BUSINESS

Renewed demand for growth related assets pushed the AUD higher overnight.

The Aussie spent most of yesterday recovering from the previous session's losses owing to the military flare-up on the Korean Peninsula.

U.S. investors geared up for the holiday shopping season by snapping up retail stocks, erasing almost all of Tuesday's sharp declines as the latest economic data painted an improving picture for U.S. growth.

The final US consumer sentiment reading for November rose from 67.7 to 71.6.

The market made a late recovery to only close down a couple of points at the close today with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) losing 0.1pct or 3.7pts to 4673.2.

The Australian share market closed steady after regaining early losses as investors bought into stocks weakened by concerns about European sovereign debt and tensions on the Korean peninsula

The outlook in the building and construction sector is concerning as government stimulus spending winds down, says the peak body of the industry.

The value of construction work done unexpectedly slumped in the September quarter, led by a drop in completed residential buildings compared with the previous three months.

The September 2010 quarter housing affordability in Sydney was 20.8 per cent lower than a year earlier, while regional NSW affordability was down by 18.7 per cent, according to the HIA-Commonwealth Bank Affordability Report released today.

Amidst the reported presence of cancer-causing chemicals on Queensland’s emerging liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal seam gas (CSG) operations, a new research apparently showed that despite the risks it brings, the state’s mining industry hauled in an estimated $3.8 billion in tax revenues for the past financial year.

Buyers are in the best position as evidence emerges of a softening of the property market nationally, according to leading tax and property accountants in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd continues beefing up its fleet of Airbus A330s as it announced on Wednesday the scheduled delivery of two more aircrafts by 2012, which the airline said would be deployed to serve its Australian service routes.

The Australian sharemarket is off by 0.2pct or 10.8pts to 4666.1 being led lower by weakness in both our largest banks and miners.

The Aussie opens sharply lower today at 0.9710 as risk appetite took a nosedive overnight. In the absence of any market-moving economic data, European sovereign debt concerns continued to occupy the minds of investors during local trade on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks steepened their decline Tuesday after the Federal Reserve downgraded its U.S. economic projections in the minutes of its latest meeting, citing worse than expected growth.

The Commerce Department upwardly revised its estimate of September quarter growth from 2pct to 2.5pct.

The Australian share market dived more than one per cent on Tuesday as uncertainty over European sovereign debt troubled investors on a day with few economic indicators to provide direction.

Local stocks were heavily sold off in afternoon trade, as worries about Eurozone debt contagion and weakness in the Asian region unsettled investors

Fairfax Media is recalibrating its corporate structure to arrest the media company’s continuing profit slide in the print division and to keep abreast with the shifting norms in the media business operations.

Sigma Pharmaceuticals (ASX: SIP) says it has now reached formal agreement with Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd group of companies on the terms and conditions of the sale and the ongoing relationship between them. On August 16, 2010, Sigma announced that it had agreed in principle to sell its pharmaceuticals division to Aspen for A$900 million.

Metcash Ltd (ASX: MTS), the country's largest wholesale and distribution company, today openly defied the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission by announcing its plan to pursue its attempted takeover of Franklins.

Qantas Airways Ltd is set to fly again some of its Airbus A380s as it announced on Tuesday that a London-bound aircraft is scheduled to take off from Sydney on November 27, Saturday.

Local stocks have followed US and European markets lower in early trade, with investors concerned other Eurozone countries may join Ireland in requiring a financial bailout.

Australian tennis star Mark Philippoussis is facing bankruptcy notice following the reported default on his $1.2 million mortgage for his Williamstown townhouse near the Port Philip Bay in Victoria.

A growing field of analysts and industry insiders is warning that new capacity shortages are looming beyond 2011, although supply and demand in the container shipping industry appears in balance for next year.

Retail and financial services company Thorn Group Ltd (ASX: TGA) has reported a 38 per cent lift in net profit for the six months to September 30, 2010 to $11 million (2009: $8M).

One in four Australians dealt with financial trouble in the last 12 months, according to new research released today by Citibank.

U.S. stocks fell Monday as bank shares were hurt by worries about a broad insider trading probe and energy shares took a hit from falling oil prices.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index improved from -0.52 to -0.28 in October. A zero value indicates the national economy is expanding at historical trends.