Vittorio Hernandez

The Australian sharemarket is gaining for the second time this week, with the All Ordinaries index up 0.8 pct or 34.5 pts to 4284.00. Almost all sectors are up with the exception of the gold space which is tracking lower due to weaker gold prices overnight.

Controversy appears to await Queen Elizabeth even before she arrived on Wednesday night in Canberra. An animal rights group is threatening to hold a protest while Queensland flood victims feel slighted by the non-inclusion of their area in what could be the royal's last visit to Australia.

The perceived apathy of majority of passers-by who were caught on surveillance video on Oct. 13 ignoring a two-year-old Chinese girl hit by a van continues. Although some of them were caught on film staring at the girl, one claimed he did not see Yueyue.

There has been more news, headlines and volatility in the markets overnight, after optimism was generated on reports that France and Germany had agreed to boost Europe's rescue fund.

Professor George Williams warned on Tuesday that a repeal of the carbon tax as threatened by Opposition leader Tony Abbott would cost Australian taxpayers millions of dollars.

Qantas blamed on Tuesday the engineers' strike for the grounding of two more aircraft, which led to the cancellation of 80 more domestic flights over the next month.

Although 2008 and 2011 are only three years apart, Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan said on Monday that governments now are better prepared, banks are stronger and there are plans in place to address a looming second round of global financial crisis.

Video footage of a two-year-old Chinese girl hit by a van and passers-by ignoring the child has sparked outrage in China.

New South Wales Police have confiscated 2,000 ecstasy pills worth $60,000 from the owner of a BMW that was traveling along the Newell Highway towards Dubbo on Monday afternoon.

Adapting to new technologies such as having an online presence was the way how small businesses in Australia coped with the hard times.

Retail establishments in Australia are passing on to shoppers the cost of goods stolen worth about $2 billion yearly. A study on retail crime places the amount at an average of $284 a year hidden as "honesty taxes," the Herald Sun reports.

The local share market has started the trading week on a strong note, with investor sentiment boosted by a raft of positive offshore news. Over the weekend, European leaders again pledged to take all necessary action to stave of the debt crisis, and work together ahead of the G20 summit in Cannes next month. Meanwhile US stocks posted their best weekly gains since March 2009 last week, boosted by strong retail sales and impressive earnings results from a number of companies, particularly Google....

More Australians who are into drugs are using metamphetamine or ice to get stoned. According to the latest National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), in the last six months the number of ice users rose to 45 per cent from 39 per cent in 2010.

Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett may have temporarily banned Samsung Electronics from launching its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, but Aussies have found a way to go around the ban. They ordered the gadget online.

The Australian sharemarket has kicked off the new trading week on a positive note, with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) up 1.4 pct or 59.1 pts to 4328.1. All regions of the market are improving with gains of at least 1 pct flowing through to most sectors.

Thieves have broken into the Red Cross blood bank in Melbourne between Sunday night and Monday morning. However, they did not take any blood supply or cash, only two plasma TV sets worth $1,000, a camera and a mobile phone.

News of Rio Tinto's sale of 13 aluminium assets boosted the company's stocks by 2.74 per cent on Monday. With the increase, Rio Tinto's shares rose to $70.16 which is a month high.

The AUD has opened this morning trading around the USD1.0180 level after trading down to USD1.0100 overnight.

The ongoing labor dispute of Qantas with unions continues to take its toll on the air carrier's operations as it canceled 16 flights on Monday and ground five planes.

U.S. stocks jumped Friday, sending major stock indexes to their highest close since early August and pushing both the Dow and the Nasdaq Composite back into positive territory for the year. The Dow industrials closed with a 166.36 point gain, or 1.5%, at 11644.49. The Dow is now ahead by 0.58% for 2011.

US retail sales rose by 1.1pct in September - marking the fastest pace of growth in seven months. Sales for the prior two months was also revised higher. The upbeat sales figures resulted in a revision of third quarter growth estimates. US September quarter GDP is now expected to post between 2.3-2.7pct. US business inventories rose by 0.5pct in August.

A raft of soft data weighed on investor sentiment today, sending local stocks down by almost one percent. Weaker than expected Chinese trade data and disappointing earnings result from US heavyweight JP Morgan Chase sent global markets into the red overnight, while this morning ratings agency S&P downgraded Spain from AA to AA-. Another ratings agency, Fitch, downgraded UBS and seven more financial institutions.

A Victoria man who killed a woman and set her daughters on fire in 2010 blames his tragic childhood for the crimes he committed.

iPad 2-manufacturer Apple only won half of the battle with Samsung Electronics when it was granted by Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett on Thursday a temporary injunction that stops the South Korean firm from launching the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia.

The Australian sharemarket is pulling back for the second time this week, with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 0.9 pct or 39.2 pts to 4266.8. Almost all sectors are lower with the defensive telecommunication sector one of the lone regions of the market to be gaining some ground. Telstra (TSL) is up 0.16 pct or 0.5 cent to $3.08.

Higher iron ore and coal production led to a strong third quarter performance for Rio Tinto. As a result, the Australian mining firm is expected to break its record $14.43 billion profit in 2010.

Australia's oldest known sex worker is dead at 65. Johanna Martin, also known as Jazzy O, was found dead with her hands and legs tied in Lorimer Street, Port Melbourne on Tuesday.

Qantas is expecting another day of turbulence as it canceled 18 flights and delayed 32 more due to a schedule engineers strike.

The AUD has opened this morning trading around the USD1.0180 level after trading down to USD1.0100 overnight.