In the US, trading comes to a close shortly and the Dow Jones is higher. The S&P 500 is also up.

 

 

 

And the Australian dollar is worth nearly 103 US this morning. It'll also buy you 65 British pence and 128 New Zealand.

 

 

 

A private survey has found the growth of online sales continues to outpace the growth of instore sales. The amount of money spent online rose around 25% in July compared to a year earlier. NAB's online retail sales index found internet sales made up 5.3% of total retail spending at 11.7 billion dollars.

 

 

 

Tasmanian forest products company Gunns has reported a net loss of 904 million dollars for the past financial year. This compares to an almost 356-million-dollar loss for the previous 12 months. The company has blamed costs associated with the major restructure and the state of the export woodchip market.