BUSINESS

The Australian Dollar rallied above USD 1.0800 overnight as equity markets rallied after EU leaders agreed on a bail-out package for Greece

Significant Scheduled Events For 22 July, 2011:(AU) - trade price index, Q2 (EZ) - new industrial orders, May (EZ) - Germany IFO survey, Jul (GOT) - EGM (HST) - EGM (INQ) - EGM (ISK) - Annual General Meeting (MDV) - EGM (RRI) - EGM FN Arena is building the future of financial news reporting at www.

- Woolies delivers solid quarterly sales result- Guidance reiterated, so only minor changes to earnings estimates- Brokers attracted to defensive earnings growth- BA-ML the only negative view following upgrade by MacquarieBy Chris ShawWhile a tough operating environment has forced the likes of David...

The Philadelphia Fed business activity index rose from -7.7 to +3.2 in June. The increase was the first since March. Encouragingly across the sub-indices, new orders, hiring and shipments recorded a healthy improvement.

MORNING REPORT (7am AEST)The Philadelphia Fed business activity index rose from -7.7 to +3.2 in June. The increase was the first since March. Encouragingly across the sub-indices, new orders, hiring and shipments recorded a healthy improvement. While prices paid by manufacturers was the lowest in nine months. US jobless claims rose by 10,000 to 418,000 last week. The Conference Board leading index rose by 0.3pct in June.

On Wall Street overnight, it was a very strong session as a number of positives combined to send stocks higher. Outside of the jobless claims number, economic data was stronger-than-anticipated and earnings from giants Microsoft and Morgan Stanley topped estimates. The big news, however was an agreement from the EU emergency summit on a final bailout package for Greece worth EUR160 billion; they also empowered their bailout fund to buy debt of stressed nations and offer emergency credit lines. ...

An American in Kunming, southern Yunnan province in China said in her BirdAbroad blog at Wordpress that she found three shops masquerading as bona fide Apple stores in the city.

Google is winding down Google Labs, the site where users explore prototypes to aid development of new projects.

The MacBook Air features the latest generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 dual-core processors. With a processor of speeds up to 1.8GHz and faster memory, the new MacBook Air gains 2.5x faster processing performance over the previous generation. It also has the Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor, which includes an on-chip engine for video encoding and decoding.

AFTERNOON REPORT (4.30pm AEST)Local stocks posted a slight win today, but importantly managed to hold onto yesterday's impressive gains, despite slight falls on Wall Street overnight. Sentiment was boosted by hopes European leaders will agree on a second bail-out package for Greece, while a disappointing flash read on China's manufacturing sector limited gains as markets around the Asian region fell. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose 7.8pts or 0.2pct to 4626.2 while the S&P/ASX 200 ...

The Queensland government is urged to put controls on the the coal seam gas sector that has excessively consumed the state's water supply.

Global mining giant BHP Billiton said on Thursday that its iron ore output for the last quarter of fiscal year 2010-11 soared by 14 percent to 35.5 million metric tonnes, exceeding projections earlier set by market analysts.

Midday-Lunchtime REPORT (12.15pm AEST)Local stocks are managing to hold onto yesterday's impressive gains despite small losses on Wall Street overnight. Investor sentiment has been boosted by hopes Eurozone members will agree to a second bail-out deal for Greece when they meet in Brussels later tonight. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 23.8pts or 0.5pct to 4642.

By Greg PeelThe "flash" manufacturing PMI (purchasing managers' index) calculated by HSBC is an early estimate of HSBC's ultimate result published immediately after month-end.

In a seemingly diabolical plot, veterinarians and pharmaceutical companies have teamed up in a marketing campaign to frighten pet guardians into giving year-round heartworm preventatives to their cats, as well as dogs.

Over one million Queensland employees used some form of flexible working arrangements in their main job, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Australia has everything to play for, and every advantage it could hope for, but it also has every chance of blowing its future prospects. So says a 16-page special report in the May 2011 issue of the internationally recognised journal, The Economist.

More of the same for the year ahead was the call from major retailer Woolworths yesterday in the wake of the release of the financial year and 4th quarter sales figures.

Besides the expansion of its Chilean and Peruvian copper resources, BHP also achieved production records in four commodities with production of iron ore posting its 11th consecutive record.

Buried yesterday’s BHP Billiton exploration and development report for the 4th quarter and for all of the 2011 financial year was another major story for the world's biggest mining company.

The Australian Dollar is holding its recent move above USD 1.0700, as sentiment remains positive, even if slightly subdued, regarding European and US Debt problems and plans.

Larry Page’s recent tinkering on Google’s in-place structures were meant to reposition the internet giant and keep its competitive posture despite the enormous success that the company has achieved in so short a time.

Members of Australia's largest and most representative business organization, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) are taking the concerns of business and ACCI's member organizations about the proposed carbon tax to the community through support of an advertising campaign by the Australian Trade and Industry Alliance (ATI) which commenced on Thursday.

Banking on its economic muscle and its growing list of millionaires, Qantas Airways trains its sight to China where its future growth in the Asia Pacific region will be anchored, according to company chief executive Alan Joyce.

By Greg PeelGold fell from around $1600/oz to $1587/oz on Tuesday night as markets saw rays of hope in both the eurozone debt issue and the US debt ceiling issue.

Lower interest rates don't seem to be enticing first home buyers, new figures have indicated.

ASIC has claimed success as it has completed the initial licensing of the credit industry, and has warned it will take a tough stance on unlicensed activity.

A report to be released by the Federal Government today claims more than 100,000 people are misusing business, student and holiday visas to work illegally in Australia.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 15 points or 0.1% while the S&P was flat at 1325 and the Nasdaq lost 0.