THE NEWS WRAP: Manufacturing weak across the globe, input costs blamed

Manufacturing across the world is in a slump, according to new figures, with Australia, the US and even China posting weak figures in July.

The Australian Industry Group’s manufacturing index fell by 6.9 points to 40.3 last month, with a figure under 50 indicating that the sector is in decline. Wages and input costs have been blamed for the decline.

Meanwhile, US manufacturing growth shrank for a second month in a row and China experienced its slowest growth in eight months.

Packer unveils gaming and hotel expansion plan

James Packer has said that he wants to build “the best hotel in the world” in Sydney as he flagged the expansion of his gaming empire.

Packer plans to open a six star hotel in Sydney, as well as expand Crown in Melbourne and add a $570 million hotel to his gaming complex in Perth.

VR headset raises $250,000

A virtual reality headset, which has been promoted by some of the video gaming industry’s leading figures, has raised $250,000 on crowdfunding site Kickstarter within just four hours.

The Oculus Rift headset promises to provide a “fully immersive” 110 degree view via a 640 by 800 pixel screen for each of the user’s eyes.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 32.55 points, or 0.25%, to 12,976.13. The Australian dollar was down to US104.59 cents.