AUSTRALIA

Business Confidence on the Upswing: The confidence level is the highest in five years, with companies predicting a larger volume of orders and gains in sales, profits, employment, prices and inventories, Dun & Bradstreet said in its quarterly survey of business expectations. The first-quarter study for fiscal 1994 shows that 67% of companies surveyed expect to see sales rise; 10% said they expect a decline. Expectations are strongest for non-durable goods, or products expected to last less than three years.