per cent in 2011-13 from 2.5 per cent in 2008-10. In contrast, developed economies’ share of world FDI inflows fell to 44 per cent in 2011-13 from 53 per cent in 2008-10.

Australia has achieved its highest ever ranking in the 2014 Global Innovation Index (GII). The GII 2014 surveyed 143 economies around the world, using 81 indicators to gauge both their innovation capabilities and measurable results.

Rohlig Australia will open a new branch office in the Melbourne western suburb of Truganina in mid 2015. The new Melbourne base for the international logistics company will be a modern 8,730sqm facility that includes space for a large warehouse and an open plan office.

La Trobe University in Melbourne will bring its world-class scientific expertise to the newly launched Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute (ONJCRI).

Australia’s premier business organisation dedicated to promoting investment and trade with China will be the first bilateral business chamber to be part of the Victorian Coalition Government’s new International Chamber House (ICH). The Australia China Business Council (ACBC) will move its head office from Sydney to Melbourne to be part of ICH, which is set to open later this year in Melbourne’s city centre.

Aegis Services Australia has announced it will expand its business processing outsourcing operations in Victoria, creating 550 new jobs over the next two years. Aegis is a global outsourcing and technology company. The expansion will mean a doubling of the company’s existing local workforce and a substantial investment in training and up-skilling of employees. The company’s announcement underscores Victoria's strong reputation as a destination for global investment and business services centre.

The Fu Wah International Group will establish its Australian headquarters in Melbourne, bringing 20 jobs to Victoria. A high-end real-estate development and commercial property management group based in China, the company recently took ownership of the iconic Melbourne Park Hyatt Hotel and is exploring other investment opportunities in Victoria's property and hotel sector.

Hong Kong-based independent hotel company the Hind Group is to establish its new Australian headquarters in Melbourne, creating 10 new jobs. The Hind Group is one of Hong Kong's most successful independent hotel and serviced apartment operators. It owns and manages two hotel brands, Ovolo Hotels and Naumi Hotels and also runs two food and beverage businesses, Café O in Hong Kong and Rang Mahal in Singapore.

Indian company Ray Business Technologies (Raybiztech) has chosen Melbourne as its Australian headquarters. The company plans to create 30 new highly skilled local Information and Communications Technology (ICT) jobs over the next two years. Headquartered in Hyderabad, India, with offices in the USA and UK, Raybiztech delivers cloud, mobility, big data and social media solutions to its enterprise clients around the world, in the sectors of finance, healthcare, manufacturing, media, leisure and utilities.

Global technology supplier Finmeccanica – Selex ES will establish its Australian Naval Communications headquarters in Melbourne, creating 80 manufacturing jobs by 2019. Finmeccanica - Selex ES works across the international defence, security, aerospace, naval and transport sectors.

The Victorian Government has secured the right for Melbourne to continue to host the Australian leg of the world’s largest digital games festival, the Penny Arcade Expo Australia (PAX Aus), for the next five years until 2019.

UK packaging company LINPAC has chosen Melbourne as its Australian headquarters. The A$22 million investment will create 72 manufacturing jobs at the new headquarters in the suburb of Truganina in Melbourne’s West, and allow the company to increase its food packaging manufacturing capacity. Operating in 37 countries around the world, LINPAC is a global leader in the production of primary fresh food packaging and food service solutions.

Japanese-based pharmaceutical company Eisai has announced it will open its Australian headquarters in Melbourne to provide a platform to market its portfolio of epilepsy and oncology products. The company ranks in the top 25 pharmaceutical companies in the world by revenue, and employs over 10,000 people worldwide.

Balluff Leuze has invested in a custom-built automation centre in Bayswater, located 40 minutes east of Melbourne’s city centre, as part of its continued Australian expansion plans. The German company, which specialises in technically innovative products for the Automation industry has been working in Australia for 15 years and is considered a leader in sensor technology. They also build a range of safety products that are used in the Victorian manufacturing sector.

Australia and China have signed an historic free-trade agreement (FTA) which will increase opportunities for foreign direct investment in Victoria. The deal, which is suggested to be worth A$18 billion to Australia’s economy, was announced after almost a decade of negotiations between the nations. The agreement will increase the threshold at which private companies attract scrutiny by the Foreign Investment Review Board from A$247 million to A$1 billion. This will allow corporations to more easily take advantage of the competitive and dynamic business environment that Melbourne has to offer.

