BUSINESS

Australian Stock Market Report – Midday 5-13-13

The Australian sharemarket is flat after a slightly weaker start this morning. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down by just 0.3pts to 5,190.8. A fall in the business conditions survey reading has been keeping stocks subdued. Last week however, the local market rose by around 1.68 per cent, making it three straight weeks of improvements.
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Australian Stock Market Report – Afternoon 5-10-13

Friday's session largely boiled down to a tug of war between the resources and banks. As has been the case all week the miners won and financials underperformed. At face value Friday's performance appears underwhelming. The ASX200 finished with a gain of almost 8 points, having squandered an early lead of 44 points at its best levels which were seen in late morning trade. Investors appeared happy for some book squaring ahead of the weekend after the market gained 1.7% in the last 5 days.

Australian Stock Market Report – Midday 5-10-13

The main talking point in the early part of Asian trade has been the sharp rally in the US dollar as the Wall Street day was winding down. Many unilluminating rationalisations for the move have been offered, most of them turning around the US Fed's mindset towards quantitative easing. The better reading overnight in relation to the number of US unemployed claiming benefits was seen as adding credence to this view.

Sigh of Relief, No Severe El Niño in Coming Months

Countries located in the Northern Hemisphere may well heave a sigh of relief as weather forecasters from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said on Thursday the weather phenomenon twins El Niño and La Niña are less likely to develop through the late summer and towards the winter.

The Amusing Trade Data Out of China

What a strange world it is where global capital flees persecution by global central banks into the safety of the high priced Dow and the S&P500. Overnight, we saw another record high in the US indexes. As Dan Denning has been saying, we're in for a global melt-up in the big blue chips as capital seeks a refuge at the 'core' of the financial system.

Secret Agents Will Destroy Us All

A mood of prophecy, perhaps brought on by a large helping of osso bucco from our local Italian restaurant, came over us last night. We looked into the future. And there we saw a grim world.

The Great Game of Interest Rates and Inflation

It's taken a while, but the RBA has joined the international currency war by cutting official interest rates to an all-time low. We're not sure whether it will have the desired effect or not. Chances are we'll need further interest rate cuts to really see the dollar fall to a point where it starts to relieve pressure on various dollar sensitive industries.

Tesla Electric Model S Drives Profits in First Quarter

Tesla Motors Inc., the electric car manufacturer, has finally broken even, seeing surprisingly encouraging profits for the first quarter of 2013. This definitely has beaten expectations of poor sales which were widely expected.

China Saw Inflation Speed up in April

Even though China saw inflation speed up vaguely in April, it remained subdued, thereby making it possible for the government to introduce measures aimed at fostering the economy. Concerns have been recently raised over the strength of the economic recovery and the state of the world's second economy.

HTC First Costs 99 Cents Only from AT&T; Reason Why it's So Cheap

HTC First keeps you close to all your friends and loved one in real time using the Facebook Home launcher. It features steady stream of photos and posts from friends right on the home screen which refreshes automatically. But why did AT&T dropped HTC First to only 99 cents under contract?

Gold is the Investment for the Individual

What about that Dow! Overnight, it punched through the 15,000 mark, on its way to 16,000, 17,000 and beyond. Could it happen? Well, markets are clearly in melt-up mode. But how far can they melt-up before the bust?

IMF Criticizes Osbornomics for “Lost Decade of Growth”

George Osborne, the Chancellor, is once again under the IMF scanner, as officials of the Washington-based financial institution will arrive to review UK economic growth. With additional warnings to recall austerity drive and reinstate the 'lost decade of growth,' the Trades Union Congress (TUC) finds competent support to drive home their arguments.

Australian Stock Market Report – Midday 5-9-13

The Australian market has extended its gains following much better than forecast job numbers and an unsurprising inflation report in China. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 0.2 per cent or 11.7 pts to 5,189.6, making it the third day of improvements this week. There were 50,100 jobs added in April, 34,500 of which were full-time positions. The unemployment rate eased from 5.6 per cent to 5.5 per cent and the participation rate (the percentage of working-age Australians either employed or loo...

ACCC Issues Warning As Scammers Target Travellers

Australians planning to go to a holiday rendezvous ought to take extra precautions in their online booking activities as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Thursday disclosed at least some $250,000 worth in Internet scams have been lost in 2013 alone.

New SARS-Like Virus Reaches France

On Wednesday, French health authorities confirmed a 65-year-old local has contracted the deadly new SARS-like novel coronavirus, the country's first infected case.

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