BUSINESS

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 47 points or 0.4% while the S&P lost 0.6% to 1329 and the Nasdaq lost 1.

- Greece is now in too deep a hole- Debt restructuring is inevitable- Restructuring will be orderly so as to avoid contagionBy Greg Peel“Greece is in a negative feedback loop in which high restructuring probability implies precarious debt dynamics, while such dynamics imply even higher default...

Hedge funds gained 1.32% in April according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge. Year-to-date the Index is up 3.24%.

Oliver Schupp, President of Credit Suisse Index Co., LLC, said, "The Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index rose 1.80% in April, with nine out of ten sectors posting positive performance for the month. Managed Futures was the best performing sector for the month, finishing up 5.40%."

Net capital inflow to the US was US$116 billion in March, up from US$95.6 billion in February and US$38.7 billion in January. Chinese holdings of treasuries eased from $1.1541 trillion to US$1.1449 trillion. The National Association of Home Builders index was unchanged at +16 in May.

Traders were content to play the ranges during yesterday’s Asian session once support kicked in around the US105 cent area. The Australian Dollar moved back up towards 1.0560 despite economic data revealing that the number of home loans approved in Australia fell to a 10-year low in March.

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.

Gold, silver, copper, oil and shares all had a mixed end to a mixed week on Friday night, our time.

The Australian Dollar opens lower today at 1.0571 after the greenback strengthened across the board late on Friday night and demand cooled for higher-yielding assets. The Aussie had a steady session on Friday locally ahead of a 1.0715 peak early in the European time zone.

U.S. stocks fell broadly Friday as worries over Greece's finances ramped up ahead of the weekend. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 100.17 points, or 0.79%, to 12595.75. The Nasdaq Composite shed 34.57 points, or 1.21%, to 2828.47, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 10.88 points, or 0.81%, to 1337.77, with every sector in the red. U.S. stocks fell broadly Friday as worries over Greece's finances ramped up ahead of the weekend. The Dow Jones Industrial Average droppe...

It was a tough start to the week today with the Australian sharemarket hitting its lowest level in just under 2 months. The ASX 200 index (XJO) fell 1.3 pct or 61.4 pts to 4650 while the broader All Ordinaries index (XAO) slumped 1.3 pct or 63.1 pts to 4724.2.

Macarthur Coal Ltd (ASX:MCC) has lifted its net profit guidance as a consequence of the sale of partial interest in Codrilla for $74.9 million.

As debt concerns flood Europe and the market awaits central bank’s meeting for the month of May, the Australian dollar was more than one US cent lower at noon.

Whitehaven (ASX:WHC), the Australian coal producer that put itself up for sale in October, announced today it had ended talks for a potential takeover transaction.

Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) and Chinese Internet company Alibaba Group tried to present a united front Sunday as they worked on a dispute relating to Alibaba's online payment service.

Leighton Holdings Ltd (ASX: LEI) today announced a loss after tax of $382m for the nine months to 31 March 2011 from total revenue of $13.8bn. The company said it expects to report a loss after tax of $427 million for the 2010/11 financial year.

- Boart Longyear reiterates guidance at AGM- Lack of an upgrade may be disappointing but reflects conservative management- Positive earnings expectations see stock continue to be rated highlyBy Chris ShawLast Friday Boart Longyear ((BLY)) held its annual general meeting and at the meeting earnings g...

Australia's housing market has slowed in recent months, as auction clearance results, new home loans and home prices slump, national official figures show.

Another huge wage increase is expected to destabilize the struggling sector of small businesses in the face of federal budget warnings of a patchwork economy. This shall be the argument of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry or ACCI in the succeeding national wage trials this week.

After a few hours of trade, the Australian sharemarket is down 1.2 pct or 55.7 pts to 4731.6. All sectors are trading lower, with the miners, oil and gas producers and major banks dragging the broader market significantly lower.

Inflation data released on Friday in the US was in line with expectations while the University of Michigan consumer survey surprised on the upside. April CPI rose 0.4% mom to be up 3.2% yoy. Inflation projected one year ahead is 4.4%.

AUD was caught in the cross-fire of risk currencies getting sold on EU debt concerns and we closed towards the lows. Traders still calling AUD lower in the coming sessions but wanting a clear break of 1.0500/20 support to confirm this view. RBA minutes tomorrow may dictate the overall move for the week, but with commodities struggling, downside is the risk.

By Ilya Spivak, Currency StrategistFundamental Forecast for Gold: BullishGold Tests Key Trend Line Support, Threatens Bearish BreakoutGold - Forex Correlations Strong Despite Commodities CorrectionGold prices largely decoupled from the risk on/off dichotomy that ruled financial markets in the afterm...

Incidents like sexual harassment and workplace bullying could potentially cost companies millions of dollars unless they change their approach to preventing these behaviours

Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths have been taken to task over dodgy origin labelling, after an investigation by the NSW Food Authority revealed that two stores were selling mislabelled fruit The incident marks the first time Coles and Woolworths have been fined for Country of Origin labelling breaches, and both have been placed on the NSW Food Authority's Name and Shame register.

(This story was originally published on Wednesday, 11th May, 2011. It has now been re-published to make it available to non-paying members at FNArena and to readers elsewhere).

A wary end to the week on Friday night in financial markets, with shares and commodities on pause or stuttering as traders try and work out whether the past fortnight is a blip or the start of a correction, or worse.

Google led the explicit core search market in the United States in April with 65.4 percent of search queries conducted, according to comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR). Yahoo! and Microsoft took the second and third spots with 15.7 percent and 13.9 percent of the U.S. market, respectively. Ask Network had 3.1 percent of the searches while AOL, Inc., was fifth with 1.6 percent.

US consumer prices rose by 0.4pct in April, above expectations centred on a rise of 0.3pct. Excluding food and energy (core measure) consumer prices rose by 0.2pct, in line with expectations. And the US consumer sentiment index rose from 69.8 to 72.4 in May, above forecasts centred on a result near 69.5.