Aoife Boothroyd 9 April, 2014 Foodmagazine Bulla Dairy Foods has announced their license to produce a frozen range of Mondelez Australia’s successful confectionery line, Cadbury Marvellous Creations. Australia’s oldest owned and operated family dairy company, Bulla Dairy Foods has announced their license to produce a frozen range of Mondelez Australia’s successful confectionery line, Cadbury Marvellous Creations. Since the initial launch of Cadbury’s Marvellous Creations in May 2012, the line has gone from strength to strength with a number of new flavours added mid last year. Nicolas Georges, Director Premium Chocolate & Dairy, Research & Development, Asia Pacific said the brand’s latest offering – the new frozen format – was the perfect addition to the hugely successful line. “Cadbury Marvellous Creations confectionary range has been one of our most successful confectionary lines in our history,” said Georges. “By bringing this product to life in a frozen format, we’re confident that the…

APRIL 10, 2014 News.com.au AUSTRALIA’S unemployment rate fell to 5.8 per cent in March from 6.1 per cent in February, official figures show. The total number of people with jobs rose 18,100 to 11.553 million in the month, according to seasonally adjusted figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. The median forecast for the unemployment rate was 6.1 per cent in March, with 5,000 fewer people with jobs, according to an AAP survey of 11 market economists. Full-time employment fell 22,100 to 8.029 million in March and part-time employment was up 40,200 to 3.524 million. The participation rate — the proportion of the population that have a job, are looking for work or are ready to start work fell to 64.7 per cent, from 64.9 in February. Employed people in Australia worked a total of 1.617 billion hours in March, the seasonally adjusted figures showed. That was…

Amrita Jayakumar April 11, 2014 Washington Post Family Dollar is the latest in a string of retailers to shutter stores. The discount chain said it will close 370 underperforming locations this year, shed some of its workforce and lower the price of more than 1,000 basic items to cut costs. The company reported sluggish second-quarter sales Thursday, citing a multitude of factors including financially-strapped consumers and aggressive holiday discounting strategies. The company’s net sales fell 6.1 percent in the second-quarter, while same-store sales dropped by nearly 4 percent. Family Dollar didn’t specify which locations would close or how many jobs would be cut. The chain currently operates 8,100 stores. Although retailers had a rough 2013, luxury stores and dollar stores managed to thrive while stores catering to middle-income shoppers struggled. But Family Dollar’s move shows that the end of unemployment benefits and cuts to the nation’s food-stamp program are starting…

Editorial Board April 10 Washington Post Editorials Editorials represent the views of The Washington Post as an institution, as determined through debate among members of the editorial board. News reporters and editors never contribute to editorial board discussions, and editorial board members don’t have any role in news coverage. IF ELECTRONIC cigarettes, known as e-cigarettes, live up to their potential, millions of nicotine addicts in the United States will use them. To some public health advocates, that sounds terrible. People should kick nicotine rather than cultivate their dependence with a barely regulated product that seems designed to addict children. The concentrated, nicotine-laced liquid that these devices vaporize is also toxic when inappropriately consumed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just reported that, with the rise in the use of e-cigarettes over the past several years, the number of calls to poison control centers stemming from misuse of e-cigarette liquid…

Max Mason April 11, 2014 The Age Coca Cola chief Alison Watkins says its Australian beverages business had suffered due to discounting from competitors and soft sales. Coca-Cola Amatil expects a $56 million hit to earnings in the first half, following soft performances in the Australian and Indonesian beverage markets. The profit warning came as the group’s new managing director Alison Watkins announced a strategic review of the business. “We do however need to challenge our model thoroughly in light of the low growth and competitive markets in which we operate in order to deliver long-term sustainable growth,” Ms Watkins said. Earnings before interest and tax, and significant items are expected to fall 15 per cent in the six months to June 31 from the previous corresponding period which recorded $373.9 million. “CCA is facing a number of immediate challenges, particularly in the Australian beverage and Indonesia markets,” Ms Watkins…

Nick Toscano April 12, 2014 Australia’s tobacco lobby has employed an ex-gangland taskforce detective to investigate Melbourne retailers selling black-market cigarettes and commissioned a report that found the illicit trade has reached record levels. The KPMG report, bankrolled by cigarette manufacturers and obtained exclusively by Fairfax Media, attributes the surge in illegal tobacco to Australia’s high tax rates and the introduction of plain packaging in 2012. International crime gangs also avoided an estimated $1.1 billion in taxes last year by smuggling tobacco through Australian ports, according to the research. But anti-smoking campaigners, including the Cancer Council of Victoria, have slammed the report as ”self-serving rubbish”. ”The release of the second tobacco industry-commissioned report into illicit tobacco in less than six months smacks of desperation. Australia has already introduced plain packaging with Ireland, NZ and the UK now saying they may follow suit,” Cancer Council of Victoria chief executive Todd Harper…