MARKETS

All eyes are on New Zealand's Fonterra, following the weekend recall of infant milk products and sports drink due to the discovery of contamination of whey used in the manufacture of these two items. The bacteria found could lead to botulism, which could be fatal.

By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck, Editor FNArenaWhile appearing on Sky Business this morning with hosts Brooke Corte and Carson Scott, the discussion made a sidestep into the threat of more capital raisings following the surprise announcement by Paladin Energy ((PDN)).

The survival of New Zealand's $9.4-billion dairy trade is under threat over the discovery of tainted whey used in dairy products to eight customers in Australia, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.

Fonterra, the largest company in New Zealand, has issued a warning that some of products used in infant formula and sports drink may have the bacteria Clostridium Botulinum that could cause the deadly botulism.

Gains in the index continue to be hard earned. The market was flat early in the week with all the gains happening on Friday.

A 1 per cent improvement for the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) made today the happiest Friday since 14 June for the local sharemarket. The Australian market has now gained ground for six straight weeks and has only eased on two of the past 10 trading sessions. The XAO is only around 120 points (or 2 per cent) away from a five-year high.

TransCanada will construct a pipeline from western Canada to link it with the east's refineries in its bid to seek more export markets. Once complete, the $11.6 billion Energy East line could transport up to 1.1 million barrels of oil daily.

Positive data out of the US lifted overseas stocks higher last night, providing a strong lead for local shares. The Dow Jones was up 128 points after the ISM manufacturing reading was higher than expected and lower initial jobless claims encouraged investors.

Reflecting its bullish outlook towards the yellow metal, ANZ Bank opened on Friday its second gold bullion vault in Asia at the Singapore FreePort. The facility, capable of storing 50 metric tonnes of gold, actually started operating in Singapore in July.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 128 points or 0.8% while the S&P gained 1.3% to 1706 and the Nasdaq added 1.3%.

In a mixed day of trading today, the All Ordinaries (XAO) closed marginally higher, up by 0.2 per cent. The Australian market weighed encouraging news out of the local housing market and stronger than expected Chinese manufacturing data against lacklustre manufacturing data at home and speculation around new taxes in the banking industry.

After a volatile night on the US markets our market has followed suit today. The Dow Jones index traded over a range of around 140 points overnight and the ASX has now traded over a 40 point range so far today. After a strong start, where the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up over 30points, the market has now moved into the red. The market fall was largely because of the sell out in the banks as rumors start to percolate in the markets of a possible bank deposit insurance levy.

Let's look at what Glenn Stevens had to say yesterday. It was a thoughtful speech, even if he avoided mentioning the elephant in the room, China. You'll see why it's a crucial omission in a moment.

Amazing how much difference a few years make. We first visited China in the 1980s. It was an appalling dump. Few cars. Few roads. Almost no decent restaurants or hotels.

Investors in Australia have grown increasingly cautious towards short-term prospects for local equities with results from the latest Australian Investor Sentiment Survey revealing a steadily declining trend since January is pushing down the percentage of market bulls in all four Surveys held so far ...

By Jonathan BarrattConcern over the fragile state of any recovery in China is becoming an overriding factor for copper at the moment.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 21 points or 0.1% while the S&P was again flat at 1685 as the Nasdaq rose 0.

The Pepsi-owned Naked Juice brand will soon be getting a labeling makeover following a lawsuit that challenged the processed food giant's indiscriminate and deceptive use of the word "natural."

FNArena hereby presents its latest initiative; the Reporting Season Monitor. The idea is to provide investors with a one stop shop to stay up to date with what the reporting season in Australia is offering in terms of earnings beats and misses and everything else that might be of importance.

Despite solid gains throughout the course of the day, end of month squaring saw the Australian share market close only modestly higher on Wednesday.

The global potash cartel just broke up on Tuesday when Uralkali, the major Russian player, announced that it just ended its export partnership while accusing its former Belarus partner of operating outside their deal.

Overnight US share markets closed mixed as cautious investing pushed the DOW down 1pt at the end of trade ahead of the outcome of the Federal Reserve meeting later tonight. There was a large sell-off in material and energy shares and a shakeup in the potash sector hurt the broader market but we have not seem too much of a reaction on our market today.

Omnicom CEO John Wren and Publicis Groupe Chairman and CEO Maurice Lévy, will be co-CEOs as they unveiled the agreement at a press conference in Paris yesterday.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down one point, while the S&P 500 was flat at 1685 and the Nasdaq rose 0.5%.

-Japanese oil demand growth unlikely-Improved Chinese steel sentiment-Iron ore purity to feature-Australian producers currently profitableBy Eva BrocklehurstJapan's oil demand development is normally low profile as the market focuses squarely on China and India.

MID WEEK UPDATEAs predicted the market has started the week flat with gains starting today. The weekly upside resistance at 5058 is in focus as the index continues to creep higher.

After initial weakness, the local share market managed to finish flat today after comments from Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens sent buyers back in.

Manufacturers of Russian vodkas stand to suffer potential losses after the global LGBT movement has unilaterally decided to ban the type of alcoholic drinks from gay bars in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's crackdown against the sector in his home country.

The Australian share market is lower at lunchtime in the East, as investors show caution ahead of a speech by RBA Governor Glenn Stevens.