BUSINESS

Gains from Friday's jobs numbers were short lived as renewed global growth concerns and declining oil prices came back to haunt global markets. Yesterday's disappointing Japan GDP and China trade balance set off the global growth alarm bells once again.

In US economic data, the employment trends index rose from 122.8 to 123.24 in November.

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It includes gifts such as a Swatch Watch and a compact makeup palette from Avon.

Canada's poultry products from B.C. has been banned by the United States, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, South Africa and Mexico following the recent avian bird flu outbreak in the state.

Australian shares kicked off the trading weak substantially firmer with the ASX 200 Index up 0.7 per cent and ending just shy of 5400pts. Local shares managed to rise by 0.4 per cent last week despite a tough start to the week.

Local stocks have started the second week of December on a strong footing. The ASX 200 opened flat, although buyers were waiting in the wings and the market was well supported over the course of the morning. The upward momentum for the market ebbed when the index hit the 5380 but prices remained well supported around these levels into the afternoon.

Apple Inc (AAPL) stock is expected to surge upward as analysts see higher demand for the company bigger iPhones in the holiday quarter.

The Russian currency, Ruble, has been falling for the past few months and is negatively affecting the country’s economy.

The Australian Dollar has opened this week around the .8300 level as Friday's US jobs report exceeded forecasts and the USD continued its strength.

The US dollar has been broadly bid higher as investors react to Friday's jobs numbers. The November payrolls reading showed 321,000 jobs were created and average hourly earnings rose 0.4%, while the unemployment rate was steady at 5.8%. This was the highest number of jobs created in nearly three years and was also accompanied by upward revisions to the previous two months. Heading into next week's Fed meeting, this jobs report is only fuelling the case for the hawks.

In US economic data, non-farm payrolls (employment) rose by 321,000 in November, well above forecasts of job gains of 230,000 and the strongest increase in jobs in almost three years. The jobless rate was unchanged at 5.8% and hourly earnings rose by 0.4% in the month, above forecasts for a 0.2% gain. The trade deficit narrowed from a revised US$43.6 billion deficit to US$43.4bn deficit in October.

Kazanah Nasional Berhad, the majority state-owned company that operates the embattled Malaysia Airlines announced on Saturday the appointment of Christopher R Mueller as chief executive airline. His designation aims to boost the business of the air carrier that suffered from two major air tragedies in 2014.

Australian medical marijuana company Phytotech will soon be listed in the Australian Securities Exchange on Dec. 22.

A flat start for local shares on Friday has given way to broad selling for the ASX 200. At the best levels of the session the AS 200 was ahead by almost 21 points. However at lunchtime the market was around session lows with a loss of 26 points or 0.5%. The was no clear direction offered by US and European markets overnight.

Falling oil prices will have a major impact on the global economy with some countries benefitting while others struggle.

WestJet Christmas Miracle: Spirit of Giving is a beautiful heartwarming video where even in a place with no snow, it is possible to have a snowy Christmas experience.

Kantar research shows Apple’s improved market share and Android’s decline in August-October time frame.

The Australian Dollar made new four year lows last night amid expectations of interest rate cuts early next year.

2015 will remain a year of mass monetary accommodation; what will change is where the money printing and record low rates will come from. The ECB is clearly gearing up for a broad-ranging stimulus package in 2015. ECB President Mario Draghi stated clearly that the Board 'won't tolerate' low inflation and announced that officials had discussed all measures barring gold to support the economy at last night's meeting. It will allot another round to its current corporate bond buying prog...

In economic data, jobless claims fell by 17,000 to 297,000 last week. The 4-week moving average - a better gauge of underlying trends - rose to 299,000, the highest in 10 weeks.

Goldman Sachs predicts Australia's economy will face crucial challenges in 2015 as the country struggles with declining mining investments and plunging prices of commodities.

The ASX 200 spent the afternoon consolidating having reached session highs in the latter part of morning trade. Materials and Industrial stocks were the best improved sectors and investors gave the defensive utilities sector a wide berth which saw that group lagging the most.

Early trade on Thursday has seen local shares continue to build on the gains of recent sessions. The ASX 200 opened the day with a gain of 5 points before pushing on to the best levels of the morning when the market was ahead by 52 pts. Investors have been encouraged by the positive tone of US economic news released over night. European shares were generally higher on Wednesday on hopes that the European Central Bank would inject more stimulus into the economy on Thursday. The FTSEurofirst 300 i...

Falling oil prices and slowing down of growth has got many investors concerned about a global recession hitting the markets.

The Australian Dollar is lower after yesterday's weaker-than-expected GDP data from around 0.8460 to 0.8400 and after some intra-session variation overnight, that's about where it sits this morning.

In a slight surprise this week, the PBoC did not use the reverse-repo operation to drain the excess liquidity in the market. Most had forecast this would take place considering the fiscal policy changes currently underway. To my eye, this signals intent that 2015 will be a growth supporting year; interest rate cuts, reserve requirement ratios and further disbursements will be a theme from China in 2015.

In US economic data, the ISM services index rose from 57.1 to 59.3 in November, above forecasts for a result near 57.5. The ADP survey showed that 208,000 jobs were created in November, just short of expectations for 221,000 job growth. The mortgage market index fell by 7.3% in the latest week, dragged down by a fall in refinancing.

Australian shares maintained most of their gains with the ASX 200 Index rising by 0.8 per cent; trading above 5300pts and adding to yesterday's 1.4 per cent surge. Energy and mining sectors improved by between 0.7 per cent and 1.2 per cent despite a slump in oil, gold and iron ore prices.