BUSINESS

Fast-food chain Burger King is to be sold to investment firm 3G Capital for $US3.26 billion in a deal analysts said would give the restaurant breathing room to fix its business.

The Australian bourse has closed stronger on Thursday as investors took heart from positive economic data. The market posted a second successive day of strong gains, with all sectors in the black.

The Australian share market has posted a second successive day of good gains with all sectors showing strength. Thursday's rise reflected the positive mood on Wall Street after its best day in eight weeks.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed on Thursday that the country’s trade surplus in July barely made it to the $2 billion mark, sharply detracting from the $3.438 billion surplus posted in the prior month and way below the $3.1 billion previously projected by most economists.

As the Western Australian government started the process of compulsory land acquisition in the Kimberley region, north of WA, Woodside Petroleum Ltd declared on Thursday that the $1.25 billion work program for its Browse liquefied natural gas (LNG) development project will push through and completion should be expected by mid-part of 2012.

The property market gains of 12.5 percent for new housing in the June quarter could take a slow down over the medium term.

Risk is back in fashion. Global share markets have entered a patch of blue sky on the back of sunnier economic reports from around the world.

A fifty percent rise in electricity prices within a five year span is an alarming figure.

A 77 percent decline in exports to China resulted in a worse than expected trade figures for July.

Energy firm Mosaic Oil NL said on Thursday that PricewaterhouseCoopers Securities Ltd (PWC) had concluded that the acquisition proposal pushed forward by AGL Energy Ltd was wholly advantageous to the interests of the target shareholders.

The Australian bourse held its ground in the black by Thursday noon, although stocks have trimmed some opening gains as profit-taking set in.

Credit demand of Australia's small and medium enterprises (SMEs) plunged 5.6 percent in the second quarter.

Rio Tinto Ltd’s expansion campaign in the Pilbara region is further boosted as the mining giant formally unveiled the operation of its $US1.5 billion Brockman 4 iron ore mine site in Western Australia.

Australia-based beverage company Foster's Group Limited (ASX:FGL) today announced that Chief Financial Officer Angus McKay has submitted his resignation to join ports and rail operator Asciano Group (ASX:AIO) .

According to a lawyer who defended a case against Nintendo, the lawsuit that Sony filed against manufacturers of mod chips for the Playstation 3 may be the first of many that game console makers will file in Australia.

Even with the effects of the global financial crisis, at a combined annual growth rate of 4.7 per cent, the world retirement market is forecast to expand 66 per cent by 2020 with total assets climbing from $35 trillion in 2009 to almost $58 trillion.

No one else would take a critical stance against closing a tourist spot such as Fraser Island but tourism operators.

Giant mining firm BHP Billiton Ltd has announced on Wednesday that it made some revisions on its proposal to acquire Canadian fertiliser maker Potash Corp of Saskatchewan, though the miner admitted that the adjustment were immaterial to the bid’s current status.

A balance of genders is spreading out in Australian companies as women make 10 percent of board members.

Significant growth in the manufacturing sectors in the United States and in China was favorable for the shares market, but a suction pump for the bond market.

U.S. stocks rallied Wednesday, with Bank of America, Caterpillar and J.P. Morgan Chase leading broad gains in a strong start to September after manufacturing data topped expectations.

On Wall St overnight, stocks surged the most since May as manufacturing data in both the US and China bolstered optimism as to the state of the US economy.

The AUD has put in a very strong performance over the last 24 hours. The rally initially began yesterday morning ahead of the release of the Q2 GDP number.

The US ISM manufacturing index surprisingly rose from 55.5 to 56.3 in August. Economists had tipped a fall to 53.0. Construction spending fell by 1.0pct in July, against forecasts for a 0.5pct decline.

The Australian Dollar opens higher today against its U.S. counterpart at 0.9095 after strong economic data releases in Australia and China on Wednesday.

The second day of month appears strong for traders at the Sydney Futures Exchange. The September share price index contract opened higher by 74 points at 4567.

The prices of milk and dairy products reached close to 17 percent overnight at Fonterra's online auction. All contracts, across all product lines, have an average selling price of US3562 a tonne.

Even after four years after the downfall of his financial services company, MFS, Michael King continues to fight in court.

“There should be consolidation among the regional banks.”