MARKETS

Australia’s manufacturing industry continued to contract for the third straight month in May with only three of the 12 sub-sectors experiencing growth according to the latest Australian Industry Group - PwC Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index.

Farm numbers have dropped from 1545 in 1999-2000 to about 580 today, most producing milk for the drinking market.

- Rail update shows both opportunities and challenges for UGL- Earnings guidance reiterated, brokers make only minor changes to forecasts- Broker opinions on UGL remain divided between Buy and HoldBy Chris ShawEngineering and infrastructure group UGL ((UGL)) held an investor day at its Newcastle Rai...

The latest edition of the Enforcement Reporter published by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (HK-SFC) reports that the latter has recently reached two other agreements on Lehman Brothers (LB)-related products, involving repurchase offers totaling approximately $1.489 billion. To date, the SFC has reached agreements with 25 distributors and non-distributors of such products.

The combination of ongoing seller discounting, healthy rental income growth and longer term capital gains means that investors could benefit from the current market conditions.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has strongly endorsed a new guide by the Investor Steering Committee of the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), the global hedge fund association, to promote better alignment of interests between institutional investors and hedge fund managers.

A report by the ABC's Four Corners has sparked renewed outrage over the export of live Australian cattle to parts of the world without animal welfare protections.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 128 points or 1.0% while the S&P gained 1.1% to 1345 and the Nasdaq added 1.

- Charter Hall Office now likely to sell all US assets- Sale price expected to be above book value- Proceeds to be returned to shareholders- Broker opinions on value remain splitBy Chris ShawFor some time Charter Hall Office REIT ((CQO)) has been intending to dispose of some of its US assets but the...

Well, the old saw about selling in May and going away turned out to be pretty accurate after the big sell off in silver on May 7 triggered the market volatility of the past three and a bit weeks.

Vendor discounting and healthier rental growth should prove enticing to property investors, Mortgage Choice has claimed.

Adelaide Bank has announced its clawback structure to mortgage managers, but has not yet decided on clawbacks in the broker space.

U.S. stocks finished the day's session and May on a buoyant note, shrugging off a spate of weak economic data as investors cheered a new bailout plan for Greece.

US consumer confidence fell from 66.0 to 60.8 in May, well short of forecasts centred on 66.5.

- Lend Lease asset sales continue- Barangaroo and other projects on track- Valemus proving a better acquisition than first assumed- Brokers lift target prices By Greg PeelProperty developer Lend Lease Group ((LLC)) held an Investor Day last week to update the market on how things were progressing.

The technology sector is beginning to percolate and with the recent IPO's of social network companies, a bubble like the technology bubble seen during the late 90′s might just be in the early innings.

By Greg PeelThe story so far:The US Department of Energy was planning to sell 5.2m pounds of U3O8 equivalent from its stockpiles systematically out to 2013 to pay for the clean-up of the Portsmouth enrichment facility.

By Greg PeelThe US was closed for Memorial Day and the UK was closed for a bank holiday so there was very little else going on across the globe last night.

European stocks finished flat to lower Monday, with volumes thinned by the absence of U.S. and U.K. markets and with German utility shares lower on a report that the country has set a final date for shuttering its nuclear reactors. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.1% to 278.82.

According to a report by Reuters, EU officials are drafting a second bailout package for Greece in an attempt to prevent the country defaulting on debt next month.

The US dollar became the story last week, falling as the euro defied gravity and the doubts about Greece and the eurozone's financial health to end higher, sending some commodities lower on the day.

The continuing Fukushima nuclear crisis is proving to be a greater threat to the health of the Japanese economy than the impact of the March 11 quake and tsunami.

U.S. stocks rose Friday but failed to avoid a fourth-straight week of losses as major indexes recorded their longest weekly losing streak in more than a year.

The Australian sharemarket is continuing on its weak run, with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 0.1 pct or 2.6 pts to 4757.7. Shares were down by as much as 0.4 pct this morning, however have recovered over the past hour thanks to gains from the mining and energy sectors.

Investors in Australia have become increasingly bearish about the prospects for investment returns from Australian equities.

Australia’s financial advice and wealth management industry accounts a friendly merger between the Snowball Group and the Shadforth Financial Group.

Forget the US markets and wonder about China's and the very nasty 5%-plus fall in the Shanghai Composite last week, a fall that seems to have gone unnoticed outside the country.

The Australian stock market recovered from early softness on Friday to end the week higher, as bargain hunters moved in to recover value in a heavily sold-down bourse.

US personal income rose by 0.4pct in April, in line with consensus. Personal spending was also up 0.4pct, slightly below the expected 0.5pct increase. The final reading for consumer sentiment in May was 74.3, up from 72.4 in April. But pending home sales slumped by 11.6pct, well short of forecasts of a 1.4pct fall.