THE NEWS WRAP: Federal Government might drop budget surplus plans

The Federal Government might drop is much-vaunted target of bringing the budget back to surplus next year, after the Australian economy posted its slowest rate of growth in the past six quarters.

The Australian Financial Review reports that while Labor is searching for fresh budget savings, it is also preparing to abandon its pledge to deliver a surplus next year after figures this week showed that GDP rose by just 0.5% in the September quarter.

SME bosses set for a busy Christmas

Nearly half of professionals say they will fit in at least three hours of work a day over the Christmas period, according to a new study.

They survey found that small business owners, unsurprisingly, are more likely to be fielding calls or catching up on admin than those who work for larger companies.

Apple brings Mac production back to US

Apple is to bring the manufacturing of its Mac computers back to the US, with the aim of sparking technology production in the country.

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, told NBC that he hoped the move would encourage other companies to shift their manufacturing back to the US. However, he ruled out moving all production out of China, claiming that “it’s about the skills”, rather than the cheaper cost of labour.

Overnight

The Dow Jones industrial average rose by 0.3% to 13,074.04. The Australian dollar edged up to 104.73 US cents.