POLITICS & POLICY

The Australian sharemarket is losing ground for the second straight day with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 0.3 pct or 14.8 pts to 4236.9. The market's two largest sectors, the miners and the financials are both weaker. The financial sector, which includes the big four banks, makes up more than 30 pct of the Australian market while the miners account for around 25 pct of its size.

Canada is withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol, according to its Environment Minister Peter Kent.

A Rutherglen man's effort to find the remains of his brother under a disused mine near Avoca got a boost from the Victoria government, which offered to reimburse up to $25,000 in cost to the digging.

Iran has shot down 'official request' from the United States that its spy drone that went astray in Iranian territory, underscoring that the Americans violated the Islamic Republic's airspace while attempting to gather intelligence.

As the world continues to rely more on liquefied natural gas (LNG), prices will slowly be given a separate mechanism and move away from being linked to crude oil over the next decades.

China's Fenxi Mining Group has been chosen by Kenya to develop coalmines that cover at least two blocks from the Mui basin in the country's eastern province.

Global miner BHP Billiton on Tuesday announced it had approved to sell a portion of stakes of 8 per cent in its South African coal arm to a consortium of black investors led by investment firm Pembani Group (Pty) Ltd. to help meet regulation requirements of black ownership targets.

Despite the growing risks to global growth caused by the European debt crisis, Australia's resource and energy exports are expected to hit $206 billion for 2011-12. It is a 15 percent rise from the past 12 months, said the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE).

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said shadow cabinet had resolved on Monday to maintain the Coalition's current position on the same-sex marriage push, ahead of a likely Labor conscience vote on the issue.

The Australian sharemarket could not stage a comeback this afternoon with all eyes remaining on Europe for any potential leads. The All Ordinaries index (XAO) fell 1.4 pct or 59.7 pts to 4251.7. This the third time in five days that the local sharemarket has lost ground.

One possible scenario that China is looking into is slashing taxes in 2012 to help boost economic growth in the face of an export slowdown.

A special panel established by the Government to look into the ageing population in relation to the economy has reported that the seniors present opportunities that the government has yet to tap.

A jobless man angry for not receiving unemployment benefits threw his shoes at Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad while he was speaking at a ceremony in the city of Sari, Mazandaran Province on Monday. The shoes missed the president, who dodged it, and hit the banner behind him instead.

France's Total SA has recently upped its equity holdings in Russian OAO Novatek, buying an additional 2 per cent into the company for $800 million. Total SA's overall stake control in Russia's fastest-growing gas producer is now at 14.1 per cent.

Bomb disposal experts defused a letter bomb received by the Greek embassy in Paris, France on Monday.

The Australian sharemarket is unfortunately wiping out all of yesterday's gains with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 1.4 pct or 60.1 pts to 4251.3. Monday's improvement was like a ray of sunshine squeezing its way through an otherwise very cloudy sky.

Despite erratic global supply and skyrocket prices, French chemicals company Rhodia had entered into a strategic alliance with China Rare Metals and Rare Earth Co. Ltd. (Chinalco) where both companies will develop opportunities in the rare earth metals business.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard appointed Greg Combet on Tuesday to oversee the new steel industry rescue package. His appointment is part of the cabinet reshuffle initiated by Ms Gillard.

An Iranian lawmaker said Monday that Iran will replicate a captured U.S. drone and produce a better version of the unmanned spying plane for its own use.

What transpired was routine adjustment to further strengthen the cabinet, this according to Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who also rejected suggestions that she had to deal with specters of dramatic departures prior to the latest revamp.

A draft white paper released by Energy Minister Martin Ferguson on Tuesday estimated that Australia would need $240 billion investment for its gas and electricity industries over the next 20 years to ensure the country has reliable power supply.

ACM Group topped the list of credit card companies that Australia's financial ombudsman received formal disputes in 2010. ACG had 113 disputes per 100,000 accounts which is way above the median of 18.7 disputes.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The AUD has fallen over a cent during the offshore session, as Moody's rating agency said that the EU summit last week was inconclusive and that the Eurozone was still on negative watch.

From Morrison Securities Pty Ltd. A negative reaction to last week's European sovereign-debt summit by credit-ratings firms sent U.S. stocks sharply lower Monday, erasing all of the stock-market gains that followed the summit Friday.

Iran has discovered a gas field reserve with a potential 1.4 trillion cubic meters of natural gas in the Caspian Sea.The field, located 2,300 feet deep (700 meters), lies within Iran's maritime borders, Rostam Qasemi, Iran's oil minister, said in the Ministry of Petroleum's news website.

Member-nations of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) should re-evaluate their current charts and slash output production to help acclimatize itself to the pending return of Libyan crude to the global markets as well as a potential increase in oil production from Iraq.

China and India have sworn they will cooperate with the world's more than 190 nations towards an international treaty that would include limiting the fossil fuel emissions of industrialized as well as emerging economies like them. Australia had earlier refused to commit if other countries are also not cooperating towards a new Kyoto Protocol.

The Australian sharemarket kicked off the new trading week in positive fashion with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) rising by 1.1 pct or 47.3 pts to 4311.4. All sectors improved today with the exception of the consumer staples. Weakness from Wesfarmers (WES) put downward pressure on the remainder of the sector. WES, the owner of Coles supermarkets is the largest company in the consumer staples space.

The La Nina weather pattern expected to drench the summer months in Australia is deemed to impact on gas generation, carbon analytics firm, RepuTex said in a briefing.