BUSINESS

Overnight, US markets posted convincing gains on the back of better-than-expected earnings from Citigroup and a subsiding of fears over a foreclosure crisis, with financial stocks leading the market higher.

A New York-based private equity firm has offered to acquire Australia's Perpetual Ltd. (ASX: PPT) for A$1.75 billion to take advantage of the higher yielding assets available.

The Australian share market closed weaker on Monday, dragged lower by banks and miners, as investors remain cautious about the US economic outlook.

Local stocks closed in the red today, weighed down by concerns about foreclosures for US financial companies and the scrapping of a major joint venture by Australia's two largest listed mining companies.

Many Australian firms are finding it hard to cope with their payables and stretch more time to make payment in the September quarter, leading businesses to worry that cash flows could be restricted amidst efforts for a significant turnaround on the current year.

The Finance Sector Union (FSU) today slammed Westpac's decision to cut its Asgard work force in Perth by one third. The bank's decision will see 120 jobs lost from Westpac's wholly owned subsidiary, Asgard's Perth operation.

The market failed to find any inspiration today. A mixed lead from Wall Street and softer commodities markets saw investors retreat at the open. The market made a second dip around 1pm AEDT - coinciding with a fall in the Dow futures and a weaker Hang Seng.

The steady but relatively low level of unemployment rate in Australia could lead to business slowdowns and render the federal government’s infrastructure initiatives quite vulnerable.

Reacting to the acquisition bid tossed on its German parent company, Hochtief AG, Leighton Holdings Ltd (ASX: LEI) moved on Monday to protect its minority shareholders as the construction firm requested the Australian regulator to intervene on the buyout transaction.

Supermarket giant Coles is now set to shake up Australia's home and contents insurance market, following the launch of its car insurance product.

Popular social networking site Facebook recently imposed charges of up to $US2500 on company employees for divesting their private stock in an apparent attempt to capitalise on the burgeoning market that trains the attention of investors on similar start-up companies such as Twitter and LinkedIn.

After years of continuous growth in the number of Australians choosing GreenPower electricity plans, the green tide has turned as 138,000 households ditched their GreenPower plan over the last 12 months.

The months of tabloid-hogging stories finally ended in a settlement that eventually veered away from the multi-million dollar sexual harassment suit filed by a former publicist against her former employer, high-end retailer David Jones Ltd and its resigned chief executive Mark McInnes.

Almost half of all working Australians are spending more time doing business outside the workplace than they were five years ago and they're attributing that to better technology and increased flexibility of employers, according to a Telstra survey.

The speculations circulating as early as last week proved true as giant mining firms Rio Tinto Ltd and BHP Billiton Ltd finally admitted on Monday that the planned merger of their Western Australian iron ore operations has been ditched, with the proposal being shot down by foreign regulators.

History was made late Friday night in our Financial Markets when the Australian Dollar traded ever so briefly and in very thin conditions, above Parity with the US Dollar, for the first time since the currency was floated in December 1983.

A rally across technology companies following strong earnings from Google led the Standard & Poor's 500 index higher Friday.

US retail sales rose by 0.6pct in September, exceeding forecasts for a gain of 0.4pct.

The Australian Dollar hit parity for the first time since it was floated in 1983 following the US Federal Reserve announcing the commencement of its second round of quantitative easing will start in November.

Though it started operations in April this year, Rio Tinto Ltd formally inaugurated its $US1.29 billion or $A1.3 billion Clermont thermal coal mine on Friday, located in the Bower Basin of Queensland, with Queensland Premier Anna Bligh attending the official opening ceremonies.

More than 60 percent of Australian consumers were in anticipation of a surge in home prices over the next 12 months, which is actually improvement from previous months’ expectations in the current year.

The Australia Post plans to take advantage of the digital mailing craze and in 2011 targets to open an online retail store.

The Australian share market closed lower on Friday on profit-taking following Thursday's rally.

Tourism journalist Simon Anhalt added unsolicited colour on the prospects of Australia’s tourism industry when he labelled the country as the ‘dumb blonde’ in the sector for its attention-grabbing but bland allure.

Global miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have noted with disappointment the statement today by the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) that its current intention is to prohibit the companies' proposed iron ore production joint venture in Western Australia.

An online poll conducted by Loan Market showed that many Australians were not even aware that there exists a federal program that provides assistance for first time home buyers.

Continued consumer disinterest in traditional shopping periods threatens the recovery of Australia's retail industry.

The Australian Dollar traded to another new high overnight of USD0.9990 before falling victim to some profit taking, with the currency pair back to around USD0.9900 this morning.

Following years and billions of development investments, the new Ford Ranger makes its debut on Friday in a Sydney motor show that Ford Australia said has captured the attention of journalists, dealers and executives alike from across the Asia-Pacific.