BUSINESS

Mining and rail equipment manufacturer Bradken is on track to meet earlier guidance for a 40% lift in full year profit after a 65% jump in first half earnings.

The local share market is trading slightly higher in the early session, on the back of modest gains on Wall Street overnight. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) has added 7.6pts or 0.2pct to 4352.5.

As the market awaits ANZ's promised rate decision this Friday, NAB has vowed to beat its fellow majors on rates for the remainder of 2012, regardless of moves by the RBA.

Westpac has dismissed a Fairfax report insinuating that the bank was holding out on borrowers following last year’s rate cuts.

The Reserve Bank rendered moot much of the discussion surrounding bank funding costs this month when it chose to hold the cash rate steady.

The Reserve bank delivered the bad news to the banking sector yesterday, no rate cut and no chance to rebuild profit margins by hanging onto all or some of the widely expected 0.25% cut.

The Victorian Department of Primary Industries (DPI) this week announced its seizure of over 700,000 chickens to safeguard their welfare at six broiler farms located in Northern Victoria, South West Victoria and West Gippsland.

New research about snackfoods and consumers’ snack food choices, ‘Healthy Snackers’, was released in the U.S on 2 February, 2012 by Mintel Research.

While Australian Food News yesterday reported the strong performance of Coles fresh produce division, the quarterly figures reported by parent company Wesfarmers show that Coles Express non-fuel sales declined by 1.4 percent for the quarter compared with Woolworths positive 4.9 percent increase from the previous year.

The Reserve Bank left its cash rate steady at $4.25% yesterday for the very good reason that there was no need to cut it.

- Chinese steel demand should remain solid- Need for basic housing to drive demand- US steel market recording some price gains- Steel consumption in US likely to increase in coming monthsBy Chris ShawWhile there are growing concerns of a possible bursting of the Chinese property bubble, steel indust...

Rio Tinto has committed a further US$3.4 billion to the major expansion of its Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia.

US chain stores sales rose by 2.5pct in the latest week compared with a year ago according to Redbook Research. And in Germany industrial production dropped by 2.9pct in December, taking annual growth down to just 0.9pct, the lowest since late 2009.

The positive leads from U.S. markets may not impact much on local stocks especially the currency-sensitive ones with the rate pause initiated by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), analysts say.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 33 points or 0.3% while the S&P added 0.2% to 1347 and the Nasdaq rose 0.

Smartphones supplanted personal computers as the bestselling gadget in 2011, with analysts crediting both Apple and Samsung for creating 'hero' handsets that delivered record-breaking results.

Workers in BHP Billiton's (ASX: BHP) Queensland coal mines will hold a week-long strike likely to begin Friday to protest the latest enterprise agreement offer by the mining giant. The workers, members of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), are against some of the pay and work condition provisions of BHP's offer.

A quick preview of the key economic events for the upcoming week!

After a flat start, the Australian share market is posting modest gains at lunch, thanks to positive moves from telecommunication, industrial and energy stocks. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 11.3pts or 0.3pct to 4375.9.

By Greg PeelIt started late last year and it has continued into January. The bulk of "real" global spot uranium demand (utilities as opposed to traders) is currently centred in Europe where U3O8 is being sought.

FNArena has added another video to its Investors Education section on the website. In this week's video, ATW's Jerry Simmons seems to take a more cautious approach as price action in crude oil and US equities last week moved towards the upper levels of recent trading ranges.

The prospects for top executives "cleaned out" of the industry through the GFC and mortgage market consolidation do not look bright, according to a top industry recruiter.

Further drops in activity and new orders saw the national construction industry spend another month in the red according to the latest Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI®), in conjunction with the Housing Industry Association. The seasonally adjusted index fell by 1.2 points to 39.8 in January, marking the 20th consecutive month that the sector has contracted (readings below 50 indicate a contraction in activity).

Does the type of smartphone you have determine your dating style? A new survey from Match.com shows a correlation between the type of smartphone you own and your relationship style.

NAB has today announced new efforts to bring Homeside closer to the major bank brand, by creating a "stronger visual link" through a new re-branding campaign.

Perth-based infrastructure services group Cardno Limited certainly picked the right day to reveal a $100 million deal in the US and a fund raising of the same size.

Listed investment company Argo Investments has joined most of its competitors in revealing the impact of the weak stockmarket on its interim result.

The Australian stock market is seen to hold firm, but gains are narrowed down by the grim prospects in Greece, that has yet to settle prevailing debt concerns.

The Reserve Bank makes its first decision for 2012 on the level of interest rates today.