BUSINESS

American companies First Reserve and Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE:ANR) are contemplating a $3 billion takeover of Australia's Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC), which has confirmed it has had a data room open to suitors for some time.

Housing finance for owner-occupied commitments in Australia slumped by a seasonally-adjusted 3.9 per cent in June, well above analysts' prediction of a 2 per cent decline.

Sleep disorder group ResMed delivered a solid result according to brokers, with most remaining positive on the expectation earnings momentum will continue in coming quarters.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said on Monday that it is currently studying the revised proposal submitted by the National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) for the acquisition of AXA Asia Pacific Holdings.

Australian job advertisements rose in July, with both online and newspaper ads higher after three months of successive declines, according to a survey by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ASZ:ANZ).

US-based Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:WPI) has not ruled out a $600 million takeover bid for Australian healthcare group Sigma Pharmaceuticals (ASX:SIP).

Electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi announced on Monday that it has achieved a 26 percent jump on its full year profit as the company predicted that overall sales for the rest of the year would slow a bit and steady at 17 percent to close down the current year.

The Australian Dollar has opened this morning just under 0.9200 after breaching this level on Friday night after the market digested the release of US July non-farm payrolls that saw a decline of 131k in the month, which was more than the forecast loss of 65k.

US non-farm payrolls (employment) fell by 131,000 in July, above expectations for a decline of 87,000.

U.S. stocks fell modestly in a day of volatile trading Friday, after a disappointing jobs report cast fresh doubts over hopes for the U.S. economic recovery.

Friday's release of the RBA Monetary Policy statement swayed little from the recent central bank rhetoric with a relatively neutral document.

Australia-based Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (ASX:BEN) has announced a 189.5 per cent rise in annual net profit and claims it has "sound reasons for restrained optimism".

Celebrity shoe provider Jimmy Choo is reportedly considering a potential sale of the business floating an asking price of $A869.11 million and as reported by the Sunday Telegraph over the weekend, the company is seeking out investment banks for further determination of its business options.

American shares recovered after earlier losses on Friday in the wake of the release of poor July jobs figures.But they ...

Warren Buffett turns 80 on the 30th of this month, and as an unwelcome advance present, his Berkshire Hathaway company h...

A possible record $6 billion-plus profit from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) this week will reawaken issues that major banks are giving a boost to their bottom lines at the expense of clients.

The Australian share market has received mixed leads from offshore markets over the weekend, with Wall Street and oil prices closing negatively, and precious metals finishing higher.

A big,  week for the US, China, Australia and in fact, for the global economic recovery.A series of meetings, data and ...

Swallow hard and believe this, the Reserve Bank sees a "robust' (their description) growth rate for Australia in 2011 an...

Wheat was the focus last week for commodity markets and for equities where commodity groups' shares rose sharply, but so...

Just 4 weeks to go to the 3rd Australian Food Safety Conference7-9 September 2010 MelbourneFood is something that impacts  on the life of everyone. As Australia's largest manufacturing industry and major export contributor, the food and beverage sector is also vital to the economy.There are just 4...

The 43rd Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology Convention was held last week with a number of awards being presented to worthy winners. Most notably were the AIFST Food Industry Innovation Award, President's Award, Bruce Chandler Book Prize and Jack Kefford Award.Preshafood Ltd has won...

A $40 million Victorian Government investment has the potential to deliver a $320 million benefit to Victoria's dairy industry, Agriculture Minister Joe Helper said today.Launching the Dairy Futures Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) at Bundoora today, Mr Helper said the largest single investment in...

Coles has joined CheeseFest as the major sponsor for 2010. CheeseFest is a celebration of Australian cheeses, taking place Sunday 17 October 2010 at Rymill Park.A highlight on the South Australian calendar, Coles CheeseFest 2010 is set to be the biggest and best cheese festival yet.Coles Zone Gene...

It is difficult to convey a message that does not fit in with the ruling market views. Just ask the RBA.

A glance through the latest expert views and predictions about commodities with Deutsche Bank on new commodity indices, Citi positive on metal prices and Credit Suisse looking at transaction multiples in Oz coal stocks.

In spite of the fact that there has been adverse economic conditions, New Zealand’s health insurers say there has only been a slight drop in the number of people covered by health insurance, whilst continuing to report high levels of claim costs.New Zealand’s health insurers paid approximately N...

Australian business leaders are less optimistic about the country being able to meet the challenge of an ageing population and in particular superannuation according to the results of a survey.The survey results suggest that less than half of all business leaders were less confident, and that only 4...

Table of Plenty's delicious dukkah range is just the thing to spice up your menu and impress your dinner guests - offering a taste of the exotic with the greatest of ease.Kate Weiss, founder of Table of Plenty, discovered dukkah whilst living in the Middle East and decided to begin producing her ow...