THE NEWS WRAP: Kogan launches Tradeleaks site

Australian internet entrepreneur Ruslan Kogan has unveiled TradeLeaks.com, an ambitious whistle-blowing website designed to make retail and trade more transparent. Kogan says the website will do to trade and commerce what WikiLeaks has done to politics.

“If you start to see businesses complaining about TradeLeaks, you will know that their businesses probably have some skeletons in their closets. TradeLeaks is here to fix the bullshit in trade and commerce around the world,” Kogan says.

Assange released on bail

Meanwhile, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been released on bail in London. Assange, who is wanted in Sweden following allegations of sexual assault, had spent the last eight nights in prison. He will now reside at a friend’s mansion in the English county of Suffolk while on bail.

RBA flags rising energy prices

The Reserve Bank has warned that energy prices will continue to rise, putting increasing pressure on inflation.

The RBA says that electricity and water costs increased by 12% in the past year, while gas and household fuels rose by 10%. However, it stopped short of predicting further interest rate rises due to the rising costs.

Tech stocks push up Wall Street

An upbeat profit forecast from logistics giant Fed Ex has helped Wall Street finish marginally higher in overnight trade, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.3%. European markets were also boosted by news the European Central Bank has created a $1 trillion emergency fund to provide loans to debt-ridden member states. The Australian dollar was steady at US98c.