BUSINESS

Home loans plunged in February as the share of first-home buyers continue to decrease. This is home loan’s second consecutive month drop with New South Wales posting its biggest monthly decline in fourteen years.

Thinking of buying a commercial property? Here are a few areas every commercial property buyer should investigate:

Australian telco giant Telstra (ASX: TLS) says it is launching a new high-speed mobile Wi-Fi hotspot to enable Australians to connect multiple mobile devices to the internet when they’re on the go.

Flight Centre Ltd's estimated gross indicates growth of up to 20 percent, with guidance not materially affected by recent natural disasters.

In a NSW Supreme Court hearing, Channel Seven's commercial director Bruce McWilliam disclosed CEO David Leckie told him he sent James Warburton on "gardening leave" but did not imply an immediate employment termination.

- Norfolk has guided to solid full year results and stockbroker Moelis anticipates further earnings growth in FY12- No debt means growth options can be pursued- Moelis rates Norfolk a BuyBy Chris ShawServices provider Norfolk Group ((NFK)) is not due to report full year earnings until late May, but ...

About four-fifths (78 per cent) of prospective buyers consider commercial property a better venture than other investments, including keeping money in the bank or investing in shares, according to a realcommercial.com.au poll.

Core IncompetencyGuest commentary by Michael Pento, Euro Pacific Capital,For years the Federal Reserve has told us that in order to detect inflation in the economy it is important to separate "signal from noise" by focusing on "core" inflation statistics, which exclude changes in food and energy pri...

The Australian Dollar has eased off recent highs overnight, dipping below USD 1.0300, as equity markets reacted to the China Central Bank’s announcement to raise interest rates by 0.25%.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 6 points while the S&P was steady at 1332 and the Nasdaq added 0.1%.March purchasing managers' indices from the service sector were the focus around the globe yesterday.

- Libyan sweet crude oil production is unlikely to return to pre-war levels anytime soon- As the world struggles for alternatives, the price for gasoline is likely to remain high- Global shortage in sweet crude to coincide with seasonal uptick in demandWhy the Resumption of Libyan Oil Shipments Won&...

The Australian Dollar opens marginally lower today against the greenback at 1.0360.

The People´s Bank of China has lifted interest rates for the fourth time in six months, raising lending and deposit rates by 25 basis points or a quarter of a percent.

Leighton Holdings (ASX: LEI) subsidiary Leighton Contractors says it has been awarded a $148 million contract by BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) and Bechtel to deliver the Broadmeadow Sustaining Operations Project at the Broadmeadow mine in Queensland.

Retailers have breathed a sigh of relief with the decision of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) this afternoon to keep the cash rate stable at 4.75 per cent, according to the Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA).

As expected, the Reserve Bank left its cash rate on hold yesterday at 4.75%, and didn't really tell us any more about the health of the economy than we already knew.In fact yesterday's trade figures (a surprise deficit in February, thanks to a big rise in oil imports) and solid car sales for March, told us a bit more about where the economy is than did the post board meeting statement wh...

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) has been informed that there is a big possibility that its proposal to $8.4-billion take over the local Australian bourse will be rejected by Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan.

The performance of Australia's services sector declined further in March, as both the retail and transport industries slackened for the fifth consecutive month.

As overseas sale of coal remained blocked by severe floods in Queensland, Australia announced a first monthly trade deficit since March 2010 in February.

By Greg Peel“The recent disaster in Japan will have a noticeable effect on Japanese production in the near term, although the impact on the broader Asian region is expected to be limited”.That was it – that was the RBA's entire summation of the world events occurring between the release of the previous monetary policy statement on March 1 and today's release, and their impact on ...

A majority of large Australian organisations are still not reaping productivity rewards according to research launched today by telco giant Telstra (ASX: TLS).

- Australian services sector conditions remain tough- AIG-CBA PSI fell 2.2 points in March- Reading shows consumers remain cautious on outlookBy Chris ShawTimes remain tough for the Australian services sector, the March reading of the Australian Industry Group – Commonwealth Bank Australian Performance of Services Index (Australian PSI) showing a decline of 2.2 points to 46.5. Any reading be...

Woolworths Ltd (ASX: WOW) has nominated its former shelf stacker and account executive to replace CEO and Managing Director Michael Luscombe on September 30, 2011.

The allure of online retailing has befallen Australian billionaire James Packer as he reportedly made investments in DealsDirect.com.

By Greg PeelAs at the end of March, industry consultant TradeTech's spot uranium price indicator sat at US$58.50/lb, down US$1.50 from the previous week and down US$11.00 from end-February. The big drop reflects the panic surrounding the disaster at Fukushima and its potential longer term impact on uranium demand.In the thinly traded spot market, panic selling has been driven by speculators caught...

Stock markets were fairly quiet overnight despite more M&A activity. The AUD/USD remains just under the 1.0400 level this morning as the market awaits comments from the RBA’s meeting this afternoon.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 23 points or 0.2% while the S&P was steady at 1332 and the Nasdaq was also steady.Volume on Wall Street was very light last night but it is noteworthy the Dow's close at 12,400 means the first close above the February high of 12,391. The S&P 500 is meeting technical resistance at 1333, being the 100% move up from the March 2009 bottom, and is still short of its Februa...

The Australian Dollar opens marginally lower today against the greenback at 1.0360.

There were more signs of recovery in the German economy on Monday with new car registrations up 11pct over the year to March to 328,000 vehicles.