POLITICS & POLICY

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar fell to 0.8700 on Friday night amid weaker equity markets and a generally negative tone in the financial markets due to some recent disappointing earnings results but has recovered and starts this week at a higher level.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the Australian government has been accused of outlawing "everyday behaviour" following the leak of documents containing a code of conduct for asylum seekers. According to the Independent, the draft code reportedly decreed that asylum seekers who spit or swear in public and spread rumours will be deported.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar bounced overnight despite a strengthening US Dollar following strong US Q4 GDP data.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key wants to redesign the national flag to give it a distinct design when compared to Australia. A referendum for the change could happen this 2014.

Her royal highness, Queen Elizabeth, is in a not enviable position these days. Besides her financial woes, she continues to lose support from commonwealth nations, including Australia.

Canadian retailers Best Buy and Sears have announced it will collectively slash more than 1,500 jobs this year, in what could be an omen of things to come for the Canadian retail market at the onset of the Chinese New Year 2014 Year of the Horse.

The lawyer for embattled Australian MP Craig Thomson insisted on Wednesday that the former national secretary of the Health Services Union (HSU) did not commit fraud when he allegedly use the cards to pay for the services of prostitutes and other personal expenses.

Australian Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull expressed his support for ABC following the attack by Prime Minister Tony Abbott on the national broadcaster. Mr Abbott blasted ABC by saying the network "instinctively takes everyone's side but Australia's." Mr Abbott went straight to the point when he told the radio show that he would like ABC to become a "straight news gathering and news reporting organisation."

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key wants to change the country’s flag. The country’s leader has raised the possibility of a national referendum on changing the national flag because the current one looks a lot like Australia’s.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced on Tuesday the appointment of Peter Cosgrove as new governor-general, to replace Quentin Bryce whose term ends in March.

The New Zealand Labour Party has threatened to ban Facebook and the Internet from multi-national corporations over tax issues. Labour proposed the solution to force corporations to pay more taxes. The party recommends that the New Zealand government should talk to Facebook but if this doesn't work, a backup plan must be in place which Labour described as a "credible threat."

New Zealand has opened its first manufacturing plant, that will use recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste to create food grade PET packaging, on Wednesday .

Canada Post's first batch of community mailboxes will already be coming in by February.

Canada has threatened the U.S. with a retaliatory court action if the latter pushes through with a pending agricultural bill that requires meat sold in U.S. markets to detail its country of origin.

The heat is back on embattled Australian MP Craig Thomson who is facing charges on the misuse of Health Services Union (HSU)-issued credit cards. Just when all seems quiet for the former Labour MP, a new female witnessed emerged on Tuesday who could provide proof that the MP indeed misused his credit cards.

Queen Elizabeth II is said to be just a few spending away from depleting her funds. Not quite the poorhouse, though, but a new report claimed that the British royal’s wealth is “crumbling,” and her household finances are already at a “historic low” with only £1 million [AUD1.9 million] left in reserve.

The year 2013 has proven to be the second most costly for Kiwi insurers, based on data released by the Insurance Council of New Zealand on Tuesday.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has recovered slightly, after hitting a low of USD0.8660 over the long weekend.

Because of a strict campaign to collect unpaid taxes and penalties for 2013, the Australian government's coffer is richer by $430 million. The contributors are mainly the richest Australians, including racing celebrity Sean Buckley, art dealer John Ioannou and businessmen Bob Jane and Geoffrey Edelsten.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has had his uncle’s entire family eradicated, according to a new report. The once powerful Jang Song-thaek was executed in December for apparently attempting to overthrow his nephew.

London mayor Boris Johnson has been named Honorary Australian of the Year at the Australian Day Awards ceremony in London on Saturday, and he couldn’t figure out why. The British politician was grateful with his new award, but admitted he couldn’t figure out why he was given one.

French president Francois Hollande split with his long-time partner amid his affair scandal with alleged mistress, Julie Gayet. The now former first lady Valerie Trierweiler left for India on Sunday after the embattled leader’s announcement.

Australian Labour Party and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten described Prime Minister Tony Abbott's speech in the World Economic Forum as "embarrassing." Mr Abbott had criticised Labour's stimulus package during the global financial crisis in front of the summit participants in Davos, Switzerland. He accused the Labour government of spending money to attract progress.

Syrian Electronic Army was able to hack social outlets of CNN on Thursday January 23, 2014.

An international law expert from the University of Indonesia said on Thursday that Australia could be defying the 1951 Refugee Convention, based on the statement of Prime Minister Tony Abbott that Canberra would stop boats carrying asylum seekers that enter the country's waters.

Australia's policies on asylum seekers, sexual orientation, indigenous affairs, and disability were scrutinized by New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch and found them wanting. The group gave a scathing review of Prime Minister Tony Abbott's Coalition government and the previous Labour government.

TransCanada Corp has started operating on Wednesday the Texas leg of its controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

Russian leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky advised U.S. President Barack Obama to divorce his wife Michelle Obama in order to become a better leader

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar remains above USD 0.8800 after inflation figures came in stronger than expected, making another cash rate cut highly unlikely.