POLITICS & POLICY

The Mayan calendar has marked a conclusion of some sort with the end of its 13-baktun cycle. Some New Age followers say it is all about a spiritual re-awakening. Others are saying it has something to do with the sun's alignment in the Milky Way. For those who enjoy making social web memes, the Mayan calendar news is just another funny topic.

For the first time in more than two years, Australians' contributions into various superannuation funds experienced a decline in the September quarter, spurred by jobs cuts and financial anxieties.

Australia's construction sector in November, despite enjoying lower interest rates, continued to remain sluggish--a trend foreseen to hover until 2013.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: Australian Dollar finds continued support on better than expected Labour Market Data.

Australian parents on the lookout for either cheap or cute toys to give to their little ones have been forewarned to take precautionary measures as the Office of Fair Trading in Queensland seized thousands of toys it deemed dangerous to give.

Almost 100 expressions of interest from potential buyers planning to purchase all or part of the ailing Australian food icon Rosella have been collected by its receivers, raising hopes that the company and its 275 workers still have a bright future ahead.

The Australian Bankers' Association (ABA) said the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has again confirmed that Australian households and borrowers are not paying more for their mortgages and business loans even though banks do not pass on RBA cash rate cuts in full.

NASA scientists stated the moon’s surface has been receiving massive impacts from numerous asteroids and comets. Latest information obtained from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission reveal the nearly crushed lunar interior just below the surface. In conclusion, planet Earth as well as other terrestrial planets in the Solar System may have also endured the attacks of space rocks.

In 20120, Yao Defen of eastern China’s Anhui province was recognized as the tallest woman in the world in the Guinness World Records where she stood at 2.33 meters tall. Sadly, the world’s tallest woman already passed away last November 13.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: Australian Dollar little changed in relatively quiet overnight session ahead of key employment data today.

In yet another expected twist, Australian rare earths miner Lynas Corp got into another legal battle for its newly operational processing plant in Malaysia.

Fox population has been confirmed on the rise in Tasmania, Australia, sending concerns the growing presence of the predator will eventually put at risk the island's native wildlife.

The long-running Voyager 1 Spacecraft of NASA reportedly entered a new layer of the solar system where scientists are unaware of. NASA scientists have now named this area “Magnetic Highway” and further claimed it is the final stop before the interstellar space. The astounding scientific discovery was made known to the public on Monday at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco, California.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar is higher on improving global market sentiment despite yesterday's decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to cut rates by 0.25% to 3.00%, thereby equaling the record low of April 2009.

While embattled MP Craig Thomson has consistently denied that he misused Health Services Union (HSU) funds to pay for the services of prostitutes and the personal travel of his wife, it won't be his denial that could allow him to avoid prosecution.

And now it can be told. The hoax that is the Sandy Island off the South Pacific really never actually existed.

Malaysia is reportedly mulling a repeal of its death penalty laws, and if it pushes through, an Aussie man could be saved from the gallows soon, reports said.

With the world's temperature predicted to hit 4C-6C by 2100, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has urged on the global federal governments to abolish the fossil fuel subsidies as it believed this would greatly lead to reduce carbon emissions.

What could have been a merry observance to mark the end-of-school celebrations in Fiji has resulted to the tragic death of a 17-year-old lad from Queensland, Australia.

U.S. agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) may have upped its takeover bid into GrainCorp Ltd., Australia's largest listed grain trader, as well as bought an additional 5 per cent of the company, but Australia's last standing independent grains handler remain unconvinced it should sell itself to its present persistent suitor.

Palestine's successful bid to be recognised as a "non-member observer state" in the United Nations last Thursday has come at a cost.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar held its ground overnight, following positive news regarding Greece and Spain, and is poised ahead of the RBA's interest rate decision today.

With the holiday season fast approaching, a lot of people will surely include one these famous smart phones on their wish list: Nokia Lumia 920, Apple’s iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S3. Which one is your Christmas choice?

Like every politician, Prime Minister Julia Gillard appears vulnerable to public attacks as the latest Galaxy-News Ltd survey showed that 20 per cent of Australian voters regarded her handling of the AWU slush fund scandal as not transparent enough.

Hotter days are coming for the nations of the world as a leading Australian climate scientist predicted global temperatures will rise to 4C-6C by 2100. The culprit? Global carbon emissions have grown three times faster compared with a century ago.

Stocks edged mostly higher, led by sectors seen as defensive, as weak spending and income data offset German parliamentary approval of bailout funds for Greece.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has opened in the low 1.0400's this morning as financial markets moved very little over the weekend.

The Australian government, after successfully overcoming hurdles to the tobacco plain packaging, is now mulling suggestions to include warnings on the labels of alcoholic drinks, especially those geared towards expecting or pregnant women.

Effective Saturday, Dec 1, all cigarettes or tobacco packs in Australia will be sold in identical, olive-brown plain packaging.