Left Field

Headline: Women's stars in the ascendant in Michelin guide

The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 January 2009, Adam Lusher, p.8

For decades, British restaurant kitchens have been dominated by men such as Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White, renowned almost as much for their expletives as for their cooking. Yet when it is published this week, the 2009 Michelin Guide for Great Britain and Ireland will show that the number of starred restaurants with female head chefs has risen to 10 from only six a year ago.

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Headline: New generation of women opting to start families earlier

The Australian, 16 December 2008, Stephen Lunn

A new generation of Australian women is refusing to follow the career-first, babies-later philosophy of their older sisters or friends, and choosing to start families earlier. Their fresh approach has seen a spike in the proportion of Australians aged under five years and an improved fertility rate that the nation's top demographer believes will be sustained for at least the next 10 years.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures published yesterday show 1.4 million people were under the age of five on June 30 this year, a 2.8 per cent increase from the previous year.

The population as a whole rose by just 1.7 per cent.

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Headline: Menswear retailers feel the pinch

The Australian Financial Review, 11 December 2008, Jason Clout and Ashley Midalia, p.4

This summer is likely to see a substantial fall in sales for high-end menswear retailers, raising concerns among companies such as MCM Studio, Henry Buck, Vince Maloney & Co, Stafford Group and Anthony Squires, which has its own stores and also sells through David Jones. The fall in demand has already resulted in the retailer Herringbone entering voluntary administration earlier this week.

Headline: Councils unprepared for seniors' needs

The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 October 2008, Jano Gibson, p.3

Fewer than 10 per cent of the state's councils say they have prepared a strategy to deal with the ageing population despite a government report forecasting an explosion in the proportion of elderly people living in NSW.

The report said the state's population would climb to 9 million by 2036, with 6 million living in Sydney.

While the number of people aged under 64 is expected to jump by about 20 per cent, the over-65 age bracket is set to skyrocket by 111 per cent.

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Headline: Dads give kids a minute a weekday

The Australian, 20 October 2008, Stephen Lunn, p.3

Australian fathers spends just six minutes alone with their children from Monday through Friday averaging slightly over a minute a day. Overall, they spend an average of just shy of one hour each working week caring for their kids, but 90 per cent of that care is done alongside the mother.

Social researcher Lyn Craig has found in a new paper, Father Care, Father Share in International Perspective, to be presented in Sydney tomorrow night, that fathers spend longer with their kids on weekends but, again, mostly as a family unit.

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Headline: Sydney predicted to reach 6 million

The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 October 2008, Wendy Frew, p.1

NSW is set to grow 33 per cent to 9.07 million by 2036, and more than 1 million homes will have to be built between now and then to house the new residents.

An increase in fertility rates and net migration will drive Sydney's population growth even higher than in forecasts done by the Government three years ago, and on which it has based its planning strategies.

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Headline: Getaways just got way dearer

The Australian Financial Review, 17 October 2008, Lisa Allen, p.3

The recent drop of the Australian dollar from near parity to just US70 cents has been a boon for inbound tourism operators like Raging Thunder in Cairns and Balloons Aloft, but outbound operators are being forced to add surcharges of between 20 and 40 percent to cover costs. TravelPlan, which books ski tours to Japan and the US, says there have been surprisingly few cancellations and they are asking foreign hotel chains for discounts to help their clients. Creative Holidays is upping prices on new brochures but will honour existing bookings at the old prices.

Headline: Top end traders dreaming of an alright Christmas

The Australian Financial Review, 17 October 2008, Hannah Tattersall, p.9

Luxury goods retailers are not likely to receive much of the $9.6 billion to be handed out to pensioners and families by the government this week. Chief executive of Moet Hennessy Australia, Rob Remnant, remains confident however, saying its brands have 'weathered the storm whenever that has materialised.'

Headline: Mateship doing it tough as cash cult cracks

The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 October 2008, John Huxley, p.1

Traditional Australian values of mateship, good neighbourliness and offering a helping hand to those in need could be seriously tested by the economic downturn, the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen, has warned.

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Headline: Ferrari spree as tourists hit Motor Show

The Daily Telegraph, 14 Cctober 2008, Kevin Hepworth, p.13

Demand for "supercar" brands is running at near record levels with Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and Nissan topping $5.5 million in sales since the show opened on Thursday night.

Four Ferraris, three Lamborghinis, three Maseratis and six Nissan GT-Rs have been sold in the first four days.

The good news is not confined to the super-rich with more mainstream manufacturers also reporting strong consumer interest in the face of the world economic crisis.