MARKETS

In spite the tightening of oil supplies as Libya is yet to regain its normal oil production output, the prime commodity is expected to fall a third straight day on Friday to to $80.09 per barrel.

Rio Tinto is mulling to spin off a fraction of its Australian aluminum assets as a planned carbon emissions tax would surely raise costs and lower profit margins for the global mining company, the Australian Financial Review said Monday.

It's all systems go as Chevron Corp. formally approved today the $29 billion Wheatstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

It seems the "safe haven" of gold is losing its shine as investors flock to the renewed strength of the U.S. dollar amid the dreary global economic outlook, causing the precious metal along with silver to plummet on the trading floor.

Commercial banks have rejected calls for creditors to allow Greece to trade its existing bonds for those with extended repayment limits.

The Mongolian government is seeking to increase its stake allocation in the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project from 34% to 50%, leaving its developers rethinking if it was a good deal at all to have initiated the project.

- Disconnect between equity and physical commodity markets- Some evidence bulk commodity markets are close to cracking- An assessment of potential Oz economic downside- MD departure signals issues at NexusBy Chris ShawRecent equity market moves imply both spot commodity prices and future expectation...

- Kathmandu result solid given tough conditions- Earnings growth to be driven by new stores, refurbishments- Stock seen as offering value at current levels- Buy ratings continue to dominateBy Chris ShawRetail conditions have been tough for some time, so the fact Kathmandu Holdings ((KMD)) delivered ...

Led by gold and copper, commodity prices fell to nine month lows last week, thanks to the sell-off on Thursday and Friday across the globe.

Kathleen Brooks, Research Director UK EMEA, FOREX.comWhat a week. The race to the bottom between the majors is well and truly on and right now Europe is winning a race that a no one wants to win.

Finance ministers and central bank officials from G20 countries said that they would take all actions to address problems in the global financial system: ´´We commit to take all necessary actions to preserve the stability of banking systems and financial markets as required.´´

UK online brand ASOS had launched its first site ASOS exclusively for the electronic shopping savvy Australians beginning on Sept. 15.

South Korea President Lee Myung-bak announced on Friday of the government's plan to invest $90 million reviving its stem cell research next year aiming for a "core new growth engine" after the industry suffered a setback for more than a year.

As Japan struggles with its soaring yen, a series of catastrophes and a plummeting domestic business market, thousands of Japanese citizens are spending a fortune to enhance their English communications skills, which they believe is the key factor in retaining or earning a job opportunity, Reuters reported.

Good or bad news, it could still be good news. While most are on the edge awaiting for final developments as to how low the Aussie dollar can go, some are just most happy they have taken advantage of its worth months ago.

The euro made a comeback after five consecutive days of shortfalls against the U.S. dollar and Japanese yen and reduced its decline to just above 2 percent since Sept. 16 on Thursday.

George Soros said, "If the crisis is controlled, the German voting public will force austerity on the rest of Europe, pushing the entire region into recession and ultimately into a depression."

Deposits flowed out of China's four major state-owned banks as high inflation and low interest rates prompted savers to cash their money in the private lending market for better returns.

China is headed for a slowdown and may not be able to pull the world out of its economic rut, projections from the International Monetary Fund and a drop in HSBC's purchasing managers' index indicate.

It was a similar experience for the stock market in Toronto as the major stock index went down by more than 3 percent on Thursday, the lowest level since 2010.

Fearing a global fall into recession, copper investors liquidated their assets Thursday, forcing copper futures to drop by more than 7 percent to their lowest levels in a year at $3.48 a pound.

China and Tanzania are set to work on a $3-billion coal and iron ore construction partnership that will develop the Mchuchuma coal and Liganga iron ore projects in Southern Tanzania.

Government leaders of Australia, Britain, Canada, Mexico and other Asian countries have called on all 17 members of the Eurozone to deal with the worsening problems of the Euro currency.

By Kathleen Brooks, Research Director UK EMEA, FOREX.comStocks in Europe have nose-dived today, with most of the major European indices down about 4%.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 391 points or 3.5% while the S&P lost 3.2% to 1129 and the Nasdaq dropped 3.3%.

Investors staged a global flight from risk Thursday that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its worst two-day point drop since November 2008, after a gloomy outlook by the Federal Reserve renewed fears of an economic slowdown.

The 2011 summer of the Japan Swimming has just ended. This summer was busy as usual.

Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos of Greece told members of Parliament on Thursday that the beleaguered government has decided to adopt more austerity measures, which consisted of reducing pensions and making adjustments in the public sector.

In a bid to protect the global economy from further financial oblivion, the International Monetary Fund pressed Europe's many banks to raise capital to cushion the $405 billion it stands to lose because of the massive euro-debt crisis.