BUSINESS

MARKET CLOSE - CommSec Report (4.30pm AEST)The Australian sharemarket has managed to end higher by the most modest of margins for the third time this week despite being around 0.4 pct lower at one point this morning.

China has expressed concern on the planned carbon tax by the Australia government, which the Chinese government said might be a step back for the country's mining boom.

(This story was originally published on 28th June 2011. It has now been re-published to make it available to non-paying members at FNArena and to readers elsewhere).

Home owners are still refinancing their mortgages, even as the property market remains flat, the latest Bankwest/MFAA* Home Finance Index has shown. The Home Finance Index, which surveyed more than 1,139 respondents, revealed that one in four (24.7%) had refinanced their loan in the past two years and 14.2 per cent had refinanced in the previous year, an increase on the previous HFI.

National jobs figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today revealed a significant rebound in the employment market, confirming the underlying strength of the Australian economy.

The Australian sharemarket is improving after a slow start to trade, following a solid employment report this morning. The All Ordinaries index (XAO) is currently flat. Almost all sectors are trading slightly lower at lunch however.

The Australian government has mellowed down its carbon tax policy that would not be too much of a burden to small and medium enterprises. Industries affected by the carbon price had been reduced to 500 from the previous 1000, the government said.

Consumers may finally get their hands on a new iPhone soon as Apple is reportedly working for fourth quarter release of the hit smartphone, according to a Wednesday report by The Wall Street Journal.

Virgin Australia has extended its offer to disrupted Tiger Airways customers with a limited range of discounted fares on selected Australian domestic city pair destinations.

Former CNN chair and Time managing editor Walter Isaacson has been successful in profiling the lives of heavyweight figures such as Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin and Henry Kissinger that he realized he could not risk bungling his new project, the authorized biography of Apple head Steve Jobs.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 56 points or 0.5% but the S&P added only 0.1% to 1339 and the Nasdaq gained 0.

Overnight, The Peoples Bank of China raised interest rates by 25 basis points, taking the one year lending rate to 6.56% and the one year deposit rate to 3.5%.

- Theme park operators starting to lift prices- First easing in competitive pressures since 2009- Move should be positive for earnings- Buy ratings dominate for both Ardent Leisure and Village RoadshowBy Chris ShawOn the Gold Coast, the two dominant theme park operators continue to push value bundle...

The multi-billion-dollar listings of QR National and Westfield Retail Trust on the Australian share market should be ignored in looking what was a weak financial year for public floats.

Queenslanders are spending $6.9m globally to push their state to the forefront in the competitive worldwide incentive travel arena.

Nestlé has confirmed it is in talks about a possible takeover of Chinese confectionery company Hsu Fu Chi.

The national construction industry contracted further in June with solid falls in new orders and activity across the sector. The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI®) in conjunction with the Housing Industry Association, fell 3.8 points to 35.8 (a reading below 50 indicates a contraction in activity).

Global Markets Briefing from Craig James, CommSec Chief Economist: The US ISM services index eased from 54.6 to 53.3 in June, below forecasts centred on a result near 54.0. While employment rose slightly and prices paid eased, the new orders sub-component also fell.

The US ISM services index eased from 54.6 to 53.3 in June, below forecasts centred on a result near 54.0. While employment rose slightly and prices paid eased, the new orders sub-component also fell.

Here is IG Markets Global Markets Overview: (From Market Analyst Ben Potter) In the US overnight, the major indices finished the session modestly higher after traders shrugged off a weaker start amid largely negative news flow. China raised interest rates by 25 basis points, European banks slumped on contagion fears following the Portuguese rating downgrade and the US Services ISM number came in lower than expected.

Australia has announced it would lift a ban on live cattle exports to Indonesia and resume trade with additional safeguards in place to address animal cruelty concerns.

Reports indicate Apple Inc. will be releasing a new MacBook Air model in the next few weeks and the new model will be significantly faster than the $999 currently available in the market.

Google Inc. is facing more patent litigation as it has increased its dominance in the industry, and could spend billions to buy patents or defend itself against litigation. The Palo Alto, California-based company owner of the world's most popular search engine, the most used operating system platform (Android) for smartphones, and potentially a social network (Google+) that could rival Facebook.

Now that Apple has released the gold master for the Mac Lion OS to developers, it is likely that the final product will soon be available for the general public. The Gold Master version is the final build of the OS before the official product release -- which in the case of the Lion will be available exclusively on the Mac App Store, the first OS to do so.

The campaign for carbon pricing have gathered new supporters as the push for the government policy has turned to popularity and gathering of numbers.

The Australian sharemarket is a little lower at lunch, with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 0.2 pct or 9.7 pts to 4647.2. Almost all sectors are trading in the red with some modest gains from the miners helping to minimise losses.

Amid the cash rate calm and the now little cost difference between the average fixed term home loan interest rate and the average variable interest rate, deciding which type of loan to choose is even more difficult.

Virgin Australia (ASX: VBA) is collaborating with Renewable Oil Corporation (ROC), Dynamotive Energy Systems Corporation (DYMTF) and Future Farm Industries Co-operative Research Centre (FFI CRC) to develop a sustainable aviation biofuel that also has benefits for the Australian farming community and the environment.

As the national broadband network overhauls Australia’s telecommunication industry, so is the largest telco in the country, Telstra Corporation, which announced on Wednesday consolidation on its services and reorganization on the firm’s leadership functions.