Vittorio Hernandez

Glencore International offered to buy Canada's largest grain company, Viterra, for $5.3 billion, the Sunday Telegraph reports.

It is not just interest rates that are changing at Westpac, but also within the managerial level officials. The changes, announced on Friday by Westpac Chief Executive Gail Kelly, were timed with the release of the lender's 2011 annual report.

The Australian share market has started the trading week on a subdued note, following continuing concern about the Greek debt situation and on news China has recorded its worst trade deficit in 20 years. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 9.5pts or 0.2pct to 4291.

The potentially damaging labour dispute in Brisbane Airport has been solved after Qantas demanded a contractor, BCS Infrastructure Support, to sort out the problem. Latest report said BCS offered electricians, baggage support staff and mechanical fitters belonging to the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) higher pay.

The Australian market managed to improve today for the second consecutive day, partly making up for three straight sessions of losses between Monday and Wednesday. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose 0.9 pct or 38.3 pts to 4300.5, however still has fallen by around 1.5 pct over the week.

Business leaders in Australia are seeking a drastic cut in the carbon tax to just $10 from the $23 per tonne scheduled to be collected beginning July 1, 2012. Their $10 proposal is close to the carbon price in the European Union.

The Australian High Court backed the decision on Friday by the New South Wales Supreme Court to reject the extension of a suppression order on the details of the Rinehart family court feud.

ANZ Bank announced on Friday that it would raise it fixed home loan interest rate by 20 basis points to 6.34 per cent. It is the first among the big four to adjust interest rates after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) retained this week the current overnight cash rate at 4.25 per cent.

Local stocks are tracking higher on the final day of the trading week on growing optimism Greece will receive enough support for its debt swap deal. Private sector creditors are expected to sign off on the agreement by 5pm AEDT. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 18.4pts or 0.4pct to 4280.6.

Embattled Australian flag carrier, Qantas, is back to square one after it stopped talks with Malaysia Airlines for a premium carrier in Kuala Lumpur. Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce explained the bog down of talks to failure of both airlines "to reach mutually agreeable commercial terms."

Economists warned on Friday that the country's unemployment rate would continue to rise in the coming months. They explained their outlook to jobs generation moving at a slower pace compared to the growth in labor force.

The Australian dollar has bounced from the low USD1.0500's yesterday to open in the mid USD1.0600's this morning after more than 80% of the private sector Greek bondholders have accepted to swap their holdings.

In US trade, markets rallied in a massively risk-on session. Risk sentiment was greatly improved by reports that Greece was nearing a debt swap agreement with a large enough percentage of private holders to avoid a messy default. Sentiment was also lifted by some relatively hawkish comments from the ECB and stronger-than-expected German economic data.

New claims for unemployment insurance in the US rose by 8,000 to 362,000 in the latest week, ahead of forecasts near 351,000. The four-week average of claims was 355,000, up from 354,750. Planned job layoffs by companies stood at 51,728 in February according to the Challenger survey, down 3.3pct on January.

The Australian sharemarket improved for the first time this week, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) jumping by 0.7 pct or 27.8 pts to 4262.2. Eight of twelve sectors rose over the session, with the energy stocks the best performers.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Optus were fined for their misleading advertisements. It is the second violation for CBA with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in two months.

The Spanish bank Santander, which is also the largest lender in Europe, announced on Thursday that it opened its first branch in Sydney. The opening of its first Australian unit is seen as the bank's way of boosting its presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Expect tougher competition in the Australian skies as two airline companies initiate changes in a bid to capture a larger cut of the country's travel market.

Australia's unemployment rate returned to 5.2 per cent in February, the Australian Statistics Bureau (ABS) reported on Thursday. The rise was expected by analysts as banks, manufacturing companies, construction firms and other Australian companies announced axing of jobs by the hundreds last month.

Despite an initial dip when the February jobs numbers were released, the local share market is trading higher at lunchtime in the East, following positive offshore leads. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is firmer by 21.3pts or 0.5pct to 4255.7.

An Australian graduate school has graded as A the performance of Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) released the report on Thursday, to coincide with the International Women's Day. Ms Gillard is Australia's first female prime minister.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian dollar has recovered a little from yesterday's lows with our next move likely to be determined by today's release of Australian employment numbers for February.

In US trade, markets rebounded from the previous day's big falls on improved optimism that the Greek debt swap will proceed, and also on better-than-expected ADP US jobs data. The ADP numbers are a good indicator in the build-up to Friday's US non-farm payrolls data. Reports that the Fed is considering a new type of bond-buying program also helped to lift sentiment.

The US ADP National Employment index showed that 216,000 new private sector jobs were created in February, close to market forecasts. In Germany, factory orders fell by 2.7pct in January taking the annual contraction to 4.9pct. A sharp fall in foreign orders was the main driver of the weakness: foreign orders fell by 5.5pct, while domestic orders rose by 0.9pct.

The Australian sharemarket lost ground for the third straight session today, making it the worst three day pullback for the local market this year. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) slumped by 1.4 pct or 61.1 pts to 4234.4. All sectors ended in the red, despite some modest gains recorded by the telcos earlier in the day.

Greenpeace Australia plans to disrupt and delay coal export projects in the country in a campaign to stop the booming sector. The Australian reports that the funding proposal for the anti-coal campaign considers 2012 and 2013 the critical years.

Australia and Asia's richest woman, Gina Rinehart, reportedly asked for a seat on the board of Fairfax Media when she met with the company's chairman, Roger Corbett, and chief executive, Greg Hywood, on Tuesday.

There are about 700,000 women in Australia who run their own business as of 2007. Since then, a large number of women left their jobs after the global financial crisis in 2008 and joined the ranks of the 700,000 by opening their own enterprises, a survey released on Tuesday by the Australian Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AWCCI) said.

While opening some business opportunities in India, mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) is also closing some doors. The company announced on Wednesday that it would shutter its Lynemouth aluminium smelter in Northumberland in England by the end of March.