BUSINESS

Leighton Holdings Ltd (ASX: LEI) had completed the sale of a 35 per cent stake in its Indian operations to leading diversified Indian conglomerate, Welspun Group. The Australian company said payment was received yesterday.

Australia's internet service providers are wary that the planned National Broadband Network (NBN) may push up their prices much to the dismay of customers.

Macquarie Group Ltd. (ASX:MQG) is optimistic that with better market conditions, the second half of the year would bode well for its businesses particularly for Macquarie Securities and Macquarie Capital.

A $1.6-billion aluminium smelting plant that will be put up in Malaysia’s Sarawak state by a partnership of two major Chinese and Malaysian groups will have a capacity of 370,000 tonnes a year.

Australian capital city dwelling values fell by a seasonally adjusted 2.1 per cent in the first quarter of the year, according to the latest RP Data-Rismark Home Value Index.

On the eToro trading floor, sentiment among eToro's oil traders was bullish in favor of buying by a ratio of 14 buyers to 6 sellers.

Housing affordability is by far the main issue facing first home buyers, according to the latest survey from Loan Market.

The master plan for the future delivery of financial advice has been mapped out.

By Dian L. Chu, EconMattersQE2 is going to go down as one of the worst monetary policy initiatives in the history of the modern Federal Reserve era.

Some 15,000 model structures made from an estimated 30 million Lego bricks, along with over 40 interactive rides, shows and attractions, will be the main features at Legoland Malaysia that is set to open late next year.

US economic growth slowed from a 3.1pct annual pace in the fourth quarter to 1.8pct in the March quarter. Economists had expected growth of around 2pct. US jobless claims rose by 25,000 to 429,000 in the last week.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 72 points or 0.6% while the S&P gained 0.4% to 1360 and the Nasdaq managed 0.

Bread giant Goodman Fielder has announced a reduction in its expected profits following a "soft" third quarter, with businesses affected by retailer competition between Coles and Woolworths, fallout from the floods, commodity costs and the high Australian dollar.

Shares in Associated British Foods tumbled in morning trade yesterday after the George Weston and Don/KR Castlemaine parent company cut its full-year profit outlook, despite an improved first-half performance from its sugar and grocery businesses.

A nascent growth in manufacturing activity in the Philippines slowed in February in terms of both volume and value of production, according to newly released government statistics.

Apple Inc has denied reports that the company installed a tracking device on its iPhones to know the locations of users.

Two operators of the famed 7-Eleven stores were fined $150,000 for exploiting international workers from Zimbabwe and India.

South Australia's manufacturing industry has recorded negative growth in annual average employment between 2000-01 and 2009-10, according to official national figures.

- Inflation risk in EMs remains to the upside- The risk does not abate if annual CPI growth rates peak- Currency revaluation would be the best solution- Beijing has to be the first to actBy Greg PeelBefore we get started, to appreciate the following discussion it is necessary to understand “ba...

An unearthed body of a miner clad in uniform with in the crumpled Pike River mine gained fuming calls to “get our boys out” in New Zealand.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has committed a total of $400 million to three emerging managers in the pension fund's Manager Development Program II (MDP II) for public equity investment.

Large Endowments and Foundations were early adopters of hedge funds in their portfolios with many allocating approximately 50% of their asset allocation. However, in the two years following the financial markets meltdown, these same investors stayed primarily on the sidelines for new hedge fund allocations. Over the past 6 months, Agecroft Partners has seen a significant increase in the search activity for endowments and foundations and expects this trend to continue for the foreseeable future. ...

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 95 points or 0.8% while the S&P gained 0.6% to 1355 and the Nasdaq added 0.8%.

US Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke, reaffirmed the view that US interest rates will remain at record low levels for quite some time to come.

As expected, the flooding and big wet across Queensland since January has put a big hole in the production and sales performance of Macarthur Coal in the three and nine months to the end of March.

Australia's third most important export market, South Korea, continues to grow strongly, as does the chances of another rate rise.

As expected there was no change from the US Federal Reserve after its two day meeting which ended early Thursday morning, Sydney time.

U.S. stocks indexes surged to fresh multi year highs after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank would continue to reinvest proceeds from maturing securities and added that there was no specific time frame to begin tightening interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average leapt 95.59 points, or 0.76%, to 12690.96, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.62% to 1355.66.

The Australian Dollar drifted below the $1.07 mark in quiet holiday trade during Asian hours yesterday.