Stocks inched forward Friday to cap their sixth straight weekly gain, finishing a hair short of multiyear highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 25.09 points, or 0.2%, to 13275.20, about four points shy of its mark on May 1, when it set a more-than-four-year high.
Australia: The AUD has been the beneficiary of global central bank and institutional buying in recent weeks. This has been due partly to Australia's relatively higher interest rates and yields on Commonwealth and state government bonds as compared to other developed economies.
The latest Treasury’s admission that Australian surplus cannot be supported by current levels of federal revenues only proved that the May budget presented by Treasurer Wayne Swan was grossly unrealistic, the Coalition said.
Cost cuts and a business expansion in Asia have proven to be an effective business strategy for the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group as third-quarter profit jumped 10 per cent from a year ago.
South Australia has a new underground copper and gold mine, as Oz Minerals launched on Friday its latest project development at Prominent Hill.
For every cause, there will always be a corresponding, resulting effect.With prices of commodity on the downhill, coupled with growing operating costs, Queensland miners may be forced to slash jobs if only to be able to comply to a proposal to increase mining royalties in the Australian state.
Shares of Molycorp Inc. dropped to a year low on Thursday after the cash-strapped rare earths miner announced on the same day plans of selling a combination of stock and debt in order to raise as much as $517.5 million to help fund operations at its California mine.
Technology stocks helped drive the biggest advance for the Dow in almost two weeks after investors took comfort in German Chancellor Angela Merkel's stated commitment to hold together the euro zone. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 85.33 points, or 0.7%, to 13250.11, and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 9.98 points, or 0.7%, to 1415.51.
Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar moved modestly higher overnight as comments from German Chancellor Angela Merkel lifted sentiment in another quiet session.
The trial production of the $US8-billion iron ore project of China's CITIC Pacific Ltd in Western Australia has again been moved to November, delayed three months later than last announced.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has assailed federal authorities for lack of strong resolve in handling serious border protection affairs in light of reports that the crew of a cargo ship that rescued asylum seekers off the Indonesian waters were intimidated by some of the refugees.
Saddled by the continued deterioration of the global market, coupled with a slowing appetite from its major market importer, BHP Billiton has warned it would need to undertake more job cuts at its Australian operations.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China for the month of July has narrowed down by 8.7 per cent compared to a year ago, latest data released by the Commerce Ministry on Thursday showed, affirming what could really be a slow economic rebound for the Asian country.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) hailed on Thursday what it termed as a ‘landmark’ decision handed down by the Australian High Court yesterday, which affirmed efforts by the federal government to force tobacco firms to sell their products on drab and plain packaging.
Barrick Gold, after partially floating African Barrick in 2010, has been reported to be mulling further divesting its 74 per cent hold in the African project, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
A looming rice supply shortage could occur in the next few months as the poor monsoon and low rainfall in India, the world's second-biggest grower, hampers the nation's rice output, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) said.
Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar is slightly higher this morning, currently trading just below USD1.0500 despite some mixed data released during the offshore session overnight.
U.S. stocks finished the day roughly flat as investors juggled an unexpected contraction in domestic manufacturing activity and a mixed batch of corporate earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 7.36 points, or 0.1%, to 13164.78. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained 1.60 points, or 0.1%, to 1405.53 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 13.95 points, or 0.5%, to 3030.93.
No less than the United States’ Export-Import Bank (USEXIM) is interested to help Australia’s richest woman fund her company’s Roy Hill project.
Australia barely made it to the Top 10 of the recently concluded London 2012 Olympics but Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan still rejoices with the fact that amidst the lingering financial difficulties, the domestic economy “is 10 per cent bigger,” when pitted against the other developed economies.
Five universities from Australia, led by the University of Melbourne, have been included in the latest Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), released on Wednesday, a feat to be considered five years after the country decided to invest heavily into a world-class university system.
Come December this year, cigarettes in Australian stores will be sold in drab and plain packaging following the High Court’s affirmation on Wednesday that the legislation passed by the Parliament in 2011 did not contravene the constitution.
Australian wheat production, expected to slide this year from a record high 2011/12 season, could be further exacerbated as the country's weather bureau confirmed on Tuesday the emergence of the El Niño weather phenomenon.
U.S. STOCK MARKETSConsumer stocks lifted the Dow industrials after Home Depot and a handful of high-end retailers posted upbeat quarterly earnings and July's retail-sales report topped estimates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.71 points, or less than 0.1%, to 13172.14.
Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has managed to maintain levels close to USD 1.0500 following a mixed night in the markets.
Crowd funding websites may offer one of the coolest means to earn some big bucks but Australia’s corporate watchdog issued an advisory on Tuesday outlining the risks and responsibilities that come with getting involved on such projects.
Julian Assange’s asylum application to Ecuador will be known within the current week following reports that the Latin nation’s president has indicated of an imminent decision on the plea of the WikiLeaks founder.
The Norway massacre that killed 77 people on July 2011 was wholly preventable, a new commission report on the incident said on Monday, faulting the Norwegian authorities for their monumental lapses that allowed a lone assailant to maim and kill almost unhindered.
India's massive coal importation, spurred by the sector's belief that local coal has poor content and low quality, has led to the unfortunate downsizing of employment in the coal sector.
Refugee processing facilities in Nauru and Manus Island, located in Papua New Guinea, would be up and running soon enough as Prime Minister Julia Gillard formally requested on Tuesday Australian access to two nations.
