Vittorio Hernandez

The Insurance Australia Group (IAG) offered on Monday a generous package, called The Welcome Back Payment, to Australian mother who would go back to work after birth. IAG promised to double the wages for the first six weeks after they return to work.

Australian stocks have started the trading week in the red, dragged down by falls on European and US share markets at the end of last week. Typically, US investors bail out of equities on Friday 13th, the mood last week not helped by ongoing concerns surrounding the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis. Lower commodity prices haven't helped sentiment locally, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 20.5pts or 0.5pct in early trade to 4383.7.

Number one social networking site Facebook and Ten Network are talking about an alliance that would involve sharing of content, audiences and advertising income, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Chances are higher for a Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) overnight cash rate cut in May due to ANZ Bank's decision on Friday to increase its variable mortgage and small business loan rates, economists said on Monday.

As expected, ANZ Bank made a Friday, the 13th interest rate announcement that would probably horrify most borrowers. The bank hiked its variable home loan and small business loan interest rates by 0.06 per cent.

The Australian share market posted another solid session of gains today, to finish the trading week virtually unchanged. Yesterday and today's gains managed to negate losses in the earlier part of the week and it was clear investors were not spooked by the curse of Friday the 13th, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 42.5pts by close or 1pct to 4404.2.

Local stocks snapped a four day losing streak yesterday and our market has started off well again today, after US and European markets rallied on strong Chinese data and anticipation of more good news out of China today.

Finance Minister Penny Wong said on Friday that the Wednesday announcement by BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) that it would close its Norwich Park coking coal mine in Queensland is not an indicator of the state of the mining industry in Australia.

The two large Australian mining firms, BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX: Rio) are expected to report next week 4 per cent lower of total estimated iron ore output for the March quarter.

Until the unemployment report came out on Thursday, economists and analysts were anticipating a larger cut on the overnight cash rate when the Reserve Bank of Australia meets in May. Their expectations range from 25 to 75 basis points rate cut.

Local stocks snapped a four day losing streak today, thanks to better than expected jobs numbers and a strong lead from US and European share markets. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) gained 34.3pts or 0.8pct by close to 4361.6.

Yesterday the Australian share market sold off from the open and the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) closed down 46 points or 1.1pct. After a better night on overseas markets the Australian market opened 6 points higher this morning. The concerns over European growth were still around, but investors were happy to hear that the European Central Bank could extend its bond buying program if needed to stimulate the economies.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) surprised the nation on Thursday by releasing unemployment statistics contrary to analysts' expectations. Instead of a 5.3 per cent joblessness rate, Australia's unemployment rate was steady at 5.2 per cent in March.

Choice, a consumer watchdog, took the cudgels for plus-size women on Thursday by asking retailers to widen the range of clothes available to large females. The group said because of limited choices, these kinds of women have to buy online or at chain stores.

In response to complaints from businesses that their cost of compliance with environmental laws is going up, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard ordered on Thursday the streamlining of state and federal laws.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is under pressure from unions and business groups to reduce the overnight cash rate when the policy board meets in May. RBA had keep interest rates at 4.25 per cent the past three meetings, but the big four instead increased their mortgage rates twice.

BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) announced on Wednesday that it would close its Norwich Park coking coal mine in Queensland due to flooding, strikes, higher costs and falling prices that caused production cut to all the firm's mines.

There was only one direction for the Australian share market today: down. More falls on Wall Street and weaker commodity prices saw the local share market lose ground for the fourth session in a row, its longest losing streak in four months. Disappointing economic data added to the gloom, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) closing down 46.1pts or 1.1pct to 4327.6.

It was a tough start of the Australian share market. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) opened 30 points lower after European and U.S. market slumped overnight. U.S. markets listed the worst trading day in 3 months, down for the 5th trading day in a row, as new concerns over European growth and a slowdown in internal Chinese growth hit the markets.

The first Australian shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Woodside Petroleum's Pluto project in Western Australia this April is not just a milestone for the country's gas industry. It could also help pave the way for the country to become the world's biggest LNG exporter by 2018.

In US trade, markets declined in a decidedly risk-off session. A sharp rise in Spanish and other peripheral European sovereign debt yields dented investor confidence. The inability of Spain's fiscal austerity measures to alleviate the pressure in the bond market is worrisome, as Economy Minister Luis de Guindos declined to rule out a rescue for the country, and Bank of Spain Governor Mr Ordonez said Spanish lenders may require additional capital if the economy weakens more than expected.

The weakness of Australia's manufacturing sector continues to be felt as 126 workers at an automotive facility in Victoria found they were stood down by the APV Automotive Components in Melbourne.

While Australian spending on cosmetic surgeries is going up, the average age of Aussies who go for such medical procedures is going down from their early- to mid-30s.

The National Australia Bank (NAB) cut on Tuesday its growth forecast for Australia to 2.9 per cent from 3.2 per cent for 2012.

US wholesale inventories rose by 0.9pct to $478.9 billion in February. The surge in inventories was largely driven by a rise in petroleum inventories which gained 3.9pct - the biggest increase in a year. US ICSC chain store sales rose by 4.1pct last week compared with a year ago. Same store sales are expected to rise between 3-4pct in April.

Less than three months before the Gillard government starts to collect the carbon tax on July 1, the measure continues to generate criticism from various sectors of Australian society. A tax expert questioned the carbon tax's constitutionality on Tuesday and charities warned on Wednesday of its impact on the services it provides poor people.

The Australian share market resumed trade after the Easter break and tumbled into the red, following weaker than expected economic data out of the United States. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) lost 28.7pts or 0.7pct to 4373.6, but came off earlier lows, following data which showed China unexpectedly reported a trade surplus in March. This stoked optimism that the People's Bank of China won't need to cut rates in order to stimulate growth.

The Australian share market opened 30 points lower after the Easter break. Last Thursday, the 5th of April, the market ended slightly lower with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 0.4 pct to 4,402. Over the Easter holiday break U.S. non-farm payroll numbers, key monthly job data, came in weaker than expected and concerns about inflation in China saw Asian and U.S. markets fall and today our market has followed their lead.

Australian employers and unions are at odds over a proposal by companies to change workplace flexibility and pay. Among the changes eyed are cutting minimum working hours and pay.