THE NEWS WRAP: Qantas boss expected to slash more than 3000 jobs

Qantas boss Alan Joyce is expected to announce the axing of more than 3000 jobs, along with the early retirement of planes and the sale of airport terminals.

The big announcement comes as the federal government is set to loosen foreign ownership restrictions on the airline and provide it with a debt guarantee.

However, while competitors accept a loosening of foreign ownership regulations, many in the industry have raised concerns about government backing for the airline.

“If the Australian government backs Qantas, Qantas will then be a government-backed airline, and so Rex will be confronted with two government-backed airline operations that we will be competing with and that, I think, is unfair; that, I think, is a significant distortion of the marketplace,” Regional Express deputy chairman John Sharp says.

AWA collapse: Iconic tech firm appoints administrators

AWA, a 105-year-old tech services firm employing 250 staff nationally, has appointed PPB Advisory as it enters into administration.

The company, which has in the past been a broadcaster, as well as a manufacturer of radios and televisions, was originally known as Australasian Wireless Limited, before changing its name in 1913 to Amalgamated Wireless Australasia.

“We are currently conducting an urgent review of AWA’s business and operations with a view to preparing AWA for sale as a going concern in the short term,” administrator Phil Carter told the ABC.

“Our priority is to maintain business as usual in order to ensure AWA’s blue chip customer base continues to receive the support and service expected from AWA while we work with management and key stakeholders to achieve the best outcome.”

2014 to be a year of transition for the smartphone market: IDC

Smartphone sales growth is set to slow to around 8.3% in 2017 and 6.2% in 2018, according to new figures released by IDC.

The figures also suggest the global market in 2018 is set to rise to 1.7 billion smartphones per year, up from the 1.2 billion expected to ship in 2014.

“2014 will be an enormous transition year for the smartphone market. Not only will growth decline more than ever before, but the driving forces behind smartphone adoption are changing, says Ryan Reith, program director with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

“New markets for growth bring different rules to play by and ‘premium’ will not be a major factor in the regions driving overall market growth.”

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up to 16188.5. The Aussie dollar is down to US89.65 cents.