BUSINESS

A man counts U.S. dollars at a currency exchange office in central Tripoli, June 3, 2014. Libya's currency is under heavy pressure as a breakdown in security and a collapse of oil revenues due to port blockades have badly disrupted public finances and an

Australian Stock Market Report – Afternoon October 2, 2014

The recovery that stirred the spirits of optimists this morning was fading at lunchtime and not long afterwards the ASX 200 had made a new low for the session. There were no developments in particular that saw the mood shift, and one factor that united the 2 halves of the day was the fact that the majority of sectors remained in the red over the entire session, The ASX200 ending down by 0.7 per cent at 5,298.5 points.
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People walk down stairs in a train station in Tokyo's business district September 30, 2014. Japanese big manufacturers' confidence improved slightly in the three months to September, a closely watched central bank survey showed, but service-sector sentime

Australian Stock Market Report – Morning, October 2, 2014

In US economic data, the ADP national employment index showed that 213,000 private sector jobs were created in September, just above forecasts. Construction spending fell by 0.8% in August, short of forecasts for a 0.5% gain. And the ISM manufacturing index eased from 59.0 to 56.6 in September, short of forecasts for a reading near 58.5.
New York Stock Exchange

Australian Stock Market Report – Midday October 1, 2014

Local investors have had little opportunity to savour the gains of the pre-ceding session. The 0.5 per cent gain for the ASX 200 on Tuesday was erased in short order at the open today. Buyers were invisible at the open and the ASX 200 shed 48 points at the low point of the morning. The selling pressure eased over following hours and in the hour leading up to lunch a good portion of the losses were neutralised. The signals sent from US and European markets overnight were mixed. On the one hand a ...
New York Stock Exchange

Global Markets Overview – October 1, 2014

Global equities have just capped the worst quarter of trade since 2012. However, the US market has just logged its seventh consecutive quarterly gain. That is a concern for me.
A woman walks past three Telstra public phone booths in suburban Sydney August 9, 2012. Telstra, Australia's biggest phone company, posted a larger-than-expected 5 percent fall in second-half profit as declines in its traditional fixed-line business outwe

Telstra To Convert Old Payphones Into Wi-Fi Hotspots

With almost every Australian above the age of 10 owning a mobile phone, payphones have become a relic of the past, as useless as the pager. But telco giant Telstra has taught of a brilliant way to recycle these things by converting them into Wi-Fi hotspots.
An office worker is reflected in the window of the Australian Securities Exchange building displaying the ASX50 curve for Wednesday in central Sydney August 7, 2013. Australian shares skidded 1.3 percent on Wednesday, its biggest fall in five weeks, hit b

Australian Stock Market Report – Afternoon September 30, 2014

Over the course of Tuesday afternoon the ASX 200 slowly edged higher ending the day up 0.54 per cent at 5292.8 points. In doing so the market was able to make new highs for the session, although the improvements felt as though they were made on shifting sands. The best that could be said for the market at present is that sellers have exhausted themselves, and the index has drifted higher in their absence.
Office workers are reflected as they walk past the Australian Securities Exchange building in central Sydney April 8, 2011. Singapore Exchange Ltd has terminated its $8 billion bid for Australia's ASX Ltd after the Australian government formally rejected

Australian Stock Market Report – Midday September 30, 2014

The start to Tuesday's session on the ASX followed a familiar pattern of trade, in that sellers dominated once more. The initial plunge for the index saw a loss of 11 points at the low point of the morning. From the lowest ebb the market recovered to push back into positive territory, albeit rather briefly. A status quo was then established which saw the market pivot around the un-changed level in the late morning trade. The softer tone for the second session of the week was at least consiste...
An office worker talks on his phone as he looks the stock board at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) building in central Sydney June 15, 2012. Asian shares edged up on Friday, and the euro held most of the previous session's gains, as nervous inves

Australian Stock Market Report – Afternoon September 29, 2014

The second half of the trading session on Monday provided a little more cause for optimism compared to its earlier counterpart. Buyers finally found some resolve around lunchtime and the ASX 200 was able to recover a solid portion of the early losses. At the best levels of the session the market was down, The ASX200 ending the day down by 0.9 per cent at 5,264.2 points.
China exports

Australian Stock Market Report – Morning September 29, 2014

In US economic data, the final reading on US June quarter GDP was revised up from 4.2% to 4.6%. The result was in line with expectations. The major contributors were a lift in business investment and stronger exports (up 11.1% in June quarter and the biggest gain since 2010). Inflation as measured by the PCE index was unchanged at a 2.3% annual rate. The final University of Michigan Consumer Confidence reading for September held steady at 84.6 and was well ahead of the August result of 82.5.
Office workers are reflected as they walk past the Australian Securities Exchange building in central Sydney April 8, 2011. Singapore Exchange Ltd has terminated its $8 billion bid for Australia's ASX Ltd after the Australian government formally rejected

Australian Stock Market Report –Afternoon September 26, 2014

The second half of the session on Friday saw the ASX 200 trade around the lows of the day with a sense that sellers could make an opportunistic move at any time to take the index to new lows. With the losses of recent weeks continuing to mount, the ASX 200 has now seen all of the gains for the year to date erased. At the close of the session the index is now down 1.3 per cent at 5,313.4 points. Corporate and economic news has been limited in recent days. This dearth continued into Friday leaving...
Stock Market

Australian Stock Market Report – Midday September 26, 2014

Friday morning saw a sadly familiar tale play out for the local share market once again. Selling arrived in another wave at the open after a grim session for stocks in Europe and the US overnight. European shares fell sharply on Thursday, hitting one-month lows in late trade. US share markets slumped led lower by a drop in Apple shares. Geopolitical concerns came to the fore after the Russian high court paved the way for the seizure of foreign assets. An ongoing theme was the rising US dollar wh...
Federal Reserve

Global Markets Overview –September 26, 2014

It was risk off for global equities with investors focusing on geopolitical risk and repricing of fed hike expectations. While both these themes have been known for a while, it seems the fact price action just continues to deteriorate is discouraging investors from jumping back into equities.
Stock market indices

Australian Stock Market Report – Morning September 26, 2014

In US economic data, durable goods orders fell by a record 18.2% in August after lifting by a record 22.5% in July. The fall was in line with expectation (-18%). Excluding volatile transportations orders rose 0.7% in August. US jobless claims rose by 12,000 to 293,000 in the past week. US flash composite PMI eased from 59.7 to 58.8 in September.

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