Thursday, March 31, 2011

Experts confirm Black Caviar as world's best

BLACK Caviar has been rated the world's best racehorse in World Thoroughbred Rankings released in Paris today.

The unbeaten sprint queen who has captured the imagination of sports fans in Australia becomes our first racehorse to top the rankings since they were introduced in 2002.

Racing Victoria handicapper Greg Carpenter hailed the news as a "brilliant result."

"This is great news on two fronts. It is great for Australian racing and a break through for sprinters on the world stage."

Especially in Europe, sprinters are seen as ‘’second class citizens’’ to horses who race over the classic distances of 2000m and 2400m.

Black Caviar earned her 130 rating thanks to her dominant win with 58 kilos in the Newmarket Handicap.

The ratings reflect a peak performance by a racehorse.

"Her Newmarket performance giving lots of weight to high class performers nd winning by a big margin earned her the rating. Unless she goes to Hong Kong and beats JJ The Jet Plane and Rocket Man, and beats tem by a fair margin I doubt her rating will get any higher," he said.

The ratings are based on the views of handicappers in the world’s major racing precincts.

Her rating of 130 is the highest by an Australian galloper , previously So You Think on 126 last year, since rankings were introduced.

BLACK CAVIAR also :

* Becomes the highest rated sprinter (previously OASIS DREAM 125 in 2003)

* Becomes the first sprinter to head the listing

* Becomes the equally highest rated mare (previously Goldikova 130 in 2009)

Former Bart Cummings trained So You Think, now prepared in Ireland by Aidan O’Brien, remains on 126 and is rated fifth best horse in the world.

The World Top 50 reflects the performances of horses for the previous six months and therefore this release covers the period 1 October 2010 to 27th March 2011.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Top best deals sites in Australia

Thousands of Australians are already taking advantage of discount coupon websites to save an average of more than 60 per cent on everything from movie tickets to restaurant dinners. If you aren't one of them, here are the top best deals sites to check out:

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Top 10 Holders Of Australian NSW Short-Term Debt

Barry O'Farrell, newly elected Premier of New South Wales, or NSW, and leader of the conservative Liberal Party, Monday claimed the outgoing Labor government had hidden a 4.5 billion Australian dollars ($4.6 billion) hole in the budget over the forward estimates.

NSW, which has a A$10 billion funding program for the 2010/2011 financial year, has about A$40 billion to A$50 billion in its benchmark bond lines, A$4.54 billion in capital indexed bonds and A$4 billion in global exchangeable bonds.

NSW top ten holders of short-dated bonds are as follows:

Franklin Resources Inc.

Daiwa Asset Management

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management

Nomura Asset Management

Nissay Asset Management

UBS Global Asset Management

Loomis Sayles & Co.

Western Asset Management Pty.

Chuo Mitsui Asset Management

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Top 10 places to visit in Australia

So, you want to go on a trip to some place that offers you not just the run-of-the-mill water activities, sightseeing opportunities, wonderful cities, but also a tryst with some exotic animals, snow-capped mountains, rainforests, and maybe even a desert? In this case, Australia would be the perfect destination for you. This country in the Southern hemisphere has something for everyone. Nature lover, sportsperson, and outdoor person, no matter who you are or what interests you the most, you'll be at home here.

1. Great Barrier Reef is one of the must-do activities in Australia. The variety of bio-diversity that this reef supports is seen to be believed. The Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin, dwarf mink whale, flat back turtle, olive ridley turtle and salt water crocodiles are some of the species found here. There is a wide variety of birds in this reef. It's one of the heritage sites in this continent country. Located off the Queensland coast, the Great Barrier Reef is in the Coral Sea and is the largest coral reef in the world. 'Live aboard' is a floating guest facility that is offered by many places along the coast. A scuba diver would find this reef really fascinating. You could also try snorkeling and diving.

2. Sydney Harbor is a natural harbor and it provides the backdrop for the breathtaking Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge. At the Opera House, you've performances by local music groups as well as foreign productions. The architecture is really modern with its typical 'shells' forming the roof. 'The Coat hanger' or the Harbor Bridge is another image that represents Australia to most of the world. The pyrotechnics on New Year's Eve is splendid. If you are willing to take the risk, you could climb the bridge. Of course, there are enough safety precautions in place!

