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.
South Korea's military are securing three Christmas tree towers near the border with North Korea after Pyongyang warned Seoul on Sunday not to light these up.
Small Business Minister Nick Sherry announced on Monday his resignation ahead of a cabinet reshuffle. The senator from Tasmania said he would no longer run for reelection.
(From Bell Potter Securities -BELL FX Daily)
The Australian dollar has opened this morning around the 1.0200 level after equity markets reacted positively to the conclusion of the EU summit on the weekend.
Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan forecast on Sunday that business investments in the country would rise to 32 per cent to a record A$158 billion for the current financial year.
Australian share markets are seen opening positively this week following the strong signals from the European stock markets. Analysts from CMC Markets, Commonwealth Securities, IG Markets, and OptionsXpress share their views as to what direction the local equity markets will go on this first trading day.
U.S. stocks wrapped up a second straight week of gains as the euro zone's latest plan to fix its debt crisis overshadowed some disappointing forecasts from big U.S. companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 187 points, or 1.6%, to 12184.26, undoing most of the previous day's sharp losses.
The Productivity Commission's finding that NBN Co's business model is potentially in breach of the federal government's own competition policy underlines the need for a cost-benefit analysis of the National Broadband Network, Business Council of Australia Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott said.
It was yet another tough day for the Australian sharemarket with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 1.7 pct or 74.8 pts to 4264.1. There was weakness across the board today with the miners the biggest losers, down by more than 2 pct. Thanks to a positive start to trade on Monday, shares pulled back by only 1.87 pct this week.
Body parts or remains of many U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001 may have been mishandled, according to reports.
Australian mining firms, especially those with operations in Queensland, are gearing for a potential massive rainfall in the coming months.
China's annual consumer inflation rate dropped in November to 4.2 per cent from a year ago, its lowest level in more than a year, the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday.
Virginia Tech has announced that there is no longer the threat of danger on campus and standard activities can now resume after 2 people (counting a police officer) were shot and killed on Virginia Tech's university grounds on Thursday.
A report by the IT Industry Innovation Council released on Friday said that Australia has the potential to become a global cloud computing hub.
China is mulling to expand its real estate tax to include more cities in 2012.
There is no immediate possibility that Australia will also reconsider selling uranium to other 'suspect' countries outside of India following the Labor-led government's recent decision to resume uranium trade with New Delhi.
The world's demand for energy will rise 30 per cent higher in 2040 compared to 2010, according to the latest report of ExxonMobil Corporation, "The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040."
A federal judge imposed on Friday a $1.25 million fine on Australian online retailer Harvey Norman (ASX: HVN) for its misleading advertisement. The fine was initiated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Part of a pipeline running to an oil refinery in Homs, Syria blew up Thursday causing thick black smoke to hover about the city where protest against President Bashar al-Assad started in March.
Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto Ltd., in a bid to honor delivery contracts and supplier commitments, is mulling to start road transporting by using trucks the initial supply batch of iron ore from its Simandou project in Guinea.
The Australian sharemarket is losing ground for the third time this week with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 1.4 pct or 60 pts to 4278.9. No sectors are being spared from the selloff at lunch.
Wine growers in Hunter Valley who belong to the area's wine industry association sought to kick out gas giant AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGK) from their ranks because of the firm's stand on coal seam gas (CSG).
It's no secret that the war in Afghanistan has kept more than a few businesses aloft in these critical financial times but a French human rights activist is attempting a fresh way to break down the cycle of violence in Afghanistan: yoga and meditation
Emerging markets are again at the forefront of investment portfolios in 2012 as the dangers of inflation and stagnation had all been washed off by the tight monetary policies this year, a senior investment manager said.
The United States has declared that its planned stationing of U.S. Marines in Australian territory was to be taken as its exclusive ties with a long-time ally and not meant to antagonise any country in the Asia Pacific region.
The three other large Australian banks - National Australia Bank, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank - gave in to pressure and announced Friday that it will pass on in full to customers the 25 basis points cut in overnight cash rate approved on Tuesday by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
A survey of New Zealand working overseas shows that a quarter of Kiwi expats are not keen on going back home, the New Zealand Herald reported. A quarter of the respondents said they intend to live elsewhere, while 27 per cent are looking for work in NZ.
Australia's Defense Minister Stephen Smith said the country can only export uranium to India and not to Pakistan, which is also seeking the same access to the nuclear material.
From Craig James, Commsec Chief EconomistMORNING REPORT (8.00am AEDT) -- US jobless claims fell 23,000 to 381,000 in the past week - a nine month low. US wholesale inventories rose 1.6pct in October after rising by a downwardly revised 0.3pct in September. The October result marked the largest rise since May 2011.
