BUSINESS

Over the years the Australian dollar has had a habit of going up by the stairs and coming back down via the lift. I

MARKET CLOSE (4.30pm AEST)The Australian sharemarket had a dramatic trading Tuesday as stocks staged an amazing comeback with the ASX 200 index (XJO) up 1.2 pct or 48.7 pts to 4034.8 while the broader All Ordinaries index (XAO) rose 1 pct or 40 pts to 4096.7.

Global miner BHP Billiton is moving to gain control of its iron-ore mining operations in Australia's Pilbara region. Australia’s Leighton Holdings today announced it has signed a Heads of Agreement for the sale of the HWE Iron Ore entities and assets that provide iron ore contract mining services to BHP Billiton in Western Australia.

Significant pressure from the continued strengthening of the Australian dollar, and increasing competition has forced Coca-Cola Amatil to close one of its three food processing factories in Australia, resulting in 150 job cuts.

A new analysis claims that tablet makers looking to compete with Apple's iPad should cut prices if they want to grasp the opportunity and they have a better chance in Europe than in the United States.

MIDDAY REPORT (12.30pm AEST)The Australian sharemarket is currently trading at its lowest level since July 2009, with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 4.5 pct or 181.4 pts to 3875.3. The major U.S and European markets tumbled significantly overnight, leaving us with a negative lead too difficult to shrug off.

Australia's two large banks, the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and Westpac (WBC), have cut back its fixed home loan rates without waiting any further for the central bank's next move.

The Australian Bankers' Association (ABA) has criticized the planned initiative by the Greens Party to put a cap on ATM fees that can be charged by banks, which may result to pass on fees to customers if pursued by Parliament.

National Australia Bank's direct asset management business, NabInvest, has announced it has acquired a 35 percent equity in AREA Property Partners (AREA), a global real estate fund manager based in New York.

The National Australia Bank was able to deliver earnings in the June quarter as local and affiliate banks from offshore locations have contributed to business growth in spite the difficult conditions.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 634 points or 5.6% to 10,809, the S&P fell 6.7% to 1119 and the Nasdaq fell 6.

The idea of real estate portals having direct contact with vendors was first tabled by Realestate.com.au CEO Greg Ellis in March 2011, where he indicated REA would consider selling products directly to property vendors.

It is perhaps the biggest story of the year in terms of fundamental food rights, and yet with very few exceptions, old media (traditional newspapers and news outlets) has outright refused to even cover the story.

- BIS Shrapnel releases Building In Australia 2011 report- Oz building commencements tipped to recover from 2011/12- Commercial and industrial building the key driver- Residential construction improvement not expected until 2012/13By Chris ShawThe Australian housing market has seen limited activity ...

Potential home buyers are being frightened away from the market by the government's proposed carbon tax, it has been claimed.

Recently announced changes to the federally funded Remote Employment Services aims to ensure job service providers meet the needs of Indigenous and other remote job seekers.

Markets fell across Asia, Europe and the US yesterday and overnight as the Australian dollar slumped, sharemarkets plunged and gold soared past $US1700 an ounce.

Global equity and commodity prices plunged on Monday as fears of recessions across the Northern Hemisphere caused panic selling by investors. Despite the US credit rating downgrade, the US dollar index and US bond prices rose.

U.S. stocks tumbled deeper into correction territory in a Monday rout that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunging to the biggest point drop since Dec. 1, 2008.

Panicked investors shaved about $17 billion off the Australian share market, sending it to a 25-month low on fears of a volatile Wall Street following the first downgrading of US sovereign debt by Standard & Poor's.

Global equity and commodity prices plunged on Monday as fears of recessions across the Northern Hemisphere caused panic selling by investors. Despite the US credit rating downgrade, the US dollar index and US bond prices rose.

AFTERNOON REPORT (5.20pm AEST)Stocks around the Asian region fell further into the red today as investors reacted to the decision by ratings agency Standard and Poor's to downgrade the long-term credit rating of the United States from AAA to AA+. Investors and traders remained on edge despite the Group of Seven industrial nations pledging a coordinated effort to ensure financial markets have enough liquidity.

Qantas pilots have slammed claims they are seeking spas and massages as part of their industrial campaign against the airline.

Virgin Australia will soon be flying with business class to the Gold Coast, and new luxury lounge is set to follow.

- RedMed quarterly delivered in key areas- Forex pressures continue to impact- Growth outlook still solid, diversification a benefit- Buy ratings still dominate broker viewsBy Chris ShawSleep disorder group ResMed ((RMD)) reported 4Q11 earnings last week and the result had been viewed as an importan...

By Richard (Rick) MillsAs a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best informationThe history of fiat money has always been one of failure - every fiat currency since the Romans started diluting the silver content of their denarius has ended in devaluation and eventual...

(This story was originally published on August 3, 2011. It has now been re-published to make it available to non-paying members at FNArena and to readers elsewhere).

Businesses must change their attitudes about people working from home and use the internet to connect employees through "telework", the Minister for Broadband and Communications Stephen Conroy has announced.

We anticipate a very volatile environment in the next several days after equity markets fluctuated wildly on Friday and the first downgrade of US sovereign debt from AAA to AA- was done by S & P since debt ratings began in 1917 after US markets closed.