ECONOMY

The Reserve Bank at its last meeting seemed to be finally coming around to this view, but preferred to wait for the release of March quarter inflation data.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) expressed on Friday its opposition to plans for the relaxation of fatigue standards for train drivers in New South Wales from the current 12-hour maximum.

Although the influx of foreign visitors to Australia could slow down in financial year 2012, the tourism industry's value would climb by $100 billion by year-end, the Tourism Forecasting Committee said.

St George Bank assured on Friday its employees that no one would lose their jobs amid reports that the subsidiary of Westpac is planning to outsource 200 IT jobs to IBM.

Australian beef exports may benefit from reports of a mad-cow disease in the U.S., according to the Australian Beef Association. The reported case of mad-cow disease in the U.S. may prompt Japan and South Korea to increase its demand from Australia, said the industry group.

Australian borrowers gravitated more on securing fixed mortgage packages, according to a new report, because they deem the rates more stable at the moment, with lenders offering more premium with the product.

While recent statistics indicate the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would likely cut the overnight cash rate when it meets in May, any rate cut would hardly benefit Australian mortgage customers.

Robots could soon assume the role of miners but they will not be harvesting minerals from the depths of the earth, instead they will be transported into space, where they will be deployed to explore the hundreds of asteroids that regularly pass near our planet.

Newcrest Mining again pared down its overall production guidelines for the current financial year following the company's earlier output cutbacks in February, further highlighting the difficulties that hit the miner's global operations.

The Australian share market has managed to shrug off weak offshore leads and fears of a mass sell-down to start the trading day on a positive note. US and European markets slumped overnight, as uncertainty surrounds the future of the French and Dutch governments. The local share market started the trading day on a flat note, defying predictions of a 0.6pct fall and at lunchtime in the East is trading firmer by 903pts or 0.2pct to 4439.6.

Australia's retail sector remains under pressure as reflected by the third quarter results of Wesfarmers' Coles supermarket chains, which slightly moved up but exceeded the general growth forecasts earlier set by the market.

While borrowing an average of $200 a month from family and friends, Australians at the same time have toned down their demand for various types of credit.

The Australian share market has started the trading week on a subdued note, despite gains on US and European markets late last week. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 11.8pts or 0.3pct to 4432.6.

Western Australia is the best economic performer among the different states and territories in the country, the latest report of Commonwealth Securities (CommSec) released on Monday said.

Yesterday the Australian share market improved for the second straight day, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) finishing higher by 14.1 points to 4,441 points.

About 1.2 million people or 7 per cent of the Australian adult and teenage population were victims of credit card fraud in 2011, an Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) survey found. Their loss was equivalent to $1.4 billion.

Despite a slight improvement in business conditions in the first quarter of 2012, a National Australia Bank (NAB) survey released on Friday said that the data boosts the need for a Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) overnight cash rate cut in May.

In a bid to get a larger cut of the supermarket pie, grocery giant Coles revamped its flybuys loyalty programme that offers faster rewards or cash discounts and no expiry dates.

A day after the Gillard government announced the launch of a $1,000 job bonus for Australian firms that would hire workers aged 50 and above for at least 3 months, an employment agency belittled the incentive.

Next to the United States, Australia is the preferred destination of foreign jobseekers, according to the Global Professionals on the Move 2012 report released on Thursday.

The local share market is showing encouraging signs of growth at lunchtime in the East, despite falls on US and European markets overnight. European investors bailed out after bad loans surged in Spain overnight, while US markets eased due to disappointing results from IBM and Intel. After a shaky start, the Australian market is growing legs, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 13.8pts or 0.3pct to 4441 at 12.30pm AEST.

Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co., Ltd., saddled by an unsteady supply source of rare earths, on Tuesday announced it has developed a technological approach that would recycle at least 80 per cent of used rare earths metals in hybrid car batteries.

Australia's carbon dioxide emissions went up in 2011 due to more vehicle use and gases that leaked from coalmines. It resulted in the release of 546 million tonnes of more C02 from those two sources. The data came from Australia's report of the National Greenhouse Accounts to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Credit demands were down for four consecutive months, according to the latest data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), and banks were more inclined to push up their interest rates.

Shares in Paladin Energy slid yesterday after the uranium miner again disappointed the market with a shortfall on guidance.

Toyota Australia implemented on Monday the job cuts it announced earlier this year on its Altona assembly facilities in Melbourne, which the Japanese carmaker has attributed to shrinking orders and the constantly rising Australian dollar.

Australian stocks have started the trading week in the red, dragged down by falls on European and US share markets at the end of last week. Typically, US investors bail out of equities on Friday 13th, the mood last week not helped by ongoing concerns surrounding the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis. Lower commodity prices haven't helped sentiment locally, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 20.5pts or 0.5pct in early trade to 4383.7.

Chances are higher for a Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) overnight cash rate cut in May due to ANZ Bank's decision on Friday to increase its variable mortgage and small business loan rates, economists said on Monday.

One of the true wonders of the modern world, which goes largely unrecognised, is that China manages to collate and report its quarterly economic growth to the world in less than two weeks.