BUSINESS

Australian Stock Market Report – Midday June 5, 2014

After a flat start this morning, local shares are now firmly in the red following a bigger than expected trade deficit recorded in April. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down for the third day and for the fifth time in six sessions. It has been a busy week so far with the Reserve Bank keeping rates on hold on Tuesday, the Australian economy growing at a faster than expected pace according to a report yesterday and a big jobs report expected in the U.S. tomorrow night.

Global Markets Overview – June 5, 2014

It was another mixed session for European equities, while US markets stormed to another record high. The S&P 500 printed an intraday record high of 1928.63 and closed just a touch below this level. Driving the gains was yet another encouraging round of economic data as many had predicted for this week. A much better-than-expected ISM non-manufacturing PMI print actually set the tone overnight, along with more encouraging comments from the Fed's Beige Book. The employment component of the ISM ...
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Flights to Bali from Australia Resume as Ash Plume Disperses

Indonesia's Mount Sangeang Api continues to spew ash clouds, but it had dissipated to levels considered safe for planes. According to Kristianto of the Eastern Indonesian division of the geological agency, Sangean Api spewed white ash to heights of one kilometre on Monday.
A worker stands in front of an 18-m (59-ft) high and 1.6-km (1-mile) long tsunami defence wall at Chubu Electric Power Co.'s Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station in Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture, in this file picture taken May 17, 2013. In the three years since

Japan Starts Constructing Ice Wall at Crippled Fukushima Power Plant

Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of crippled Fukushima power plant, has started constructing a huge underground ice wall around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. This plan is seen to control and manage the production of toxic water at the complex devastated by a tsunami that was triggered by a magnitude 9 earthquake in March 2011.

Post-Chemo Child Rearing May Be More Possible With New Drug, Study Reports

One of chemotherapy's major side effects includes infertility in both men and women of child-bearing age. This is trying and very difficult for individuals who want to be able to have children after undergoing treatment. Good news is that a new breast cancer drug may be able to prevent women from becoming infertile due to cancer treatment.

Australian Stock Market Report – Midday June 4, 2014

The Australian sharemarket is falling for the second day and for the fourth time in five trading days. U.S. stocks snapped a three day win streak, giving the market a negative lead today. Despite a 0.5 per cent rise in the iron ore price, the metal's recent weakness has made the miners less attractive to investors.

Australia Logs 1.1% GDP Growth in Q1 2014

Australia's economy is back on a growth path after it registered a 1.1 per cent gross domestic products (GDP) growth rate for the first quarter of 2013, The Australian reports.
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New Microsoft Windows ‘Start Menu’ Delayed Until 2015

Microsoft said that it was planning to bring back the classic 'Start Menu' at its developer conference in April. However, the tech giant did not confirm the official date. Now it was being speculated that, an update to Windows 8.1 scheduled for August 2014 will bring this classic menu back to Windows OS.

Global Markets Overview – June 4, 2014

US equities were flat overnight, with investors non-committal heading into the business end of the week. The S&P had to come from behind and even managed to test an intraday record high before a minor pullback into the close. With US economic data starting to ramp up, beginning with the ADP non-farm payrolls, trade balance and the GDP reading, some investors feel this warrants a bit of caution. The market certainly seems to be pricing in a strong set of data from the US this week, which puts ris...

Australian Stock Market Report – Morning June 4, 2014

In US economic data, factory orders rose by 0.7% in April, above the forecast 0.5% gain. Chain store sales in the latest week were up 3.5% on a year earlier, up from 3.2% in the previous week. And the ISM New York index rose from 627.4 to 630.1 in May.

Australian Stock Market Report – Afternoon June 3, 2014

The losses steadily accelerated today, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) finishing close to the lows of the day; down 0.7 per cent to 5460.5. Worse than expected Chinese date and softer than forecast retail spending numbers kept investors uninspired.

Global Markets Overview – June 3, 2014

US equities printed a record high yet again, but this time with not quite as much conviction as we've seen in recent sessions. Meanwhile, a shocking German CPI print kept the stimulus camp happy in Europe, especially after the ECB flagged inflation as one of its key concerns. Data out of the US was quite encouraging with the final manufacturing PMI print mildly ahead of consensus, while the ISM manufacturing PMI was relatively in-line with consensus. There was a bit of drama with the ISM prin...

Australian Stock Market Report – Morning June 3, 2014

In US economic data, the ISM manufacturing reading was initially released showing an unexpected dip from 54.9 to 53.2 in May. However according to multiple reports, ISM corrected itself by saying manufacturing activity actually improved to 55.4 in May. That helped ease concerns about the economy, and the Dow Jones industrial average quickly climbed back into positive territory on the altered result. US construction spending rose by 0.2% in April.

Australian Stock Market Report – Afternoon June 2, 2014

Local stocks managed to rise for the first time in three sessions. Promising Chinese data on Sunday and a better end to the week across U.S. markets acted as catalysts. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose by just shy of 0.5 per cent, closing near the highest level of the day.

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