THE NEWS WRAP: Fairfax says no to Gina

Fairfax Media has told Gina Rinehart it is unable to extend an invitation for her to join its board, although chairman Roger Corbett said he hoped an agreement might be possible in the future.

Rinehart’s refusal to sign the company’s charter of independence raised concerns the mining magnate would interfere with the editorial independence of Fairfax’s newspapers.

Corbett said Fairfax has received thousands of emails from shareholders and readers, expressing their support for the company’s position on editorial independence.

Google unveils Nexus 7

Google has unveiled its first own-brand tablet, called the Nexus 7, pitching it directly against rivals such as Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 2 7.0.

The search engine giant will sell the tablet, which runs on the new Jelly Bean version of the Android platform, for $199 from mid-July.

Google also said it will start selling its own brand of internet-connected augmented reality glasses from the middle of next year.

Super Retail calls for consistent trading regulations

The chief executive of Super Retail Group, Peter Birtles, has called for uniform national retail trading regulations. 

Birtles says some stores in the group, which includes Supercheap Auto, Rebel Sport, Boating, Fishing and Camping, and Ray’s Outdoors, cannot open on Sundays in WA.

“There should be a level playing field with trading regulations and we should be able to sell the same products in every state,” Birtles says.

Overnight

The Dow Jones industrial average rose by 93.32 points, or 0.74%, to 12,627.99. The Australian dollar was up to 100.62 US cents.