Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX:IAG) has been sunken with claims arising from the devastating Queensland floods, but says it is too early to estimate the likely claim costs.
Microsoft Australia has appointed Michael Gration as director of public sector group in Australia. Gration takes responsibility for sales and marketing of all levels of government accounts which includes defence, education and health.
An estimated 2,400 claims have been submitted to the Insurance Australia Group with more expected to be filed as rains continue to pour.
A survey by Hedge Fund Compensation showed that majority of hedge fund professionals are expecting higher annual pay and bonuses as the hedge fund industry posted better-than-expected returns last year.
Managed futures gained 2.85% in December according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge. The Index was up 6.26% for the year.
U.S.-based, CoreLogic, has announced that it would buy Australian real estate information company, RP Data for $191 million or about AU$1.65 per share in addition to a 5 cents per share dividend.
The Australian dollar has rallied strongly overnight, pushing back above USD0.9900.
Investors piled into U.S. stocks after a Portuguese government debt auction eased immediate worries about the euro zone.
The Australian Dollar fell dramatically during local trade yesterday as a combination of several factors (European Sovereign Debt; QLD floods and its impact on local growth and interest rates) prompted traders to sell the Aussie in favour of safer havens.
US import prices rose by 1.1pct in December with export prices up 0.7pct.
National Australia Bank (ASX: NAB) says it would increase its donation to the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal to $350,000 and will now provide $650,000 to affected local communities.
Leighton Holdings Ltd (ASX: LEI) says that a number of the group's Queensland construction and contract mining operations may be affected due to extreme weather events.
Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX:WES) says it has secured an increase to its metallurgical coal prices for the first three months to 31 March 2011.
Rising waters in Queensland's capital city, Brisbane, have caused Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers (ASX: WES) to close some of its Coles supermarkets.
The floods in Queensland are being blamed on one of the strongest "La Niña” weather phenomenon case in the world to date that led to unusually less rain to the South America near along the eastern Pacific and more rain to the western Pacific.
The Queensland floods, which on January 5 caused a steam outage at the Lytton Refinery, prompting an unscheduled shutdown, is expected to cost Caltex Australia (ASX: CTX) $5 - $10 million (after tax) in 2011. The company is continuing to assess the impacts of the severe weather conditions.
Australia's major airlines are set to experience a significant slump in passenger numbers because of the Queensland floods, The Australian Financial Review says.
Westpac has dismissed a report that it is looking to replace chief executive Gail Kelly.
The Centro Properties sale of its 600 U.S. shopping centers and 112 overseas malls has attracted interest from six high-profile local and overseas companies.
The Australian securities regulator on Wednesday issued a class order which aims to clarify and standardise reporting of short positions in the Australian securities market.
Strength from mining stocks is managing to keep the Australian share market slightly firmer at lunchtime in the East, although worries about the economic cost of the Queensland floods is also having an impact.
The Australian dollar bounced back after lingering on the low side for a month as promising economic data pushed the market short.
The Australian Dollar fell on the release of yesterdays Trade Balance with the number coming in well below forecast at A$1,93 billion compared with a previous reading of A$2.56 billion.
The AUD has opened slightly higher this morning after a fairly uneventful offshore session overnight.
US wholesale inventories fell by 0.2pct in November - the first fall in 11 months.
U.S. stocks rose Tuesday as worries eased over the euro zone debt crisis, but the gains were pared in the afternoon as a shaky start to the earnings season made investors hesitant to leave big bets in the market ahead of an expected snowstorm in the New York metropolitan area.
National carrier Qantas (ASX: QAN) today announced it would resume A380 services between Australia and Los Angeles, commencing with QF93 from Melbourne to Los Angeles on 16 January.
Optus, Australia's second-largest telecommunications carrier, says the there has been limited impact to the Optus mobile network in the flood affected areas of Queensland as of 4pm today.
Australian stocks closed slightly lower on Tuesday, with investors targeting defensive stocks due to concerns over the economic impact of the Queensland floods.
As coal mining in Queensland came to a grinding halt due to floodwaters, many buyers run to U.S. coal producers to meet their needs.
