ECONOMY

A fund analyst said on Tuesday that gold will most likely see a temporary correction soon as its spot prices saw a record high of $US1,249.70 last week, which experts attributed to the economic uncertainties spawned by the Greek sovereign debt crisis.

The National Bank of Australia will face a $450 million class action lawsuit for failing to reveal a massive debt dated two years ago.

The Federal Government will rule out the possibility of banning exploration in Western Australia despite that several conservationists are angry over the continuance of oil drilling at Margaret River in Western Australia.

Miners should be cautious now that China's economic growth may not be stable for longer periods.

The Federal Government remained pressured by Queensland miners to bend the rules on the resource super profit tax, however, the Treasurer is still not swayed and insisted the request may not happen too soon.

A spokesperson of the Australian Council of Trade Unions said on Monday that low-paid workers should have their salary increased this year to compensate for the wage freeze last year.

New laws will be proposed in Queensland to protect the landholder's rights once coal seam gas exploration enters their lands.

Australia's big mining leaders will sit down with Treasury this week to negotiate on the proposed super profits mining tax.

Despite the claims by Treasurer Wayne Swan that some mining executives admitted privately they can pay more tax, a number of business leaders are still opposing the proposed super profits tax.

Treasurer Wayne Swan claimed on Sunday that several mining companies privately surrendered to the Federal Government on its proposed resource super tax profits.

The Australian dollar is gaining more strength against the Euro as Aussie travellers are poised to enjoy a much promising European holiday season as the local currency may be better positioned to buy beyond 75 euro cents very soon.

Treasurer Wayne Swan rejects an offer for any grants to quarry companies selling gravel, sand and phosphate rock.

The newspaper industry in Australia is facing problems as sales continued to dip below as it points its blame on slower news year and not on news online sites.

Leading index provider Standard & Poor's Indices announced on Wednesday changes in the U.S. indices. It said that the S&P SmallCap 600 constituent Rock-Tenn Co. would replace Varian Inc. in the S&P MidCap 400 index, and LSB Industries Inc. will replace Rock-Tenn in the S&P SmallCap 600 index after the close of trading on a date to be announced.

Unemployment rate remained steady at 5.4 per cent in April, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The Australian gold stocks had inspired a beehive trading on Wednesday following the precious metal’s spot price record spikes in US trading overnight, with the spot gold price reaching as high as $US1,234.55 per fine ounce in the US session.

Premier Anna Bligh continues to lobby for a change in a new mining tax and calls on the mining industry to put pressure against the proposed tax.

In a bid to encourage healthier competition in its territory, the ACT government has recently released land for five supermarkets in a move that adheres to its Supermarket Competition Policy Implementation Plan recommended last year by former ACCC commissioner John Martin.

Available jobs in Australia shrunk a bit in May amidst the uncertainties still faced by many companies as more job opportunities could further disappear should the mining industry continue its plans to cancel lined up projects in light of the planned resource rent tax by the federal government.

Transport Minister Anthony Albanese told the car industry to quickly pursue the issue of reducing pollution from vehicles instead of requesting for a delay of reforms.

Melbourne-based National Australia Bank dropped its first half net profit to 21.4 per cent due to the bank's exposure to volatility on financial instruments.

Westpac did not fail on its latest half-year net profit forecast as it rose to $3 billion but still worries over the effects of the global financial crisis that will continue over the years.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has hinted on Tuesday that inflation will hit Australia after it resumed its normalcy in the economy, as the central bank delivered its sixth interest rate today by 25 basic points to 4.5 per cent.

The Northern Territory government has announced on Tuesday a $5.1 billion for year 2010/11 with a cash deficit of $268 million with increased allocations for health, housing and education, even as mining industries and civil servants bear the brunt of the resulting deficit.

The Queensland government has announced today that it is prepared to take action on the federal government’s new mining tax plan should it pose a threat to the state’s resource industry as central authorities gave assurance that the tax is necessary to keep mounting mineral incomes from leaving Australia.

Australian stocks are gaining for the first time in six years and further expansions by the local market will largely hinge on overseas factors as research group Lincoln Indicators released a new study showing listed companies that deemed financially healthy surge in the six months leading to December.

Opposition immigration spokesperson Scott Morrison said his population policy will not jeopardize Australia's economy.

An ANZ Banking Group Ltd executive has declared that the worst is pretty much over for the Australian economy as it has survived the downturn almost unscathed, though warning at the same time that the country must stay cautious on the worsening debt crisis in Europe which could restrict local banks’ access to credit facilities.

The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group improved its first-half profit to 36 per cent to almost $2 billion as it became the third biggest bank in the State to benefit from the recovery in Australia and in Asia.