BUSINESS

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 146 points or 1.3% while the S&P gained 1.1% to 1175 and the Nasdaq added 1.

US home prices were unchanged in seasonally adjusted terms in July. The S&P/Case Shiller 20-city home price index was unchanged in the month but up 0.9pct in unadjusted terms to stand 4.1pct lower than a year ago. US consumer confidence rose from 45.2 to 45.4 in September. And the Richmond Fed manufacturing index improved from minus 10 in August to minus 6 in September.

Australia's stock markets are expected to to see further gains at the open of trade as stocks continue their relief rally. Once again, there is very little in the way of local economic news so sentiment is going to continue to be dominated by the big macro forces in play.

U.S. stocks rose Tuesday, even as a sharp afternoon downdraft prompted U.S. stocks to erase more than half of their earlier gains, as investors fretted over a report that highlighted a potential split in the euro zone over the terms of Greece's second bailout. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session up 146.83 points, or 1.3%, at 11190.69, after surging as much as 325 points earlier in the session. The gains came a day after the blue-chip index climbed 272 points.

AFTERNOON REPORT (4.30pm AEST)The Australian share market snapped a three day losing streak today, rallying by 3.5pct as investor sentiment was boosted by hopes European leaders will announce fresh measures to address the sovereign debt crisis. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) added 135.9pts to 4063.5, after touching an intra-day high of 4049. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) firmed by 140.7pts or 3.6pct to 4004.6.

Netflix Inc. and DreamWorks Animation has reached a multi-year streaming deal that gives Netflix exclusive rights to run DreamWorks feature films and television specials.

A few days after alarming levels of radioactive cesium and iodine 131 were reported near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, local officials plan to decontaminate homes within 60 kilometers, NHK World News reported.

Across Asia, regional markets are all sharply higher following the strong rebound rally seen in overnight trade amidst renewed hopes the latest plan European officials are working on will help ease the debt crisis. The Kospi is the best performer, up 4.1% while the Shanghai Composite, Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng are all up between 0.5% and 2.5%.

The latest Australian Industry Group/Deloitte CEO survey released on Tuesday, "Business Regulation," points to the high and rising cost of complying with regulation for Australian businesses.

Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett hinted Monday that she may grant a brief injunction on sales of Samsung tablet while studying arguments from Samsung and rival Apple, a development that would likely delay the Australian debut of Samsung's 10.1 Galaxy Tab.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Standard & Poor on suspicion of issuing a complex mortgage security identified as Delphinus in 2007, at a time when the housing market already was crumbling.

Fashion magazines are now selling the goods they cover in e-commerce sites and could potentially become competitors to retail stores like Neiman Marcus and Barneys New York.

MIDDAY REPORT (12pm AEST)As expected, the Australian share market is wiping out yesterday's falls with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) up 2.9 pct or 114.9 pts to 4042.5. Keep in mind that despite the improvement, the market locally has still lost ground for five of the past seven sessions.

- The Good Guys are up for sale- A chance for Woolies or Wesfarmers?- The business could bolster either's hardware chainsBy Greg PeelCome in a see the Good, Good, Good Guys / Pay cash and we'll slash low prices.

Air New Zealand hiked its stake in Virgin Australia by 5 per cent to 19.99 per cent. With the increase, the flag carrier became the second largest shareholder next to parent firm Virgin Group.

Vodafone Australia has put a teaser site that allows users to register to get information on "this year's biggest smartphone release," which the ad hints is "coming soon to Vodafone."

The MFAA has echoed warnings from Gadens Lawyers about the use of the term "independent" in describing the services provided by mortgage brokers.

It's now clear that gold and silver have emerged as the major casualties of the current sell-off, only 10 days after gold dealers and several leading forecasters predicted the price would top $US2,000 an ounce by the end of the year.

While global and domestic data highlight the need for a rate cut, the RBA does not seem swayed, Westpac has said.

Greek lawmakers are expected to make crucial decisions today on the property tax that may serve as the means to convince the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Union (EU) to make available an 8 billion euro ($11 billion) loan.

Touted as the fastest broadband access available, Telstra announced on Monday the availability of its 4G long-term evolution (LTE) mobile network that the company said will be deployed to eight central business districts (CBDs) and 30 regional metropolitan centres nationwide.

By Jamie SaettelePrepared by Jamie Saettele, CMT"The month + crude rally may be nearing completion. The advance can be counted in a corrective manner (wave c diagonal).

The AUD has strengthened overnight, opening above USD0.9800, as markets cautiously thought through the possibility the world economy may avoid a global recession.

After the Mongolian government stated it wants to acquire a bigger equity in the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine at a much earlier pace, Rio Tinto has cemented its shareholdings on the company, Ivanhoe Mines, which directly manages the said mining project in Mongolia. Rio Tinto now owns 49 percent of Ivanhoe Mines.

By Greg PeelIt was a relatively busy week in the spot uranium market last week given industry consultant TradeTech reports eight transactions were completed totalling over a million pounds of U3O8 equivalent.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 272 points or 2.5% while the S&P gained 2.3% to 1162 and the Nasdaq struggled with a 1.

MORNING REPORT (7am AEST)US new home sales eased by 2.3pct to an annual rate of 295,000 in August, in line with the consensus forecast. There were just 162,000 new homes available for sale - the lowest on record. The Chicago national activity indicator weakened from an upwardly revised reading of +0.02 in July to minus 0.43 points in August. The Dallas Fed manufacturing output index lifted from +1.1 in July to +5.9 in August.

The developers of Minecraft are burning the midnight oil to meet the goal of unveiling a full version of Minecraft on 11/11/11. Just two weeks after releasing Minecraft 1.8, another adventure update to the sandbox building indie video game written in Java by Swedish creator Markus "Notch" Persson, has been leaked. Persson has also tweeted that Minecraft 1.10 is in the works.

Thousands of farmland owners staged a massive riot against the authorities in Guangdong province last week in protest for forcibly selling the farmers' lands for a commercial complex, New York Times reported.