REBECCA URBAN MAY 08, 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN PHARMACY insolvencies have been tipped to rise to unprecedented levels from next year, as the nation’s largest drugs wholesaler slammed a high-level review into government spending for perpetuating misconceptions about the cost of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. With industry conditions set to toughen following the introduction of accelerated price cuts for medicines in October, stockbroker Taylor Collison has estimated that about 300 pharmacies could collapse this year and next — more than 5 per cent of the country’s 5300 community phar­macies. Last year, about 100 pharmacies were placed into receivership — including the NSW-based Harrisons Pharmacy chain — a tally higher than the previous 10 years combined. The forecast, which is based on analysis of pharmacy fixed costs as well as discussions with operators, has been validated by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, which has flagged similar concerns about the financial health of…

MAY 07, 2014 News.com.au IF YOU clamour for something hard enough, you may eventually get your way. Not too long ago, you had to put pen to paper or pick up the rotary phone to get in touch with a company, either to express your thanks or your disappointment. But with the scale and speed of social media, consumers can instantly get onto their favourite (and far from favourite) brands with just a few keystrokes. And as many people have found out, when you talk, or sometimes scream, on social media, brands will listen. They won’t always talk back, but they will hear you. It’s the old adage of if you give good or bad customer service that person will tell six people and those six people will tell another six people and so on. Of course, now instead of six people, that number is more likely 200 or 300…

MATT RICHTEL MAY 3, 2014 The New York Times Electronic cigarettes appear to be safer than ordinary cigarettes for one simple — and simply obvious — reason: people don’t light up and smoke them. With the e-cigarettes, there is no burning tobacco to produce myriad new chemicals, including some 60 carcinogens. But new research suggests that, even without a match, some popular e-cigarettes get so hot that they, too, can produce a handful of the carcinogens found in cigarettes and at similar levels. A study to be published this month in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research found that the high-power e-cigarettes known as tank systems produce formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, along with the nicotine-laced vapor that their users inhale. The toxin is formed when liquid nicotine and other e-cigarette ingredients are subjected to high temperatures, according to the study. A second study that is being prepared for submission to…

MAY 08, 2014 News.com.au FUEL refiner and supplier Caltex’s $270 million conversion of its Kurnell oil refinery in Sydney into a major import terminal is on time and on budget. Kurnell is due to close as a refinery and open as Australia’s largest fuel import terminal in the fourth quarter of this year. “The conversion of the Kurnell refinery to a leading import terminal remains on time and on budget, with the refinery on track to cease operations in the final quarter of this year,” Caltex chief executive Julian Segal told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting on Thursday. After the closure of the Kurnell refinery is complete, the amount of crude oil imported by Caltex will halve – Caltex still operates the Lytton refinery in Brisbane – and imports of refined fuels will increase. The refinery closure was expected to result in the loss of 330 jobs, with…

9 May 2014 The Guardian The 350-outlet chain says growing demand for healthy lunches helped raise turnover by 15% and profits by 9% in 2013 Sandwich, sushi and soup chain Pret A Manger has unveiled annual sales of more than £500m for the first time. The 350-strong chain, whose menu stretches from 500-calorie muffins to endamame bowls, quinoa protein pots and kale crisps, said growing demand for healthy lunches was boosting business. Pret’s chief executive, Clive Schlee, said the its bestselling products last year were porridge and bananas and that the company now sells more cold-pressed vegetable juices than club sandwiches. The chain, which founded in London in 1986, said sales climbed 15% to £510m last year, pushing profits up 9% to £67m. Increasing numbers of customers want to eat on site, so Pret is shutting smaller takeaway outlets and opening larger ones with seating. Last year it opened 40…

CHARLIE BEZZINA MAY 07, 2014 HERALD SUN A TIGHT government Budget — whether delivered at Federal or State level — can bring with it the prospect of an increase in crime rates. It is common sense to think that as pressure increases on individuals and family types to make ends meet, some might crack under the strain and act completely out of character. In regards to the State Budget, to have an inflated figure of $34.9 million to be spent to combat the ice epidemic is laughable. The first figure looks good but it equates to about $8.7 million a year. Commercial illicit drug traffickers must suffer the full force of the law by receiving maximum jail sentences. It’s great to see money going towards prison beds and prison officers…but isn’t the real issue making jail a deterrent? I can’t recall Pentridge Prison being overcrowded, because it was a place…