THE NEWS WRAP: Vodafone sacks several employees for breaking into company databases

Vodafone has sacked several of its NSW employees for breaking into databases to access customer information.

The telco, which was revealed to have suffered a major security breach of its customer details this week, says it will bring in an independent security expert to review its systems.

This is unlikely to placate angry customers, including many business users. Vodafone is already facing a 15,000-strong class action over complaints it has not provided sufficient internet and mobile coverage.

Floods set to impact Queensland jobs market

Chris Evans, the federal jobs minister, has said that the Queensland floods are likely to severely impact the state’s jobs market, with firms set to face skills shortages and wage inflation.

However, Evans added that there will be job opportunities resulting from the disaster, with Queensland set to undertake a massive reconstruction effort once the flood waters have receded.

Google faces antitrust lawsuit

The US Justice Department is considering an antitrust lawsuit against Google to prevent the search giant acquiring ITA Software, according to media reports.

Google is bracing itself for a challenge to the $700 million deal, which will see it take over one of the US’ leading online flight and ticket information portals. Google says that it will continue to license ITAS’s software to third parties once the deal is complete.

Overnight

The Dow Jones industrial average fell slightly, down 19.60 points to 11,735.84. The Australian dollar climbed closer to parity, up to 99.8 US cents.