Nurofen – different packaging, same contents. Image from the ACCC website.
Australian share prices tumbled today, taking the ASX200 below 5000 – and the key indicator seems set to stay below that ceiling for a while.
Business is reeling after a series of warnings that the Government needs to implement harsh measures to prevent a serious budget blow-out as resources continue to weaken. Canberra will also be assessing the likely impact of the Paris climate accord, which calls for a far greater commitment to combat likely climate change effects than the Coalition is comfortable with or has budgeted for. Key commentators write that there’s a rough ride ahead for Australian business, workers and consumers alike.
Court ruling a pain in the butt and head for Nurofen – period
Nurofen has been ordered to pull a wide range of painkillers from shelves around the country after the Federal Court found the company misled consumers by claiming a single product was specially formulated to treat different kinds of pain. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission had complained that Nurofen targeted at migraines, tension, period discomfort or back ache all contained the same ingredient – 342mg of ibuprofen lysine – as regular Nurofen at almost twice the price. The manufacturer, Reckitt Benckiser, must publish corrections, pay court costs, and implement a program to protect consumers.
Will people power make Woollies restore Qantas points?
Customer outrage at a recent announcement that Woolworths was to stop allowing regular customers to accumulate Qantas Frequent Flyer points has forced the company to rethink its plan. Under the new scheme, customers would accumulate Woolworths credits, but many customers found they were getting minimal reward even when spending many hundreds of dollars. While backtracking, Woollies claims it is it is not caving in. Well, maybe not just yet… Watch this space.
Solar panels “suck up all our sunlight”
Ok, it’s official… there are extremely weird people living in rural parts of the US of A – and that’s completely apart from the weird ones living in the cities. The good burghers of Woodland, a one-horse town in North Carolina, have vetoed a proposal to expand a solar energy farm outside the town because, it was alleged, the panels cause cancer, prevent photosynthesis and would “suck up all the energy from the sun”.
Heavens above – it’s a meteor shower!
Night owls may fancy taking advantage of clear skies tonight to see one of nature’s most stunning displays: the annual Geminids meteor shower. In a good year, upward of 100 streaks of light can be seen every hour as Earth passes through the debris trail of a small asteroid called 3200 Phaeton. Astronomers advise that each meteorite is little bigger than a grain of sand – but the visual effects are impressive when the asteroid dust hits our atmosphere at 126,000 kilometres an hour. The best spot to watch is from a quiet rural site away from the glow of city lights, between 10.30pm and 3.30am. Look due north, low down in the sky. If the weather is kind you should see an erratic display of streaks rising like distant fireworks from the northern horizon. And a special Newsroom advisory for you if you do spend the night out there… drink in moderation! – Compiled from web sources by the Newsroom Team
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