Australia reviving plan to sell Telstra
Sydney: The Australian government revived plans to sell its 50.1 per cent stake in communications giant Telstra on Wednesday in a move widely seen as being motivated as much by politics as economics. Communications minister Richard Alston said legislation would go before parliament immediately to fully privatise Australia’s dominant telecoms company, although the share price was still not high enough for an immediate sale. Prime Minister John Howard had previously said a sluggish stock market and the lack of support for the Telstra sell-off in the opposition-controlled Senate was likely to prevent action on the privatisation until at least 2005. Reportedly worth about $ 23 billion in a buoyant stock market, the sale would be one of Australia’s biggest privatisations. However, investors scoffed at the announcement, which coincided with a further slide in Telstra’s share price. It eased one cent to $ 4.45 on Wednesday, well below the $ 5.35 benchmark quoted in the budget as the floor price for a sale.
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US Fed cuts rates by a quarter percentage point
Washington: The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut US interest rates a quarter percentage point to 45 year lows and suggested it stood ready to take more action if the risk of falling prices worsened.

The central bank's rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) trimmed the federal funds rate for overnight loans between banks to one per cent, the 13th rate reduction since early 2001 in a attempt aimed at nursing the economy through a recession and bringing it back to vigorous health.

All but one member of the committee voted for the cut with San Francisco Federal Reserve president, Robert Parry, pushing for a more aggressive half-point reduction.

"Recent signs point to a firming in spending, markedly improved financial conditions and labour and product markets that are stabilizing," the FOMC said in its post-meeting statement. "The economy, nonetheless, has yet to exhibit sustainable growth. With inflationary expectations subdued, the committee judged that a slightly more expansive monetary policy would add further support for an economy which it expects to improve over time," it added.
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Job cuts at Comedy Central
New York: Viacom Inc's Comedy Central cable channel cut more than 20 per cent of its staff on Tuesday, a company spokesman said on Wednesday. The layoffs, affecting about 80 employees in its affiliate sales, legal, finance and human resources divisions, were part of anticipated cost cuts after Viacom bought the 50 per cent of the network that it did not own in April. Viacom's MTV Networks unit paid $1.2 billion to purchase the 50 percent stake from AOL Time Warner Inc. Comedy Central is home to such shows as South Park and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Viacom has been cutting costs in recent months. The company laid off about 10 per cent, or 70 people, from Showtime Networks, another Viacom-owned cable channel, in May.
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Enron barred from selling electricity in US
Washington: Federal energy regulators on Wednesday barred Enron Corp from selling electricity and natural gas at market rates anywhere in the United States, in response to findings that it manipulated Western power markets two years ago. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said Enron would be able to sell power, but at much less competitive prices, virtually shutting down the company's ability to compete. It can resume regular business once it emerges from bankruptcy proceedings and gets FERC approval. FERC Chairman Pat Wood said it was the first time the commission had imposed its so-called "death penalty" on power sellers. "We send a clear signal that competitive markets must work in the interest of customers and the public interest," Wood said. The Houston-based Enron went bankrupt after a series of revelations of hidden debt, inflated profits and accounting tricks. Thousands of workers lost their jobs and investors were left with virtually worthless stock.
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