3. The 'Natural State' Tasmania has an endearing air to it, all thanks to its as yet unspoiled natural beauty. The 'Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race', the 'Road rally in Tasmania' and the music events make it a popular destination. 'Falls Festival' has drawn crowds for many years now. Around the time of Christmas, 'Carols in the candlelight' is another well-known event. The food festival has food and wine that attracts people in thousands. Wines such as 'Cascade' and 'Boags' are popular both in mainland Australia and also across the world. The cheese and dairy products are also a hit with the tourists. Cradle Mountain is another place in this state whose scenic beauty is seen to be felt. This mountain in the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park is made of dolerite columns. The vegetation in this area is mostly alpine. At the Cradle Mountain, you could even be start off on the 'Overland track' that would take you across the mountain terrain over six days. You could take walks around the bushes and with the Lake Dove in the vicinity, the place must be visited. On a nocturnal visit, you could even run into animals such as pademelons, wallabies and possums.

4. Kimberley in Western Australia is sure to have you perplexed. The cruise around this region is splendid as it offers views of waterfalls, red cliffs, rivers and some rainforest as well. King George Falls and Mitchell Falls have some of the most breathtaking views. This region also has some art centers. While the works of many foreign artists are on display, the local artists are also encouraged and these art shows are internationally recognized. Kimberley is also famous for its diamonds. The Bungle Bungles or Purnululu National Park is another attraction. However, this is closed for some months every year. You can start off on your Kimberley cruise either at Broome, Darwin or Derby. If you are planning to drive down to this place during the wet months, you need to check if the roads are closed.

5. In the Snowy Mountains there is the Mount Kosciuszko which could be explored either by foot or by skiing if you are going in winter. There are guided tours for different age groups and depending on how fit you are, you could opt for any of these hikes. This highest mountain in Australia has Alpine flowers which could be blooming if you go at the right time of the year. Ningaloo Reef, another reef in the West Coast off Australia is a white sandy lagoon. You can actually walk to this coral reef. Swim along with the many species of fish and other water creatures. You could also see the reef in a half submerged cruise. Also, make time to visit the Ningaloo Marine Park. Glen Helen with its Ormiston Gorge and Pound National Park in Australia's Outback Northern Territory is along the legendary Finke River. The walks in the park could anywhere from a thirty minute walk right up to a three day walk. You'll find that the accommodation is more than decent and the presence of other attractions makes this place that is close to Alice Springs very tourist friendly.

6. No holiday can be truly complete without a fair amount of shopping thrown in. In Melbourne, go to the Chapel Street or Greenville Street for some chic clothes and leather goods. (Try Melbourne City Shops for a list of shops around Melbourne) The fancy bistros and the designer boutiques make for a compelling reason to check out this city. Chapel Street alone has more than a thousand shops along a two kilometer stretch. Between July and August, the city also plays host to Melbourne Film Festival and screens some of the finest movies, both local and foreign. There are shops scattered all over the city from where you could get souvenirs. St James Old Cathedral takes you back to the Victorian times with its quaint architecture.

7. The lovely grape-growing valley of Barossa is proud of itself. It is located less than 50 km northeast of Adelaide and offers everything you'd expect from a famous wine region in Australia. In 1850, English immigrants and European farmers came to the valley and began to turn it into one of the worlds most renowned, for its wine, good food, and European architecture. The valley offers unique food, many festivals, events all year long, historical architecture, art galleries, and antique shops.

8. If there is a paradise, it doubtlessly looks like Whitsunday's islands in Queensland. Most trips to the island start from the town of Airlie Beach, known mainly for cheap alcohol and its pubs and discos. You can go on an organized cruise from Early Beach to Whitsunday's and choose different packages. Some sleep on board, while others stay at vacation villages near the island, where you can also find 5 star hotels. During the cruise, you can take part in various activities, such as snorkeling, diving, swimming or lazing around on deck with a cold drink and staring at the amazing view. The island's most famous beach is Whitehaven Beach, 7 km of white beach, one of the most photographed beaches in the world.

9. The height of a visit in the middle of the Australian desert is doubtlessly a visit of Uluru (or Ayers Rock). It is 348 meters high with a 9 km circumference. It is the world's largest monolith, made of sand stone whose shades of color change in the course of the day from light brown to deep red. It is especially beautiful at sunset and sunrise. Uluru is also called "The Heart of Australia" and is one of its most famous symbols. The giant rock is of supreme importance to the Aborigines, who have marked its holiness by many rock drawings, for 10,000 years.

