BUSINESS

Australian Stock Market Report - Midday 18 May 2011

After a slow start to trade, the Australian sharemarket is managing to gain for the second straight session at lunch. The All Ordinaries index (XAO) is up 0.3 pct or 16.1 pts to 4700 thanks in part to the mining and energy sectors creeping into positive territory after opening lower this morning.

China's new rich folks growing

The widening social gap between the rich and the poor is clearly emerging in China as plans to make a private elite club comprised of the new rich has been revealed in reports on Chinese dailies in Beijing.
More news

Hedge fund industry leverage declines as total capital reaches record level

Hedge fund industry leverage declined in the last 12 months, according to the HFR Leverage Report, released today by Hedge Fund Research, Inc. (HFR). Leverage declined as investor inflows and less volatile performance gains combined to increase global hedge fund industry assets to a record $2.02 trillion.

Xstrata to phase out copper smelting

Global miner Xstrata Mount Isa Mines says it plans to phase out copper smelting at Mount Isa and refining operations in Townsville by the end of 2016 in a bid to sustain the future of its Mount Isa operations through expanded mining and concentrate production.

How to sell your HR and salary budget

The passage of your HR budget through the annual Budget Review process is often a better indicator of the company's real endorsement of strategic HR than any document you could persuade the CEO to sign.

Global Markets Overview 18 May 2011

U.S. stocks stumbled for a third day in a row as weak economic data and a negative outlook from Hewlett-Packard heightened fears about a slowdown in the global economic recovery.

World Market Overview 05/18/2011

The Australian share market drifted higher in quiet trading Tuesday as heavyweight mining stocks led a broad based recovery in the local bourse after it hit an eight week low on Monday.

Australian Stock Market Report 05/18/2011

US industrial output was unchanged in April against expectations of a 0.4pct rise. Capacity utilisation eased from 77.0pct to 76.9pct in April. US housing starts fell by 10.6pct in April. Compared to April last year residential construction was down 23.9pct. New building permits fell 4pct in April.

World Market Overview 5/17/2011

The technology and consumer-discretionary sectors led stocks lower Monday as weak economic data spurred worries of a softening economy and Europe's debt crisis kept investor sentiment in check.

June Rate Rise On The Cards

By Greg PeelI'm not going to say anything, just offer these monetary policy conclusions from past RBA statements and minutes, and from today's May minutes.

Sony Playstation back online In US, EU

Japan's Sony Inc has resumed the partial operations of its leading PlayStation Network and Qriocity entertainment services in the U.S. and Europe after more than three weeks that they were attacked by hackers, the company said in a statement.

Work and stress: An unhealthy association?

Work is an important component of adult life. Australians spend on average 64 hours per week doing it. Despite it being such an important and large part of our adult life, people experience a range of problems and impacts related to work, including stress.

Forex Market Insight Report 17 May 2011

AUD had and extremely choppy night with an early rally in Europe on the positivity surrounding the Portugal rescue packageseeing risk currencies bought strongly. This euphoria didn’t last long however and as commodities got sold aggressively the AUD also felt the effects. Today seems dependant on what the RBA has to say in their minutes and looks range-bound prior.

The Economy: Home Loans, Cars Down

First it was retail sales for March, then the labour force figures for April; now housing finance data for March has come in weak and surprisingly so.

The Big Headache Of The ECB Chairman

As Finance Ministers and Eurozone policymakers meet to discuss the options available to some of the Eurozone's fiscally troubled states, the common currency is finding support from the earlier release of higher than expected core inflation data.

Rumour Mill Hits Uranium

By Greg PeelThe last two weeks have seen carnage in spot commodity markets, yet uranium's trajectory has been to the upside.

Three Reasons Silver Has Underperformed Gold During May

By Lior Cohen, Energy Analyst for Trading NRG3 Reasons Silver Has Underperformed Gold During MayDuring March and April silver has outperformed gold price by a landslide, and yet during May (so far) it seems that the tables have turned and gold price is outperforming silver price.

Pages