Vittorio Hernandez

The Bank of Queensland (BoQ) increased its home loan interest rate by 10 basis points despite the Tuesday decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to hold the overnight cash rate at 4.25 per cent.

The Australian sharemarket lost ground for the second straight day, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) falling by 1.3 pct or 58.7 pts to 4295.5. Almost all sectors finished in the red with the I.T sector the lone improver. The world's largest share registry, Computershare (CPU) was the biggest contributor to the sector's gains, rising by 1.9 pct or 15 cents to $8.05. Listed companies tend to have a share registry that looks after their administration tasks and shareholder responsibilities...

The New South Wales (NSW) Supreme Court rejected on Tuesday a bid by Australia and Asia's richest woman, Gina Rinehart, to keep secret the details of her family court feud. In seeking the extension of an existing suppression order due to expire on Friday, her lawyers cited a threat to Ms Rinehart's life made by an anonymous man in Dubai.

The appointment of Senator Kate Lundy as Minister for Multicultural Affairs has received mixed response in Australia. She is the first minister given the portfolio which was abolished in 2007 by then Prime Minister John Howard who preferred to push for a shared national identity.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission gave a Retail Renminbi licence to the ANZ Bank, which is the first Australian bank to receive the licence.

Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) will make the largest investment by an Australian company in India through a $2 billion investment at the Orissa iron ore project in India. The project will supply iron ore to India and overseas with the steel making material.

The Australian share market has started the trading day in the red, following weak offshore leads and after China downgraded its 2012 growth forecasts. China has cut its target for economic growth in 2012 from 8pct to 7.5pct, a move which wasn't overly surprising but has given investors a reason to sell. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 29.9pts or 0.7pct to 4324.3.

The Financial Services Union (FSU) claimed on Tuesday that Westpac Bank will axe 119 technology jobs and send them overseas as the lender cuts cost. The union said the bulk of the jobs to be lost would come from the Sydney Central Business District and Kogarah units and smaller numbers from Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.

The Australian sharemarket kicked off the new week in the red, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 0.2 pct or 9.9 pts to 4354.2. Weakness from the miners and energy players dragged the market lower today. On a positive note, we are almost 10 weeks into the year and local shares have improved by 5 pct. The Brazilian market has been one of the standouts and has gained by 19 pct in 2012 while German shares have jumped by 17 pct.

After Friday's announcement by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard of her third cabinet reshuffle in 18 months, all eyes are on her appointee to replace resigned Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd.

Every time Australians swipe their credit cards, they pay interest rates to the banks which charge them an average interest of $4,700 a year per card.

Of the 2,600 mining deals made globally in 2011 valued at $149 billion, Australian miners accounted for 22 per cent of market value making them the most acquisitive last year, a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) released on Monday said.

The Australian share market has started the trading week in the red, following a lacklustre offshore lead and a report showing company operating profits fell 6.5pct in the fourth quarter, below estimates. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 14pts or 0.3pct to 4350.1.

The strong Australian currency is taking its toll on the country's aluminium smelter sector with another plant facing the threat of closure due to high production cost and weak global prices. Mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) warned it may shutter its Bell Bay smelter which may cause the loss of 600 jobs.

Long-haul pilots of Qantas have promised no strikes if the union would succeed in its appeal on Fair Work Australia's (FWA) ruling a few months ago to prohibit industrial action. The union will file its case against the FWA termination of the pilots' industrial action before the Federal Court in Sydney.

A report commissioned by Transport Minister Anthony Albanese in 2009 pushed for the construction of a second airport in Sydney due to the anticipated increase of air traffic.

The Australian sharemarket improved today for the second time this week, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rising 0.5 pct or 21.7 pts to 4367.7. Almost all sectors rose today, however despite the gains, shares lost a bit of ground over the week.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced on Friday noon the appointment of Bob Carr as Foreign Affairs Minister. He replaced Kevin Rudd who resigned last week and unsuccessfully battled Ms Gillard for the leadership post in the Australian Labor Party.

The Malaysian bank CIMB signed on Thursday night a memorandum of agreement with the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) for the purchase of the RBS's Australian equity market operations. The operations cover 13 countries in the Asia-Pacific region including Australia, Japan and Korea.

With the Australian reporting season out of the way the market has fallen back in to usual trading today, following the trends from the U.S. markets and commodity prices overnight. Last night we saw the US markets close slightly higher and this has given our market a small boost at the start of trade. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 22pts.

Treasurer Wayne Swan has spoken against very wealthy Australians for exerting too much influence on government policies. He specifically named mining magnates Clive Palmer, Andrew Forrest and Gina Rinehart is an essay published in The Monthly magazine.

A wise man once said that yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift. However, today was the sort of present investors would have preferred not to have received. The Australian sharemarket fell for the third time this week today, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 1 pct or 42.1 pts to 4346.

The federal government of Australia announced on Tuesday night the sudden end to the $320-million solar hot water programme. The decision was part of the Gillard government's major revamp of its subsidy programmes.

Engineering firm WolreyParsons complained Thursday on the slow payment by large Australian mining and energy firms despite the resources boom in the country. WorleyParsons Chief Executive John Grill said the situation is squeezing its margin and delaying projects.

Stealing company money is the top white collar crime in Australian companies, a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) survey released on Thursday said. Almost 50 per cent of Aussie firms reported at least one incident of white collar crime in the past 12 months.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has simplified business registration procedures in the country by allowing online listing. Under the guidelines released on Thursday by ASIC, enterprises need to register online only once even if they have businesses in different Australian states.

The local share market is experiencing a heavy sell-down today, losing all of yesterday's gains in the first few minutes of trade. US and European markets fell overnight after US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke failed to mention another round of economic stimulus, or QE3. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 31.9pts or 0.7pct to 4356.2.

Woolworths reported on Thursday a 17 per cent drop in its first half net profit mainly due to the $300 million charge for the restructuring of its Dick Smith consumer electronics division.

Three security experts told the New South Wales Supreme Court on Tuesday that the Rinehart family would face higher safety risks if details of their court battle would be published. The court case is part of the bid of Gina Rinehart, Australia and Asia's richest woman, to keep secret details of their family feud.