For the second year in a row, the Penny Arcade Expo Australia (PAX Aus) was held in Melbourne from 31 October 2014 to 2 November 2014. It opened to the news that Melbourne had secured the right to continue to host the event for the next five years, a huge coup for Victoria and for all Australian digital gaming fans. The announcement meant that Melbourne would host the iconic event, which attracts the world’s biggest and most influential digital games developers, publishers, and enthusiastic players, until at least 2019.

Hotel and accommodation booking app, HotelQuickly, has opened an office in Melbourne as part of its plans to expand its operations in the Australian market. The Hong-Kong headquartered company, which was launched in March 2013, has more than 600,000 users globally and offers last-minute discounted hotel and accommodation booking options for travellers.

The Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA) will enter into force on 12 December 2014, opening up new investment opportunities for Victorian and Korean businesses that will enhance their relationships. KAFTA will increase export opportunities across a wide range of industries: from beef, wheat, sugar, dairy, wine, horticulture and seafood, to automotive suppliers, and the resources and energy industries. It will also open up significant opportunities for service providers.

The Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA) entered into force on 15 January 2015. Japanese interest in Victorian and nationwide investment is continuing to grow, with major fast food chains and convenience store operators looking at investing in the agriculture sector, which will in turn support expansion into the South East Asia marketplace.

Melbourne has reinforced its great reputation as the world’s most liveable city with new statistics showing Victoria as the number one destination for Australians moving inter-state.

Event Begins: Thursday, November 14, 2024 3:00pm
Location: Medical Science Unit II
Organized By: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Mentor: Kristen Verhey

(Thu, Nov 14 2024 2:05 AM to TBD) Blue Line service running w/delays due to a track condition near Cicero; board all trains on the Forest Park-bound side at Pulaski, Cicero and Austin.

We visit an old episode where Christian interviews his best friend Taylor Allen, and Jayne is on the show for her second appearance. It's an oldy, but a goody! In this episode, the Spoutcast Crew interviews Taylor Allen about his podcast The Movie Argument. They also discuss their favorite comedies, and Jayne Fossett fills in to chat about Mike's sermon on God providing "just enough." Also Dave Johnson drops by to discuss some news with the team, and they talk Spoutcast T-Shirts. Please email thespoutpodcast@gmail.com or call/text 559.321.SPOUT [7768] with any stories of things you are learning from the The Well, or send in your 1&Y. This week's 1&Y is your most visited website besides Facebook. Like The Well - Spoutcast on Facebook, or find us on Twitter: @thespoutcast. Check back in with the Spoutcast each week for a new episode or search Spoutcast in iTunes to subscribe to this podcast. This week's music is from Hanson. Speaker: The Spoutcast Team

Rusticators at Teatime by Sally Caldwell Fisher is a(n) Limited Edition. The Edition is Limited to pcs

Rusticators at the Close of Day by Sally Caldwell Fisher is a(n) Limited Edition. The Edition is Limited to pcs

Rusticators Watching the Sunset by Sally Caldwell Fisher is a(n) Limited Edition. The Edition is Limited to pcs

California or Bust by Disney Chilmark is a(n) Chilmark Studios. The Edition is Limited to Limited Edition of 250 pcs

Elon Musk will co-lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency in the Trump administration, president-elect Trump said late Tuesday. According to Trump’s press statement, the Department of Government Efficiency will […]

The acquisition establishes a direct corporate presence in Australia and a foundation for further expansion in the Asia-Pacific region, a press release from Fieldpiece said.

Panasonic Eco Solutions Canada Inc. announced that it has received a Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA) Game Changer Award, the Energy Management Award, as part of the annual Game Changer Awards Gala.

Meyer’s Zephyr duct cleaning vacuum features a 31-hp engine, which powers both its custom-engineered fan and KleanSweeper compressor to help eliminate potential problems and maintenance on a second engine, while saving weight and space.

The RM85 is the latest in Ebac’s line of rotational molded polyethylene housing dehumidifiers.

FPSA foundation also supported food-insecure communities through the DEFEAT HUNGER initiative.

