In a move that caught Australian iron ore miner Western Desert Resources (WDR) off guard, its lone suitor Chinese company Meijin Energy Group has withdrawn its $435 million takeover bid into the Northern Territory-based company.
The Queensland Parliament passed on Tuesday night legislation that would change the dates two important holidays would be observed in the Australian state. Affected are the Queen's Birthday holiday and Labour Day.
Stock markets in New York were closed for a second day Tuesday, in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy. As investors assessed the damage from the storm, stock futures indicated a slight rise from where stocks traded Friday after a positive reading on U.S. housing data and encouraging economic news in Europe.
Bell FX Currency Outlook. The Australian Dollar has moved slightly higher against the US Dollar following the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy's assault on the US eastern seaboard.
Central Queensland Councilor Paul Bell has been tasked to lead the Uranium Implementation Committee of Queensland, a week after the state government of Premier Campbell Newman lifted a 30-year ban that effectively resumes uranium mining in the area.
Gina Rinehart, richest woman of Australia and of the world, has lost an 11-year old court battle to repossess from rival miner Wright Prospecting Pty Ltd. a 25 per cent stake in the Rhodes Ridge three billion tonne iron ore deposit in Western Australia.
A new study is advocating a switch from wholesale tax levied on wine, likely increasing the cost of alcohol-based drinks for the average Australian but reducing at the same time problems directly attributed to the product.
Despite the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) slashing interest rates in both May and June, sales of new homes in Australia continued to fall, dropping by as much as 3.7 per cent for a third consecutive month in September.
Sandy is pummeling the U.S. East Coast Monday night, coinciding with a full moon which intensifies its fury. Social networks are busy receiving photo uploads, shout outs and status updates from its users. See some of these #Sandy images in the accompanying slideshow.
Labor Senator Don Farrell has relinquished the top senate spot in South Australia on Tuesday, saying his move should dispel suggestions that the ruling party is troubled by factionalism and sexism.
Bell FX Currency Outlook Hurricane Sandy Closes New York Equity markets and sees a sluggish Australian dollar lower.
The Chinese government has been reported to be studying a plan of consolidating eight of its country's vital industries, including the rare earths sector.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is on offensive mode these days following strings of opinion polls that showed his plummeting popularity and that of the Coalition’s diminishing edge over the Labor-led government.
Effective next month December, 500 job posts will have to go at Vodafone Hutchison Australia as the company sizes up what could still be managed and saved from the firm amid a dropping market share.
The coal mining industry in Australia's Hunter Valley region in New South Wales is now the focus of debates as Australian health experts clamored for a health impact study following international evidence which stated that Australia lacked research that studied the possible ill effects of coal mining in the communities.
Australia has been ranked as the eighth most attractive destination for business expansion in 2012, according to global accountancy network BDO in its new survey based from responses of 1,050 chief financial officers (CFOs) of medium sized firms around the world.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard is riding high as the latest Newspoll-News Ltd survey pointed to her steady popularity with a significant bonus – Labor, the party she leads, is surging too and has effectively erased the possibility of a humiliating defeat come the federal election on the latter part of 2013.
Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has opened this morning in the mid 1.0300's after the release of US GDP for Q3 on Friday evening was slightly higher at 2% than the 1.8% expected.
The Saturday election in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) yielded a deadlock after the Liberal and Labor Parties won 8 seats each in the 17-member Assembly. With the situation, the power broker in the state politics is Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury.
To indicate the importance that Asia will play in the prosperity of Australia in the next 100 years, the Asian Century White Paper released on Sunday recommended that one-third of board members of the top 200 public companies in Australia must have deep experience and knowledge of the continent by 2025.
China’s National People's Congress Standing Committee has moved for the inevitable on Friday, it struck out the name of Bo Xilai from the list of deputies serving in the foremost Chinese legislative body.
Labor is likely to boost its primary votes if the party would reinstall Kevin Rudd as leader, a secret union-sponsored survey said earlier this week, pointing to the likelihood that the former prime minister may consider another leadership challenge.
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel are fully-equipped to serve missions and conduct operations whenever and wherever they are deployed by the government, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on Friday.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard will launch Australia's Asian Century white paper on Sunday at the Lowy Institute in Sydney. The 300-page policy blueprint, which took the federal government 13 months to prepare, will spell out long-term targets for the country's political, economic and personal ties with Asia.
Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar is steady this morning and is remaining well supported going into the weekend, and this is despite a US equity market sell-off late in the session.
The controversial mining tax remains poised to deliver Australia’s surplus target, Treasurer Wayne Swan insisted on Thursday, despite reports of zero revenue following the program’s roll out on July 1 this year.
WikiLeaks’ founder Julia Assange is reportedly sick and Ecuadorian embassy officials in London have appealed to British authorities to grant the Aussie whistleblower safe passage so he can be brought to a hospital.
U.S. stocks traded around the flatline after the Federal Reserve reiterated its concerns about the U.S. economy and pledged to stick to its bond-buying policy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nine points, or 0.1%, to 13111 in Wednesday afternoon trading, in a day that saw stocks trade in a relatively narrow range.
Bell FX Currency Outlook: Australian Dollar continues its surge in offshore trade as local inflation and Chinese manufacturing support.
The accusations of misogyny continues to hound Opposition leader Tony Abbott long after Prime Minister Julia Gillard used strong words in Parliament on her nemesis to describe his dislike for powerful women.
