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Australia's largest coal hauler and transporter QR National stabilised at $2.55 per share at its mid-day introductory debut at the Australian stock exchange and so far raised some $4.6 billion for the Queensland government.

The Pike Coal Mining rescue team in New Zealand are preparing to send a robot to assess the situation of the 29 miners trapped underground for the last three days.

Recruitment company Humanis Group Ltd (ASX: HUM) today announced it has entered into a binding Heads of Agreement (HOA) with resource industry service provider ResCo Services Pty Ltd in which Humanis will acquire ResCo for $13.4 million through the issue of Humanis shares at $0.01 per share.

Airport owner and operator MAp Group (ASX: MAP), formerly Macquarie Airports, today announced a lift in total passenger traffic at all airports in October.

Virgin Blue scored a goal as the official airline of the Australian Football League (AFL) after the latter dumped Qantas on an $8 million-a-year contract.

A jostle for stability and sustainable growth had been the direction of Australian businesses whether big or small in the last nine months, two separate research surveys conducted by the Westpac Banking Corp. and the National Australia Bank had shown.

Australia's logistics and supply chain management solutions provider Brambles (ASX: BXB) has announced its bid to acquire IFCO Systems NV for $US1.255 million ($1.27 million) to expand the company's supply chain business in the US and Europe.

Andrew Thomas, owner of the "XSport Games" trademark, lost his infringement case launched by media giant ESPN Inc against him and is now prohibited from organising and staging the sports spectacle anytime soon.

Krispy Kreme Australia will close down 21 stores across the country (15 stores in NSW, five in Victoria and one in Queensland) as part of restructuring efforts to meet financial obligations.

Qantas today confirmed an updated schedule for its international network to ensure minimum disruption to passengers following the grounding of its Airbus A380 fleet.

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission will carefully scrutinise the proposed takeover of ASX Ltd. by Singapore Exchange Ltd.

Two of Australia's major banks, Westpac Banking Corporation and the National Australia Bank (NAB) are seen following its two competitors in implementing higher interest rates after government authorities tighten up on exit fees.

Bega Cheese has bought a $22 million or equivalent to 15 percent stake in the Victorian dairy company Warrnambool Cheese and Butter (WCB).

The Industry Funds Management and the Queensland Investment Corporation has acquired the Port of Brisbane for $2.3 billion, reports said.

Australia's biggest wheat producer AWB Limited (ASX: AWB) has posted a net loss of more than $55 million for fiscal year 2010 as the drought affected the quality of the grains produced and the nearing merger with the Canadian firm Agrium Ltd (TSX and NYSE: AGU).

Air New Zealand (NZE: AIR) said on Wednesday that charges that it was part of price fixing in air cargo services had been dropped by the European Commission.

Travelers flying on Qantas Air will experience delays as the company shuffles its fleet to cover the grounded A380s, Qantas spokesman Simon Rushton said.

Passengers from Qantas Airbus A380, the same carrier where Oprah Winfrey next month was to have flown hundreds of US audience members in a John Travolta-piloted down under trip, have left for Australia on relief flights.

Ten Network Holdings Ltd. (TEN.AU) chairman Nick Falloon have agreed to set down from his post to resolve pending issues with new shareholder James Packer.

Qantas Airways Ltd. and engine makers Rolls-Royce Group Plc with Airbus SAS have started an investigation of the malfunctioning plane engine that put 459 people in danger yesterday.

A Qantas A380 plane has been forced to fly back to Singapore's Changi Airport after pilots found one of its engines malfunctioning and were forced to shut down.

The weak US dollar will continue to fuel the higher prices of commodities considered as the next safest forms of investment.

Strativity Group, a leading provider of customer experience services, today announced it has opened an office in Sydney to support growing interest from Australian and New Zealand organisations in adopting customer-centric approaches and proactively managing their customer experiences.

Mining firm Xstrata Plc has increased its offer price for iron ore developer Perth-based Sphere Minerals Ltd (SPH.AU) to $3 a share and declared the offer best and estimated at $514 million.

The Westfield Group has announced that a retail trust would separately be created and listed to raise A$3.5 billion in capital.

Westpac Banking Corp.'s second-half earnings hit a high of $3.47 billion ($3.47 billion) in the six months ending Sept. 30, as against the $1.27 billion a year earlier.

Network Ten (TEN.AU), has announced that it would restructure the composition of its Board of Directors as concerns of competitive disruptions arose recently with the entrance of James Packer and possible co-investor Mr. Lachlan Murdoch into the company.

Sydney Airport operator MAp Group has reported a 7 percent increase in earnings for the year attributing to passenger traffic, which also rose 19.5 percent.

The Australian stock market is gathering mixed leads in today's trading day as the last-minute decline in the Wall Street trading will have some influence, but analysts are more optimistic.