10. The Great Ocean Road, one hour drive east of Melbourne, runs along the southern coast of Australia and is one of the most beautiful roads on earth. Its length is 250 km, and it starts at the Trecky surf resort, 90 km from Melbourne. The road was built in 1930 in memory of soldiers who fell in WWI; it passes by magnificent cliffs and lonely beaches. Main attractions include the resort towns of Loren, Apollo Bay, and picturesque Port Fairy. Otway National Park offers hiking paths through rain forests, rivers, and amazing waterfalls. Campbell National Park, on the western side of the road, is located in an area famous for its rocks jutting out of the ocean, the most famous ones being called "Twelve Apostles."

A place can truly be experienced only by visiting it. The culture, people, and cuisine are best "lived" and not just read about. Australia is a lot more than what this article has to say. Check out Australia and be mesmerized by its mélange of the old and the modern.

Cycling project faces recruiting poser

Australian cycling's continued run of unprecedented success only underscores the recruiting challenge that will face the fledgling GreenEDGE project.

Matthew Goss' historic win on the weekend in Milan-Sanremo and Cadel Evans' powerful performance in Tirreno Adriatico a few days earlier add further appeal to the tantalising prospect of an Australian-based team racing in the Tour de France.

GreenEDGE aims to become the first Australian-based enterprise to gain a top-level professional men's road licence, which would give their team entry to the Tour.
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But riders such as Evans and Goss might be out of reach for the new team, even if it gains ProTeam status, simply because they are too valuable to their current employers.

Evans is the star rider at BMC, is not out of contract at the end of this year and has already indicated he would not contemplate joining GreenEDGE.

Goss is coming out of contract, but he is now a top-tier rider and HTC-Highroad will offer him a whopping new deal to encourage him to stay.

"That's exactly my point - it's nice, the emotional suggestions and saying that riders would love to ride for an Australian team and I'm sure they would," said GreenEDGE general manager Shayne Bannan.

"But they have to base their decision on what's best for their future.

"At the moment we're a project, we're not an actual team, so we have a lot of work to do to put ourselves in the marketplace.

"It's a challenge, but a pretty exciting one."

GreenEDGE must satisfy strict criteria set by world governing body the UCI before they can gain a ProTeam licence.

Under UCI rules, they also cannot start negotiations with riders before August 1.

GreenEDGE achieved a small milestone on Tuesday when they announced Scott Sports would be their bike supplier.

They aim to have most of their technical supporters in place by the middle of next month.

Bannan said they would also decide by late June whether to confirm a naming rights sponsor.

Long-time Australian cycling supporter Gerry Ryan is underwriting GreenEDGE, meaning they do not have to secure a big sponsorship deal immediately.

Also on Tuesday, the latest international rankings reflected Australian riders' strong early-season form.

Australia is the No.1 ranked country, while Goss leads the rankings, Evans is at No.3 and Cameron Meyer is fifth.

"The results really since the start of the year have been pretty exceptional, by a number of Australians," Bannan said.

Bannan was Cycling Australia's national performance director before switching to GreenEDGE over summer.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

China becomes Australia’s largest export services market

China’s demand for Australia’s services has pushed the USA from the top spot as Australia’s largest services export market. Exports to China have grown 13.4 percent year-on-year to reach $5.8 billion during the last financial year, according to a report released by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Education and tourism were the highest earners in China, with education related travel services topping the chart at $4.4 billion in 2009-10. Exports of other personal travel services were valued at $610 million.

About 165,000 Chinese students are enrolled in courses in Australia. This figure continues to increase although growth is slowing as education costs rise. The cost of studying in Australia for a Chinese student has doubled in the past two years to $126,940 according to estimates by Navitas, Australia’s largest international education reseller.

The USA came in second as a services export market, buying just under $5.3 billion of Australian services last financial year. The US has held the position of largest services export market since 1983.

Overall, Australia’s service exports fell just 0.2 percent to $5.8 billion in spite of the global downturn. Services account for 20.7 percent of Australia’s total trade in goods and services.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Is Singapore stealing Australia's best banking techies?

Banks in Australia continue to need senior IT professionals, but the lure of better compensation, lower tax and plentiful jobs means Singapore is becoming an attractive option for Aussie techies.

“Banks in Australia realise that they don’t operate in isolation from what’s happening in the broader APAC region. They know they face increased competition for the top finance technology talent from locations such as Singapore,” says Peter Noblet, regional director APAC, Hays.

