THE NEWS WRAP: Catch Of The Day sells minority stake to a group of investors

Catch Of The Day, which operates an eponymous eCommerce site as well as group buying site Scoopon, has sold a minority stake to a group of investors, including James Packer’s Consolidated Press Holdings.

It’s reported that the investment consortium, which includes Seek founder Andrew Bassat, New York fund Tiger Global Management and Glenn Poswell, founder of investment group Gannet Capital, have taken a 40% stake worth $80 million.

The founders of Catch Of The Day, Gabby and Hezi Leibovich, will retain a controlling stake in the group businesses, with Lee Fixel from Tiger Global and Jason Lenga from Seek joining the board.

Rudd calls for new partnership with China

Australia should forge a new period of economic co-operation with China that encompasses the financial services, education, tourism and green technology, according to foreign minister Kevin Rudd.

Rudd said that there were no barriers to Chinese investment in Australian businesses, calling for the economic relationship between the two countries to expand beyond the $100 billion resources trade industry.

Energy prices set to double, claims TruEnergy

Energy prices could double over the next six years, driven by the proposed carbon tax, a leading supplier has claimed.

TruEnergy said that fuel costs and rising gas prices will add 30% to power bills, with a carbon price adding $300 per household on top of that. The company said that the tax could even lead to power shortages.

TruEnergy’s warnings are contradicted by rival supplier AGL, which has said that the carbon tax will have a relatively mild impact on energy prices.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 93.28 points to 12,512.04. The Australian dollar was down to 106.42 US cents.