Walker undergoes brain surgery, Insider trading emerges in Britain: Economy Roundup

Former Fairfax chairman Ron Walker has undergone emergency brain surgery following a bicycle accident last month in Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens.

Doctors discovered fluid in his brain after a number of weeks, and treated the problem over the weekend. Walker is set to attend the F1 Grand Prix this weekend, but says he will not be taking on as many responsibilities as usual.

Internet giant Google has been attacked by the Chinese media after it announced it would no longer censor its search results for Australian users.

“Google has violated its written promise it made when entering the Chinese market by stopping filtering its searching service and blaming China in insinuation for alleged hacker attacks,” said an unnamed government official with China’s State Council Information Office in a report published by the Xinhua news service.

“This is totally wrong. We’re uncompromisingly opposed to the politicisation of commercial issues, and express our discontent and indignation to Google for its unreasonable accusations and conducts.”

It is also understood the Chinese Government has moved to block a number of sites Chinese users would have access to if they accessed material on the Hong Kong servers.

Google’s decision may also have unforeseen consequences, according to a New York Times report, with China Mobile reportedly planning to cancel a deal to feature Google Search on its home page.

Meanwhile, the Future Fund has cancelled talks concerning a plan spearheaded by two Canadian pension funds to buy out road operator Transurban.

“The Future Fund board of guardians today advised that it has terminated discussions with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan regarding their proposal to acquire Transurban Group,” it said in a statement. Originally Transurban rejected a buyout offer of $5.25 a share in November.

Skilled Group has introduced a reshuffle of its board following the resignation of its executive director and chief operating officer John Dixon.

Dixon will continue to be associated with the company as an advisor, with Max Findlay now appointed as an independent non-executive director.

“The appointment of Max Findlay and the departure of John Dixon will retain the number of SKILLED Group Directors at eight, comprising six non-executive directors and two executive directors,” Skilled said in a statement. “With his extensive commercial and corporate background, and ASX listed experience, Mr Findlay is an ideal candidate to join the Board.”

The company also appointed Tim Paine as company secretary and group general counsel.

Australian shares higher after Wall Street gains

The Australian sharemarket has opened higher today due to good results on Wall Street and in metals and commodities markets.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 33 points or 0.68% to 4908 at 12.00 AEST, while the Australian dollar also gained ground to US91c.

Commonwealth Bank shares gained 0.9% to $57.19, while NAB shares rose 1.1% to $27.67. Westpac rose 1.1% to $27.77, as ANZ gained 0.8% to $25.65.

Agricultural chemicals group Nufarm has said a tender offer for its shares from the Japanese Sumitomo Chemical Company has received acceptances totalling 5.52% of all Nufarm shares.

“Under the terms of the shareholder deed between Nufarm and Sumitomo, dated January 22, 2010, Nufarm will have the power to control the exercise of voting and disposal of Sumitomo’s Nufarm shares, under certain conditions,” Nufarm said in a statement to the ASX.

“On this basis, Nufarm has a relevant interest in the shares in which Sumitomo has a relevant interest.”

As reported in the Australian Financial Review, Australia is now set to sign one of the largest liquefied natural gas deals in history involving the China National Offshore Oil Group and the BG Group in Queensland.

Sources have reported that federal resources minister Martin Ferguson will attend the signing of the deal in Beijing, and that it could be worth over $50 billion.

Also reported in the AFR, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia has implemented Australia’s first real-time banking product as part of a $730 million electronic systems upgrade.

“Under our new platform, we will process ATM or branch transactions immediately in real time,” CBA’s Dave Curran told the publication.

Insider trading case emerges in London

Overseas, one of the biggest insider trading cases in the United Kingdom has emerged in London, with a trader from Moore Capital and employees from Deutsche Bank among those arrested by British authorities.

It is understood the group of six were allegedly involved in insider trading activities within hedge funds, but so far none have been charged or identified. Authorities have searched residential and business addresses, and have confiscated documents.

In the United States, sales of previously owned US homes fell for a third consecutive month in February with the supply of unsold houses on the market surging. Analysts were distressed by the figures showing existing home sales dropped 0.6% to an annual rate of 5.02 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.

But the news didn’t stop a rally on Wall Street, where stocks lifted to an 18-month high on demand in the semiconductor industry. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 102.94 points, or 0.95%, to 10,888.83.