BUSINESS

Australia's retail sector will witness more shopping activities in the first quarter of the current year, according to the latest indicators summing up the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) CHEP Retail Index.

As countries in Asia develop, there are more reasons and opportunities for both investors and offshore companies to pour their millions into offshore banks and even more reason for off shore banking to flourish in Asia.

Now that Fitch and Moody have upgraded Indonesia's credit rating to an investment grade economy, the future is looking up for economic growth for Southeast Asia's largest economy.

Ratings agency Fitch will likely release the credit rating of the big four Australian banks in April. Fitch placed on Monday the AA ratings of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Westpac, National Australia Bank (NAB) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) on ratings watch negative which is a hint the four could be downgraded by one notch.

Thanks to India’s new “Look East” policy aimed at expanding the country’s investment and influence to the east, and a 100-kilometer pot holed land bridge to Southeast Asia, trade between India and Myanmar—also known as Burma—is booming and the US government is interested.

Apple has been identified as the biggest buyer of semiconductors in 2011.

By Greg PeelThere's a reasonable amount of demand around for uranium at present, according to industry consultant TradeTech, but not in the spot market.

FNArena has added another video to its Investors Education section on the website. For this latest video presentation, ATW's Jerry Simmons has dedicated extra time on market movements and technical insights for crude oil futures.

By James Stanley, Trading Instructor, FXCMCentral bankers are tasked with the role of governing an economy in an attempt to ensure financial stability.

Ahead: In Australia, private sector credit, RP data house price index and the NAB business survey are released. In the US, the S&P CaseShiller home price index is released.

Lacklustre trading is expected in Australian markets following the subdued overnight trading results in the U.S. and European markets still deeply embroiled in the debt crisis.

US oil major Chevron has booked its first reserves for the Wheatstone LNG project offshore WA which started being developed late last year.

BKI Investment Company Ltd (the old Brickworks Investment Co) yesterday revealed a 5.2% lift thanks to higher dividends from its half a billion or so dollars of listed investments.

On the eve of releasing what are expected to be average second quarter and first half sales figures, Woolworths Ltd has revealed three new directors, two of whom have considerable retailing success stories, though from different sides of the aisles.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 6 points while the S&P lost 0.3% to 1313 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.2%.Well blow me down.

-- Likelihood of an early recovery in NEC's financial soundness has receded, due to a slowdown in profit improvements as well as costly structural reforms.

Tech companies have earlier forged an informal agreement that allows them to cap employee's salary through an invisible protocol that prohibits the hiring of workers still on active roll of each firm, reports said.

The Euro crisis has spawned grave fears among Australian companies that many are too cautious to gamble on expansion and generate more jobs in the process.

A survey for the Financial Services Council found that middle-age white-collar male workers in Australia with average salaries of $70,000 are frequent victims of age discrimination.

The past year proved as the year that Apple and Samsung intensified their rivalry, while former mobile phone leader Nokia further slid down and continue struggling, reports said.

The Year of the Dragon Lunar New Year holiday not only ushered a new and magnificent year for China but also gave a new record gold buying among the Chinese.

Australia's 5.2 per cent unemployment rate for December 2011 could grow further based on survey results that majority of top listed Aussie firms have no plans to hire new workers in the next 12 months.

While the average anxiety level among 700 banks across the world was at 3.15, Australian banks recorded an even higher anxiety level of 3.28 out of a maximum of 5.

The weak housing market in Australia and the pressure on the east coast economy has resulted in home loan customers taking longer than expected to pay off their mortgages. This has added to the pressure being felt by Australian banks which have to pay more for longer-term funding.

Goldman Sachs is the bank everyone loves to hate. In the first of our two-part investigation into the bank, we ask why they emerged as the biggest winners in the financial crisis.

By Peter Switzer, Switzer Super Report27 January 2012Okay, the stock market has been nice to investors since October with Wall Street up over 20% and we have put on more than 10%, but the critical question is can it last?An even more interesting question is: can Aussie stocks surge over 40% as one v...

Indian manufacturer Mahindra will make its first venture into Australia's passenger vehicle market in 2012 when it launches the XUV500. The seven-seat SUV joins the Mahindra Pik-Up, which will continue in its single and dual cab chassis and cargo body styles.

Australia's national road toll last year fell to its lowest level since 1946.

While equities had another good week in most markets (Europe fell for the first time in four weeks), the real stars were commodities with gold and copper notching up good gains as 'risk on' returned to fashion among investors and speculators.