HEALTH

The Australian Parliament is implored to veer away from its "populist approach on economic and other business policies especially on taxation that have been discouraging to both local businesses and foreign investors alike.

Eastland Medical Systems Ltd (ASX:EMS) says its non-executive director Michael Stewart remains committed to the company even after disposing 6.67 million shares in the medical products firm just before Christmas.

The Australian competition watchdog has given the go-ahead to South African-based Aspen Pharmacare Holdings to buy Sigma Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:SIP) pharmaceutical's division for $900 million.

Sigma Pharmaceuticals (ASX: SIP) says it has now reached formal agreement with Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd group of companies on the terms and conditions of the sale and the ongoing relationship between them. On August 16, 2010, Sigma announced that it had agreed in principle to sell its pharmaceuticals division to Aspen for A$900 million.

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission will carefully scrutinise the proposed takeover of ASX Ltd. by Singapore Exchange Ltd.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission warned executives of Qantas Airlines Ltd. that it maybe criminally liable for an alleged involvement in a price-fixing cartel along with 11 other air cargo companies fined by the European Commission.

BVN Architecture, one of Australia's largest architectural practices with offices in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, won the Health Category award at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) this evening (Wednesday 3 November) in Barcelona for the Youth Mental Health Building at the Brain and Mind Research Institute (BMRI) in Camperdown, Sydney.

Strativity Group, a leading provider of customer experience services, today announced it has opened an office in Sydney to support growing interest from Australian and New Zealand organisations in adopting customer-centric approaches and proactively managing their customer experiences.

The Australian stock market is gathering mixed leads in today's trading day as the last-minute decline in the Wall Street trading will have some influence, but analysts are more optimistic.

A mixed performance of global stocks is seen to create a bearish mood in the Australian stock markets today.

Australia must prepare as early as now for the end of the mining boom or else feel the wrath of internal and external pressures on the monetary and fiscal situation of the country, Reserve Bank Governor Mr. Glenn Stevens said today.

Chi-X Global Inc. is still set to work towards launching in March 2011, in spite the growing threat of a tougher competitive environment with the bid takeover of the Singaporean bourse of rival ASX Ltd.

The sudden tightening of fiscal policy in China again is seen sending a new wave of tests on the inner strength of the Australian dollar and equity markets.

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.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 is expected to ease from its early rally this week, as investors are wary of China's economic performance. Analysts said though there will be a positive push from the turn of events in the US with the Federal Reserve's decision to temper its fiscal policy, this will not easily avert the dampened mood that may set in today.

As the country struggles to retain its global competitiveness but retaining its current energy production levels to sustain local industries, the Australian Parliament has chosen to put a price on coal emissions.

Business confidence remains high albeit a very slight tinge of wariness in the country's business sector. This is according to the latest of the National Australia Bank's quarterly business survey published today.

Local stocks pulled back slightly today, but still mirrored the weakness of Wall Street as the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 10 points, or 0.21 per cent, at 4,681.3 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index had eased 5.9 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 4,740.3 points.

Private health insurer NIB Holdings Ltd is hoping members of takeover target GMHBA will pressure its board to give a more serious consideration to NIB's $140 million offer.

The nation’s largest provider of integrated health insurance and health solutions humbly presented a full-year net profit before tax of $380 million, but expected premium increases to stay below the industry average.

Testing of a dengue control experiment will be conducted first in Cairns this January. The experiment comes as the only solution to the rising cases of dengue infection in Australia's favorite tropical holiday destination in far north Queensland.

Spiral Foods Proprietary Limited is pulled to the court room for distributing soy milk products that allegedly caused people to suffer from thyroid problems.

The new director of Sigma Pharmaceutical Limited (ASX: SIP) warned of a 12 month recovery period for the company.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and ice cream company Ben and Jerry settled for dropping the phrase 'all natural' from all product labels.

Greenpeace protesters are up against the selling of Wyeth's S-26 baby formula in supermarkets.

Private health care provider Healthscope Limited (ASX: HSP) faces another threat, but this time it is from competing hospitals.

The Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union (LHMU) insists on a reasonable pay increase in order to end the work-to-rule ban in hospitals across Western Australia.

The Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) has given private equity firms The Carlyle Group and TPG Capital the green light to takeover health provider Healthscope Ltd (ASX:HSP).

Melbourne drug developer Biota Holdings (ASX:BTA) has soared more than 20 per cent on reports its Japanese partner has been given the go-ahead to sell an influenza drug.