Vittorio Hernandez

To boost trade between the two nations and help reduce currency fluctuations, Australia and South Korea signed on Sunday a 3-year currency swap agreement worth $4.5 billion.

Australia is one of the favourite destinations of rich Asians who have an investment property overseas. A report by global bank HSBC said that over one-third of affluent Asians have purchased properties abroad.

The Australian share market rose for a sixth straight session today, thanks to a strong lead from Wall Street and generally upbeat earnings results.

The Australian sharemarket is higher at lunch for the sixth consecutive trading day and for the 11th time in 12 sessions. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 0.6 per cent, with the miners the start performers. The last time the XAO improved from Monday through to Friday was 14 months ago. Largely positive economic news in the U.S. (relating to jobs and manufacturing) helped lift global markets overnight.

Risk sentiment picked up in US trade after having slumped in Asia yesterday following a disappointing China manufacturing PMI print. Sentiment was also subdued in European trade with a raft of PMIs mostly disappointing and weighing on the single currency.

In US economic data, consumer prices rose by 0.1% in January to be up 1.6% over the year. Analysts had expected prices to rise by 0.1%. US Markit Flash PMI rose from 53.7 to 56.7 in January - its fastest pace in nearly four years. The gains were largely due to a lift in the new orders component which was at its highest level since May 2010. US jobless claims fell by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 336,000 last week.

Origin Energy is waiting for the result of the federal government's review of Australia's 20 per cent renewable energy target launched on Monday. The anticipation is because of the potential impact of the policy on Origin's $900-million Stockyard Hill wind project.

A word war is brewing between telecom giant T-Mobile and mobile phonemaker BlackBerry.

More boxers are expressing their belief that Floyd Mayweather is not the unbeatable pugilist that the pound-for-pound king claims to be.

Auckland, New Zealand's financial centre, is the third most liveable city in the world, according to the list released on Thursday by Mercier. Topping the 2014 Quality of Living list are Vienna and Zurich, 1st and 2nd placer, respectively.

The PM will be introducing Cate McGregor, his college friend, who will be featured in ABC's Australian Story next week. Ms McGregor used to be Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm McGregor, an army officer and cricket expert whom Mr Abbott met during their student days.

The Australian share market ignored a weak finish on Wall Street and disappointing Chinese economic data to make it five wins in a row today.

For a second consecutive session local stocks have found the initiative locally in the absence of any offshore inspiration. U.S. stocks ended lower overnight influenced by disappointing housing data and the minutes from the last FOMC meeting.

Royal Dutch Shell is finally disposing its downstream assets in Australia with the reported sale of its Geelong refinery and petrol stations in the country for $2.4 billion. Newspapers identified the buyer as oil trader Vitol and Abu Dhabi Investment Commission.

Asian markets look set for a modestly weaker open, although if you look at a number of the momentum-focused indicators in Australia, dips should still present themselves as buying opportunities.

In US economic data, producer prices rose by 0.2% in January to be up 1.2% over the year. Analysts had expected prices to rise by 0.1%. US housing starts fell by 16% to an 880k annualised rate - significantly weaker than the 950k consensus, though the volatility was accounted for by the bad weather. Building permits also dropped by 5.4% to 937k.

Besides following the medal tally at the ongoing Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia, sports pundits are also observing the costumes of figure skaters.

The April rematch between eight-division title holder Manny Pacquiao and undefeated American boxer Timothy Bradley Jr would be a difficult match in terms of determining the victor.

Australia and New Zealand beat South Africa in the bid to host the 2017 Rugby World Cup, the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) announced on Wednesday.

The capital city of New South Wales will hold on Sunday its second Sydney Skinny, a nude ocean swim, at Cobblers Beach. However, to ensure that the noble intention of the organisers to gather more support for conservation rather than be an eye candy feast for the curious and those with carnal intentions, it would be a private ticket-only event.

The ASX 200 acquitted itself well on Wednesday in the face of a mixed picture for regional stocks the index was able to post a fourth consecutive day of gains.

Local stocks continued to grind higher on Wednesday despite an indifferent lead from US markets overnight. Company results remain the overwhelming focus for local investors.

US markets returned to trade on a fairly quiet note with the major bourses relatively mixed. Data out of the US was underwhelming to say the least, with the Empire State manufacturing index and the NAHB housing market index sharply disappointing. Weather continues to be blamed for some of the disappointing readings but at some point this could start to weigh on sentiment. The Nikkei had a big day yesterday, rising 3% on the back of the BoJ. USD/JPY spiked to ¥102.75 on the back of the BoJ but ha...

In US economic data, the Empire State manufacturing index eased from +12.51 to +4.48 in February. In December there were capital outflows from the US totalling US$119.6 billion, up from $16.6 billion in November. And the National Association of Home Builders index eased from +56 to +46 in February - the biggest one-month decline recorded.

While popular video game Flappy Bird has flown into oblivion with the Vietnamese developer pulling it out of the market because of its being addictive, the other addicting online matching puzzle game Candy Crush is crashing into new territory - the bourses.

In a tie-up campaign with Tourism New Zealand, Air New Zealand is enticing Japanese tourists to visit the country Down Under during the colder months by offering them hefty 30 per cent discounts on plane fare.

NekNomination, the viral drinking game among young people, has apparently claimed another victim - a 20-year-old Briton. It is the third death within weeks since the game was publicised.

The federal government of Australia approved on Tuesday the master plan for Sydney Airport to meet the expected higher number of 74 million passengers the gateway would handle in 2033, up from the 38 million air travelers in 2013.

Australian Employment Minister Eric Abetz sought an apology from convicted MP Craig Thomson for misleading Parliament and denying he misused the Health Services Union (HSU) credit card when he was still the union's national secretary.