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.
GAIL (India) Ltd. has signed a 20-year import supply agreement with U.S. based Cheniere Energy Partners L.P. (CQP) for an annual supply of 3.5 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec) has agreed to raise by 10 per cent its equity interest holdings in the Australia Pacific liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. The LNG project is a joint venture between Origin Energy Ltd. and US giant ConocoPhillips.
Bluescope Steel (ASX: BSL) will apply for a $100 million assistance from the Australian government's Steel Transformation Plan (STP) which accepted on Monday applications from eligible companies for competitiveness assistance advances.
Australia reportedly plans to accelerate its withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, with Diggers stationed in the war-torn nation set to be reduced dramatically next year.
As a vote on same-sex marriage nears in the Australian Parliament, the public believes members should vote according to their principles, not party direction.
The fiscal revenue growth of the world's second-largest economy expanded 10.6 per cent in November from a year ago figures of $101 billion. However, it was a sharp fall month-on-month from October's 16.9 per cent and September's 17 per cent recorded growth, data from the Ministry of Finance showed on Sunday.
At lunch, the Australian sharemarket is gaining for only the second time in five days with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) up 1.3 pct or 55.6 pts to 4319.7. There was no shortage of news out over the weekend including the downgrade of three French banks and yet another European Summit took place in Brussels, Belgium.
It is unlikely that the United States will recover the spy drone it lost to Iran as the Islamic Republic declared on Sunday that it does intend to give up the 'trophy' it painstakingly won last week.
Australian consumers had reluctantly spend in the first six months of 2011, making it harder for small to medium businesses to survive and thrive during that semester. Coming in the last weeks of 2011, a survey of more than 1,500 consumers across Australia's states had indicated what are the priorities of consumers during these trying times.
Not-so-new and old faces are expected to fill the new composition of Prime Minister Julia Gillard's Cabinet on Monday as reports emerged that the Australian Labor Party leadership plans to implement a reshuffling that would consolidate its position in the immediate months ahead.
Pakistani officials have announced that they are releasing the three wives and several children of slain al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.