In their latest Global Beverage Packaging Market report, market research firm TechNavio (technavio.com) estimates that the beverage packaging industry will have a compounded annual growth rate of 4.11% globally over the next four years.

In May 2014, the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI), McLean, Va., launched a national effort to encourage consumers to take a fresh look at frozen foods.

Companies selling dairy products in Oregon must understand whether they have obligations under the EPR law.

The latest Labour Force report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, for October 2024.

Employment +15.9k

• expected +25.0k, prior +64.1k

Unemployment Rate 4.1%

• expected 4.1%, prior 4.1%

Participation Rate 67.1%

• expected 67.2%, prior 67.2%

Full Time Employment +9.7k

• prior +51.6k

A slightly softer employment report than we are accustomed to. Not a bad one. But a miss for jobs added, and the participation rate saw a tic knocked off.

More:

• employment to population ratio remained at 64.4%
• underemployment rate decreased to 6.2%
• monthly hours worked increased to 1,972 million.

more to come

Still no efforts from Japan to talk up the yen.

The USD is stronger pretty much everywhere.

USD/JPY has pooped above 156.00 and its straddling thereabouts as I post.

No fresh news apart from whats been posted. Not that any is needed right now.

• Prior +1.8%; revised to +1.5%

Looking at the details, the drop here is largely driven by a decline in capital goods (-3.8%) and energy production (-1.5%). The former is seen declining back after a surge higher in August (+3.8%). The declines for the month are partially offset by increases in output for durable consumer goods (+0.5%) and non-durable consumer goods (+1.6%). The production for intermediate goods was flat on the month.

The data is here from earlier:

• Australian October unemployment rate 4.1% (vs. 4.1% expected)
• AUD/USD little changed after the October employment report showed a steady jobless rate
  • (ps. AUD/USD has slid a little since this post, broadly stronger USD the culprit)

Westpac with the recap, in brief:

Australian labour market remains in relatively solid health

• employment growth slowing broadly in line with population growth
• average hours holding steady
• few signs that labour demand is capitulating to an extent that warrants concern
• labour market conditions remain somewhat tight ... this is not translating to stronger wage inflation pressures
• On balance, today’s update will see the RBA continue to remain focused on the dynamics around underlying inflation.

***

Speaking of the RBA, we heard from Bullock earlier, not dovish:

• RBA Bullock says rates are restrictive enough, staying there until confident on inflation

***

AUD/USD update:

TASHKENT, 2 December 2015 - Effective criminal justice responses to terrorism, based on the rule of law, were the focus of a two-day seminar organized by the OSCE Secretariat’s Action against Terrorism Unit, in co-operation with the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, which concluded today in Tashkent.

The seminar gathered about 30 representatives of national agencies involved in counter-terrorism and focused on the Global Counterterrorism Forum’s (GCTF) Rabat Memorandum on Good Practices for Effective Counterterrorism Practice in the Criminal Justice Sector. Experts in the field of criminal justice presented good counter-terrorism practices developed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the work the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) is pursuing in this area.

“This two-day seminar is a follow-up to an assessment visit by the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (UN CTED) in April this year, which the OSCE contributed to,” said the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan Gyorgy Szabo in his opening remarks. “The seminar aims at promoting internationally recognized good practices that show how to balance rule of law concerns with effectively preventing and combating terrorism.”

Among other topics, the participants discussed the effective co-ordination between domestic government agencies and the importance of international co-operation, particularly when being confronted with terrorism. The seminar also highlighted the need to ensure the protection of sensitive intelligence and law enforcement information in terrorism cases, as well as for adopting incentives for suspects to co-operate with state authorities in the investigation and prosecution of terrorism offenses.

All OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation have committed to furthering international co-operative efforts in promoting effective and rule of law-based responses of their national criminal justice systems as part of a global strategy to counter terrorism.

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Holocaust education and remembrance are the main topics of a five-day study visit of Azerbaijani officials to the Netherlands, organized by OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Baku, in co-operation with the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, which will take place from 15 to 20 December 2014.

The Azerbaijani delegation consists of eight representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Baku International Multiculturalism Centre.

