POLITICS & POLICY

The Australian sharemarket rose for the second time this week today with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 0.4 pct or 18.8 pts to 4363.7. All sectors ended higher with the exception of the utilities which lost a little ground.

Iran has started feeling the pinch of economic sanctions against its government even before U.S. President Barack Obama formalised this week anti-Tehran measures that would further restrict economic dealings with the Islamic Republic.

Aussies need not be trapped on interest rates being imposed by their existing banks, with the government and consumer groups urging bank clients not to hesitate on switching providers when the situation warrants it.

The global fiscal crisis that has been going for five years now had surely caught, and affected, most global economies unprepared and debilitated. Fact is the present ongoings now in the eurozone. But not China. Regardless of the real and present danger of a potential hard landing economic scenario, China had already prepared itself to face this.

Business leaders defended on Wednesday the decision of Australian banks and other local companies to offshore jobs. They said the rising labour cost in Australia requires that businesses must have more flexibility in responding to market changes minus political criticism.

Boosted by the international sale of its 12-year old bonds early this month, the gold and foreign- currency reserves held by South Africa has risen by 5.3 per cent at end January over the previous month, its most in almost two years, data from the Reserve Bank showed on Tuesday.

Noting that Australians are already doing it and Kiwis should not continue to miss a chance on Monday holidays, first-term Labour MP David Clark was pleased that his bill Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and Anzac Day) Amendment Bill was drawn on Tuesday from the members' bill ballot.

Australia celebrates with the United Kingdom on its ongoing fete that highlights the six-decade rule of Queen Elizabeth II, one of the world's longest serving monarchs.

Travelers passing through Australian airports will soon undergo full body scans, and refusal to do so would result in missing one's flight. Under Australian laws introduced this week, any passenger selected for a full-body scan will not be able to request a pat-down, but passengers with serious medical conditions will not be required to go through the scans.

When the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) was considering another round of overnight cash rate cut, Aussie banks were hinting of not passing in full to borrowers any rate reduction the central bank would likely make. Now that the RBA has stayed the current rate of 4.25 per cent, banks are even mulling a rate increase.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian dollar is steady this morning trading at USD 1.0800 after reaching a new six-month high yesterday following the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to leave the cash rate unchanged.

The positive leads from U.S. markets may not impact much on local stocks especially the currency-sensitive ones with the rate pause initiated by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), analysts say.

Stocks held onto gains in early-afternoon trading, even as Greece delayed action on austerity measures to address its debt crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 35 points, or 0.3%, at 12881, reversing early losses.

The Australian sharemarket was travelling well for most of the session, until the Reserve Bank (RBA) decided to keep interest rates on hold at 4.25 pct. The All Ordinaries index (XAO) fell 0.5 pct or 19.7 pts to 4344.9. Most sectors lost ground following the RBA decision however the energy sector, the telcos and healthcare companies managed to end the day higher.

Political intervention will not benefit Australia's banking customers, according to leading figures of the nation's banking industry.

A weak retail environment this year could mean freeze hiring and even job losses, according to the Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA), citing that latest data points to that dreadful likelihood.

America's recent hint that its combat role in Afghanistan could be transformed into training mission by middle of 2013 could accelerate Australia's withdrawal from the war-torn country.

Contrary to expectations of an overnight cash rate cut, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kept on Tuesday the existing key lending rate at 4.25 per cent at the Monetary Committee's first policy rate meeting for 2012.

All the fanfare normally attending the first sitting of the Parliament were present, punctuated by a bible reading that delved into 'betrayal', yet for Prime Minister Julia Gillard, the first order of business is to focus on the economy.

Obama thinks his tax policies are an extension of faith, saying that Jesus would support his plan to impose a higher effective tax rate on higher-income Americans. But many are crying foul over his remarks.

China is likely to experience power supply outages this year, with a shortage estimated to reach up to 40 million kilowatts (kW) compared from 30 million kW in 2011, driven by a supply shortage of the raw commodity coal.

Extraction and production of the precious yellow metal gold by Turkey, a country sandwiched between Europe and Asia, increased by 43 percent to 24.4 tonnes in 2011 compared from a year ago, the country's Anatolia News Agency reported.

Two African-focused miners, Randgold Resources and Harmony Gold Mining Co., have reported churning in favorable results in 2011.

Further drops in activity and new orders saw the national construction industry spend another month in the red according to the latest Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI®), in conjunction with the Housing Industry Association. The seasonally adjusted index fell by 1.2 points to 39.8 in January, marking the 20th consecutive month that the sector has contracted (readings below 50 indicate a contraction in activity).

The Australian stock market is seen to hold firm, but gains are narrowed down by the grim prospects in Greece, that has yet to settle prevailing debt concerns.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: Australia: The AUD continued to hold firm overnight despite weaker offshore equity markets and no progress from the Greek political parties.

U.S. stocks drifted lower as the recent rally paused, with investors shifting focus to wrangling in Greece over fiscal austerity. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eased 38 points, or 0.3%, to 12824 as the last hour of trading approached. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index lost 2.7 points, or 0.2%, to 1342, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 7.8 points, or 0.3%, to 2898.

Although still on the discussion table, this early, a proposal to implement changes into South Africa's mining industry that will pave the way for the imposition of a 50 per cent resource rent-tax has faced accelerating objections.

Compared with previous years, activities in pursuit of potential mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Australia's mining sector will be mostly played on by the country's mid-tier and junior mining players in 2012.