Many major firms – including Standard Chartered, Credit Suisse and RBS – are expanding in the city state, whose status as a global IT hub continues to rise.

“There’s a trend of Australian candidates relocating to Singapore because a number of large investment banks have centralised operations there,” says Joel Hides, director, financial services, technology Greythorn. This is reducing the Australian talent pool, which is already small.

The IT employment market is becoming more international and candidates are more willing to relocate to where banks are expanding. This means Australia increasingly risks missing out on talent to Singapore, which offers not only a wider range of career choices, but potentially better pay. Hides says while some candidates want to work in Australia for lifestyle reasons, “it’s hard to compete with the dollars on offer in Singapore”.

Australia needs techies too

Australia cannot afford to wave the white flag when in comes to attracting and retaining IT employees.

Although during the GFC many tech roles we relocated to Asia, these were mainly positions such as developers and testers, which require the kind of hard technical skills often found offshore at lower cost. By contrast, the roles which banks in Australia are recruiting for now are generally more skilled and demand an understanding of banking.

“There’s an increased demand locally for the client-facing skill sets such as business analysis, project management and applications support,” says Hides. Solutions architects and algorithmic trading systems developers are also sought after.

The candidates needed to fill these positions are precisely the sort of highly skilled IT professionals that banks in Australia don’t want to lose to other countries.

Hiring down under this year probably won’t be as strong as 2010, but it will be steady – driven by core systems upgrades, transformation programmes and financial-sector integration. HSBC’s expansion, and ANZ’s acquisition of ING are creating jobs, according to a headhunter, who asked not to be named.

Sneak peek at Australian outboard emission laws

THE Australian Marine Engine Council (AMEC) has today released a statement offering a sneak peek at what outboard emissions standards may look like in 2012.

The statement said proposed Australian regulations will adopt the 2010 USA standard. There are moves toward world harmonisation and Canada is the first country to set their own laws based on engines meeting USA EPA specifications.

No doubt the Canadian laws will be watched very closely by Australian law makers. Some of the highlights of Canada’s regulations include:

*Standards: same as US EPA, applied from 2012 in Canada. In practice that means no new carby or efi two strokes can be sold.

*Evaporative Standards: same as US EPA. In Australia fuel evaporative standards are likely to be applied from 2012 and matching the US implementation schedule. That means the parts will be readily available for Australian Boat builders to start to install low evaporative hoses and carbon canister filters on fuel tank breather lines.

*Engine Labels: While the USA standard is accepted, a unique “Environment Canada” label will be required. An additional unique label for Australia seems unnecessary but may be a requirement and will make private imports more difficult.

*Averaging Banking and Trading : Basically whatever passes US EPA ABT provisions will pass in Canada. Thus allowing for some flexibility across the model range without allowing any high emission engines (e.g. carby two strokes). If Australia follows this lead that could mean some 2 star outboards will scrape through.

AMEC said world harmonization is good news for Australians. It means manufacturers can make long, economical production runs of just one variant – and not have to make special editions for each country and market. That keeps prices down and means more choice for Australians: we get access to all the models.

The Australian Outboard industry could not agree on very much when it came to emission standards, but they did agree that the Australian Standard should reflect the USA standards. That makes sense; given the USA is by far the largest outboard market in the world.

Australian car emissions standards are based on Euro standards – but that wasn’t the best choice for the boating industry.

The US standards started eleven years ago, and since then Europe, Japan, Canada and in 2010 even China have put controls on small engines – especially two stroke carburettors which push out ten to twenty times the pollutants of clean engines like four strokes and DI two strokes.

“Canada has effectively had emissions regulations since 2001” said David Heyes president of the Australian Marine Engine Council (AMEC).

“The Canadian Marine Manufacturers Association signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with their government. All the major engine manufacturers, importers and dealers agree to voluntarily supply the Canadian market with engines designed to conform to the U.S. EPA."

In Australia our Government gave the outboard industry a similar opportunity in 2007. Industry had an option to suggest an MOU and voluntarily reduce the sale of high emission outboards. That could have had flexibility and would have been a low cost option.

The new standards are not just focused on outboards. Boat manufacturers will have to install low evaporative fuel tanks from about 2012. Many other off road products from lawn mowers to generators will also be required to meet the new standards. Diesel standards are being studied now and should follow about two years later.