GLOBAL beverages company Foster's Group has appointed former Victoria Police chief commissioner Christine Nixon to the board as a non-executive director.

A MERCEDES-Benz taking the chequered flag at Bathurst? An Audi winning on the streets in Adelaide in the Clipsal 500? A Hyundai powering home in Hamilton?

Mercedes-Benz has again taken the top spot for the largest fine for failing to meet US fuel-efficiency standards.

THE Chinese economy has rolled into the new year at a scorching pace, as the country's most respected business news team re-emerged from political exile to warn that inflation was stalking "like a tiger".

INVESTMENT in Australian manufacturing has slumped below 1 per cent of GDP for the first time in 60 years of statistics, as the high dollar and the rise of China slowly suffocate confidence in the sector.