THE NEWS WRAP: Federal Government to revamp its apprenticeship scheme

The Federal Government is to revamp its apprenticeship scheme after a report found that it was failing to solve skills shortages for businesses.

The government-backed report found that employers weren’t investing enough in training and that fewer than half of apprentices finish their courses due to low wages and a dislike of their roles. 

Forrest launches appeal

Mining giant Fortescue is to launch an appeal against a Federal Court decision that it misled investors.

Chief executive Andrew Forrest, who faces being banned as the director of the company he founded, accused corporate regulator ASIC of pursuing him in a “mean and vengeful way”. Fortescue is accused of misleading investors by claiming to have “binding” contracts for work it hadn’t secured. 

Oil price hits two-year high

Oil prices have leapt to a two-and-a-half year high following the civil unrest in Libya. Anti-government protests in the capital Tripoli and the second city Benghazi caused BP to suspend drilling in the country and inflated the price of Brent crude to $US104.60 a barrel.

Overnight

The Australian dollar had a flat trading day, down slightly to 101.25 US cents.