Shares rise on back of Greek elections: Midday roundup

The Australian stock market opened sharply higher after the crucial Greek election that saw the pro-austerity, pro-euro New Democracy party take the lead.

At the official market open, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 1.4% to 4,115.3 points, while the broader All Ordinaries Index gained 1.33% to 4,161.8 points.

Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said investors were likely to remain cautious.

“Australian investors will be relieved by this morning’s news of a probable New Democracy-led coalition government in Greece,” he said.

“Although the Australian market will open higher this morning, investors are likely to remain relatively cautious at this stage.

“Election of a pro-bailout party is likely to be seen as merely one tick in a relatively long check list of European hurdles yet to be negotiated.”

ACCC launches carbon tax hotline

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission launched an ACCC Carbon Price Claims Hotline today.

“The ACCC Carbon Price Claims Hotline, and online carbon price claim form, will make it easier for consumers and business to complain if they suspect false price claims are being made about the carbon price,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said.

Jetset to scrap 110 jobs

Jetset, the travel company partly owned by Qantas, will scrap 110 jobs with a smaller annual profit to be announced.

The company warned today its pre-tax profit will be lower than the $30.7 million it reported last year due to impairment charges.

Chief executive Peter Lacaze said in a statement ongoing losses dictated a “detailed review of the resources assigned to that business activity”.

New car sales rise during May

New car sales rose during May, beating expectations, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The figures show 91,994 cars were sold in May, representing a seasonally adjusted increase of 2.4%.

This comes after the upwardly revised 89,812 sales recorded during April.

Banking executives warn major changes coming

Westpac chief executive Gaily Kelly has warned that the financial industry will continue to face more significant changes as the European debt crisis permeates through the rest of the world.

“The next decade will see a dramatic transformation in the way our industry does business,” she told The Australian Financial Review.

National Australia Bank chief executive Cameron Clyne also told the publication that regulation and innovation were major challenges the industry will face over the next few years.