POLITICS & POLICY

Nomura opened the Chi-X Australia stock trading on Monday. The company promised to bring down prices by removing the monopoly of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).

After a negative start, the local share market is paring losses to hold only slightly lower at lunchtime in the East. Stocks in New York ended modestly higher on Friday night while European share markets ended mixed. At Midday in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 9.5pts or 0.2pct to 4401.9.

Qantas planes are expected to be flying by mid afternoon.

Despite Fair Work Australia's (FWA) intervention on Qantas' labor row which will result in resumption of flights by 12 noon of Monday, Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce's unilateral action did not escape criticism of several groups.

Iranian actress Marzieh Vafemehr, who was charged in connection to her role in the Australian film My Tehran for Sale, has been freed and spared from lashing, Amnesty International announced.

Queen Elizabeth has endorsed the need for reforms to allow the Commonwealth to deal with future challenges, according to The Australian. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2011, have accepted all 35 recommended course of actions for the strengthening of the role of the Commonwealth Ministers Action Group. A major contributing factor to the nod was the undemocratic overthrow of the Fijian government in a coup in 2006, according to WAtoday.com.au.

As Japan struggles to rise above the March 2011 tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disasters, the country is expected to turn to other fuels, notably gas in the form of imported liquefied natural gas (LNG), oil and coal to fill the nuclear gap.

The U.S Presidential candidates have revealed a little bit about their personalities as they named their favorite films

Global markets took a breather on Friday night, as investors consolidated after recent gains. US markets were relatively flat, while in Europe, markets were a touch weaker. There was a lot to take in after all the announcements out of Europe throughout the week. Despite Friday's subdued moves, global markets finished the week with huge gains.

Australia has been ranked as one of the world's nations whose government imposes a low tax rate on its citizens.

A new modeling tally released by the Australian federal government on Friday showed the workers' pension savings stand to gain more from the planned 30 per cent mining profits tax as it would boost pension funds to $535 billion by 2035.

Australian policy regulators have been urged to devise and implement fiscal plans that will help anchor the country as it glides and cushions itself on the impact brought about by the global economic slowdown.

The Australian sharemarket surged in the first hour of trade today, with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) rising by as much as 1.5 pct. As the day went on however, the market gave away much of its impressive gains to end largely flat by close of business.

The confidence of small businesses in Australia is yet to be fired up, according to the results of the latest survey done by the National Australia Bank.

The Australian sharemarket is gaining for the third consecutive day with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) up 0.8 pct or 36.6 pts to 4440.5. Almost all sectors are improving with the exception of the defensive healthcare and telco sectors.

Concerns about the NSW planning system along with turbulence in international and national economic markets is keeping a cap on confidence in the state’s property sector, a new survey has revealed.

Australia will share its food productive expertise with poor African nations through a new $36-million food security centre which Prime Minister Julia Gillard launched at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth on Friday.

Timmy the sheep led a mob of concerned Victorians at a rally at the MCG Thursday night calling on Primary Industries Ministers to close the loophole that allows un-stunned slaughter in Australia.

The ongoing industrial dispute in Qantas which has caused family holidays to be canceled and business meetings to be postponed has dug so far a $68-million hole in Qantas's pocket.

At long last, leaders of the Eurozone have reportedly agreed on a common stand to resolve the two-year old debt crisis in the region.

A report in 2009 by the European Commission on the Economic Crisis in Europe highlighted the need for a framework in crisis prevention, mitigation, control and resolution.

The possibility that leaders of the Euro zone would eventually agree to enhance the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) is a long-awaited development for the 17 member-nations as well as other nations closely monitoring the turn of events in Europe.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian dollar has surged more than two cents this morning, currently trading around USD1.0700 after hitting a high of USD1.0750 overnight.

U.S. stocks surged and the Dow Jones Industrial Average pushed toward what would be its largest monthly percentage gain in a quarter century, as investors cheered an agreement reached by European leaders on a plan to resolve the euro zone's debt crisis.

MORNING REPORT (7am AEDT)The US economy grew at a 2.5pct annual rate in the September quarter, in line with expectations, and up from the 1.3pct annual rate in the June quarter. Pending home sales fell 4.6pct in September, well below market forecasts. And new US claims for unemployment insurance fell by 2,000 to 402,000 in the latest week. Continued claims fell to fresh 3-year lows.

Her royal highness, Queen Elizabeth, and her husband, Prince Philip arrived in Australia last Wednesday at the Australian air force base, as reported by the Associated Press.

Today was one of the more unpredictable days of trade for the Australian sharemarket, with the ASX 200 index (XJO) rising 2.5 pct or 105.7 pts to 4348.2 while the broader All Ordinaries index (XAO) ended 2.4 pct or 103.1 pts higher to 4403.9.

The Australian sharemarket has finally re-opened after a technical glitch crippled markets for a number of hours. At 2pm (AEDT) shares came back online and started rallying almost immediately. The All Ordinaries index (XAO), which is one of the most popular ways to measure Australian market performance is up 1.7 pct or 71.6 pts to 4372.4.

Global diversified miner Anglo American Plc said on Thursday it is mulling to spend up to $US15 billion ($14.43bn) over the next eight years to expand its Australian coal operations.