THE NEWS WRAP: Doubts raised over Greek austerity plan

Unions have urged the Government to do more to dampen the impact of the strong Australian dollar, claiming that hundreds of manufacturing jobs are at risk.

With Alcoa reviewing its Port Henry smelter, putting a cloud of 600 jobs there, AWU federal secretary Paul Howes said: “I think the problem is the mining boom has created this paper boom, where on paper all the fundamentals in our economy look strong.”

“But the side effect, the by-product of that boom being this record high dollar, is creating havoc in a sector which employs up to five times as many people as the resources sector does.” 

Doubts raised over Greek austerity plan

Doubts have been raised over Greece’s austerity plan, putting the proposed $170 billion bailout fund in the balance.

Eurozone ministers have said that the deal is not ready to be signed off, with a 48-hour general strike taking place in Greece over government cuts.

News Corp records $1 billion profit

News Corporation has recorded a second-quarter profit of $1.06 billion, a 65% rise on the same period in 2010, despite rising costs due to the phone hacking scandal.

The Rupert Murdoch-headed media giant was boosted by the performance of its cable division, which now accounts for 60% of operating income. However, legal fees for the three months hit $87 million, bringing the total phone hacking legal bill to $195 million.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 25.81 points, or 0.2%, to 12,909.76. The Australian dollar was up to 108.08 US cents.