Komfie Manalo

The Rudd administration is ramming the controversial proposed 40% resource tax on the throat of the mining industry, and announced it would use emergency powers to launch a massive advertising campaign to promote the program.

Asian equities extended their global rallies that help buoyed the Australian and New Zealand dollars. At the close of Friday's trading session, the Australian dollar was poised for its first five-day advance in more than a month and the New Zealand dollar appears to gain for the first time in three weeks.

The road to recovery has been bumpy on Wall Street, but many Main Street investors are not panicking in face of recent stock market upheaval. Financial sites MoneyRates.com and GetRichSlowly.org polled their visitors and discovered that a minority are pulling out of stocks.

Air New Zealand will be enabling its new Boeing 777-300 aircraft with mobile phone and data capability, with the first aircraft due for delivery in November this year.

The Dow Jones Islamic Market (DJIM) Indexes posted losses across the board in May. Only two composites gained territory (as of the close of trading of May 25th): the DJIM Amana Sri Lanka Index (up 1.30%, closing at 1,766.82 points) and the Dow Jones Citigroup Sukuk Index (1% higher at 120.21 points).

Laurie (Lirim) Emini, a director of Opes Prime Stockbroking Limited (OPSL) has been charged with further offences arising from the investigation by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) into the company's collapse.

The Australian Securities & Investments Commissions (ASIC) has released a consultation paper comment on the proposed operation of its Markets Disciplinary Panel.

A conglomerate of 13 coal miners on Wednesday tendered a A$4.85 billion ($4 billion) bid for a rail-track network in the country's biggest coal state. The bid was aimed at preventing the Queensland state to offer the network on the stock market.

The Australian police has charged a circus acrobat for allegedly knowingly spreading HIV thru unprotected sex with hundreds of women wince contracting the virus in 1997.

The Israeli ambassador Yuval Rotem returned to the Canberra on Wednesday to meet with Australian officials over the expulsion of a Mossad chief from the Australian capital for allegedly using fake Australian passports in the killing of a Hamas official.

The Israeli ambassador Yuval Rotem returned to the Canberra on Wednesday to meet with Australian officials over the expulsion of a Mossad chief from the Australian capital for allegedly using fake Australian passports in the killing of a Hamas official.

Corporate watchdog Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) published information to better inform investors in 'frozen funds' about their rights in relation to the freezing of funds and to confirm which entities have received relief to assist in the redemption of funds.

Otix Global, Inc., announced that its Australian division, HearingLife, has begun offering franchising opportunities to audiologists and audiometrists throughout Australia. HearingLife made the announcement at the annual Audiological Society of Australia (ASA) conference in Darling Harbour, Sydney.

State Street Global Markets, the investment research and trading arm of State Street Corporation, said that global investor confidence fell 11.2 points in May to 88.2 from April's revised reading of 99.4.

Dr Jeffery James Bateson, a former director of WHL Energy Ltd (WHL), has appeared in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on insider trading charges brought by Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC).

The controversy surrounding the alleged falsification of Australian passports used in the killing of a senior Hamas official worsened on Tuesday as the Australian Foreign Ministry asked Israel to withdraw a diplomat from Canberra over his reported involvement on the issue.

Bull & Lifshitz, LLP announces an investigation into possible breaches of fiduciary duty in connection with the proposed acquisition of GLG Partners, Inc. by Man Group plc through two concurrent transactions: a cash merger under a merger agreement entered into among GLG, Man Group and a Man Group merger subsidiary; and a share exchange under an agreement entered into among Noam Gottesman, Pierre Lagrange and Emmanuel Roman, together with their related trusts and affiliated entities and two limit...

SunGard has integrated executed, market-driven trade data derived from Quadriserv's AQS securities lending market into SunGard's Astec Analytics platform, its solution for securities lending performance measurement and program management. The integration of data from the AQS market alongside Astec's existing rate data continues the trend toward a market-driven approach to true price discovery and transparency for the securities lending industry.

Australian firm Nido Petroleum Ltd. has announced plans to drill at least 5 offshore oil wells over the next 18 to 24 months in central Philippines.

Risk-averse banks, institutions and corporations in emerging markets who have been contemplating an entry into the derivatives arena and setting up their in-house derivatives operation to harness hedging and trading business in derivatives can now outsource their derivatives business to New Zealand-based WSD Global Markets, following the launch of its new offering from its India offices WSD INDIA, headquartered in South Mumbai.

Data provider Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Australia and New Zealand Banking Group - SWOT Framework Analysis " company profile to their offering.

Government regulator Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) filed charges against two men for engaging in trading activities without appropriate license.

The Australian government has formalized its intention to expand trade opportunities with Chinese companies, particularly in the area of low-carbon investments. Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean made the statement at the launching ceremony of Australian Unlimited, a national image promoting event, in Shanghai.

Stoxx Limited, a global index provider and creator of the leading European equity indices, has announced that starting with the September Benchmark Review, component weights in the STOXX Europe 600 Supersector Indices will be capped on a quarterly basis to ensure compliance with UCITS III standards for portfolio diversification.

Global equity markets skidded lower during the third week of May as optimism that a $950 billion stabilization plan cooked up by the European Union and IMF will limit the damage done by Greece's fiscal meltdown largely evaporated. Flows into and out of EPFR Global-tracked unds reflected the uncertainty and heightened risk aversion: redemptions from High Yield Bond Funds topped $1 billion, seven of the nine major sector fund groups posted outflows an Europe Equity Funds had their worst week si...

The Singapore Branch of the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), the industry trade association for hedge funds, warns that the draft directive on hedge funds and private equity that was passed by the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (Econ" may make it unduly difficult and onerous for Singapore based alternative investment managers to access the European market.

The Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia has dismissed an appeal initiated by Mr Brian Malcolm Culley challenging the decision of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to disqualify him from managing corporations for two years.

Australia's big mining players have criticized the Rudd government over its proposed 40 percent super tax on profits of resource companies, including the mining sector, saying the new measure was "too punishing" for them.

Morgan Stanley on Friday said the Australian government is set to raise at least A$85 billion (US $70 billion) from the proposed "super tax" on mining profits.