Thedelegation will meet representatives of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands, the Institute for Curriculum Development and HAN University of Applied Science - College of Education for Secondary School Teachers. They will also visit the Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the Dutch Holocaust Memorial.

The main topics of discussions will include a review of the Dutch government policy regarding primary and secondary education and Holocaust education, as well as experience on improving skills of secondary school teachers in this field. Azerbaijani and Dutch experts will also exchange views on current practices regarding Holocaust remembrance activities.

This visit is part of a wider project agreed between the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Baku and the Azerbaijani government aimed at strengthening tolerance and non-discrimination in Azerbaijan. As a first component of this project, an international conference on “Strengthening religious tolerance -Azerbaijan’s model, challenges in the OSCE area and beyond” took place in Baku on 17-18 November 2014. The PCiB will organize other events under this project during 2015. 

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• OSCE Project Co-ordinator calls for join efforts in supporting voices of moderation, promoting dialogue and restoring trust
• More Muslim voices in Europe condemning anti-Semitism needed, says Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Anti-Semitism
• OSCE and Press Council announce contest for reporting on domestic violence

“Inter-cultural dialogue should not only lead to a deeper understanding of the other, but also include conflict prevention and de-escalation, combating prejudices and stereotypes in the public and political discourse,” Ambassador Alexis Chahtahtinsky, OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Baku, said in his remarks at the Third World Forum on Intercultural Dialogues that took place in Baku on 18-19 May 2015.

Ambassador Chahtahtinsky spoke at the plenary session titled Sharing Culture for Sharing Security which was devoted to the responsibility of international institutions and governments in building trust and understanding between cultures and civilizations and shaping common global agenda.

The rise of anti-Semitism, Christianophobia, often associated with violent extremism and radicalization leading to terrorism, as well as the rise of xenophobia, islamophobia and of the far right have a destructive potential for many societies in the OSCE area, Ambassador Chahtahtinsky said.

The Project Co-ordinator believes that international organizations need to join efforts in supporting voices of moderation, promoting dialogue and restoring trust. “One of the ways of doing is through participation in fora like this one, and I want to commend the Government of Azerbaijan for taking this initiative,” he said.

In conclusion, Ambassador Chahtahtinsky stated that the OSCE, with its comprehensive approach to security and co-operation, is uniquely equipped to address these challenges, and can provide a platform for participating states to learn from each other’s experience.

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• OSCE supports study visit of Azerbaijani officials to the Netherlands on Holocaust education and remembrance
• More Muslim voices in Europe condemning anti-Semitism needed, says Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Anti-Semitism
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WARSAW, 21 July 2016 - Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today underlined that the principles of rule of law, democracy and respect for human rights need to be upheld in Turkey, following the attempted coup.

“Any attempt to overthrow democratically elected leaders is unacceptable and is to be condemned. In responding to these unconstitutional events, however, all actions by the Turkish authorities must not exceed the legal framework of the Turkish Constitution and Turkey's international human right commitments,” said Director Link. “In investigating these events and holding responsible those who have attempted the coup, the authorities must ensure that human rights standards, due process, fair trial rights and respect for the independence of the judiciary are respected. Talk by authorities of a possible reintroduction of the death penalty and the summary firing of thousands of judges are clearly crossing the line of existing legal standards."

The ODIHR Director’s statement follows reports that thousands of judges and prosecutors across the country were detained, arrested or dismissed from their positions immediately after the failed coup attempt.

“These actions raise serious concerns regarding the Turkish authorities' respect for the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. Also the newly announced three-month state of emergency cannot legitimize disproportional measures, such as, among many others, the recently announced work-travel ban on academics,” Director Link said.

At the OSCE summit in Istanbul in 1999, OSCE participating States agreed to promote the development of independent judicial systems. This principle is further stressed in other OSCE commitments that call upon participating States to respect judges’ freedom of expression and association, guaranteed tenure and appropriate conditions of service, and the discipline, suspension and removal of judges according to law.

“ODIHR is ready to offer any assistance to Turkey in this challenging moment. Putting those who attempted the violent coup on trial is crucial,” said Director Link. “ODIHR is available to monitor these trials, in line with its existing and proven methodology. A Turkish invitation to the OSCE to monitor these trials would demonstrate Turkey's compliance with international standards, even in times of a state of emergency.”

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