MARKETS

Wealthy clients across Europe could withdraw "hundreds of billions of francs" from their Swiss banking accounts over the next few years.

Indonesia could soon surpass Germany and the United Kingdom to become the world's seventh largest economy, generating $1.8 trillion in annual gross domestic product, according to a recent report by McKinsey and Co.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 11 points, or 0.1%, while the S&P fell 0.1% to 1459 and the Nasdaq was flat.

- FMG announces very positive re-fi- Plenty of breathing space the result- Brokers upgrade ratings- Stock now even more highly leveragedBy Greg PeelAs at yesterday the spot iron ore price was trading around US$109/t which would have allowed Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest the chance to sleep a little better...

Following a weaker start to the day, the Australian sharemarket managed to gradually improve as the day progressed to end 0.1 pct or 4 pts higher to 4417.8. The miners, energy players and financials all lost ground today after leading the broader market higher yesterday.

According to the head of the Canadian Auto Workers, the union will focus on reaching an agreement with Ford Motor Co. as talks continue with all of Detroit's Big Three car makers with a strike deadline coming closer Monday night.

Citibank is currently disputing numerous claims which indicate that the bank took part in a fraud to get former partners Dewey and LeBoeuf to sign up for a loan course that financed their capital in the unsuccessful law company, in spite of understanding the critical economic circumstance being faced by Dewey.

It's been labeled as one of the primary reasons why job growth in the U.S. continues to lag, but apparently no one at the White House is listening.

The Dow was up a paltry 53 points on Friday. Gold was flat.

Local stocks have retreated today, as the euphoric effects of the US Federal Reserve's latest efforts to stimulate the global economy start to wear off. Overnight US and European markets eased, while oil and gold prices also fell. In the early session, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 9.8pts or 0.2pct to 4412.

By Kathleen Brooks, Research Director UK EMEA, FOREX.comThe markets are trading with a risk off tone at the start of the week.

FNArena has added another video to its Investors Education section on the website. This week ATW's Jerry Simmons looks at US stock indices, currencies, gold, oil and gas.

Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu is on an aggressive campaign to court foreign investments, particularly Chinese, through an ongoing week-long trade mission to the Asian economic giant.

The Pakistani government ordered on Monday the culling of 21,000 sheep from Australia after the animals were tested positive for salmonella bacteria and actinomyces, and declared unfit for human consumption.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 40 points, or 0.3%, while the S&P lost 0.3% to 1461 and the Nasdaq slipped 0.

The euphoria surrounding the US Federal Reserve's latest efforts to stimulate the global economy continued to impress local investors today. US and European markets rallied on Friday, with the Dow Jones Index and S&P 500 both hitting highs not seen since December 2007. Japanese markets were closed today for a public holiday, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell into the red. By close, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) edged higher by 11.6pts or 0.3pct to 4421.8, its highest level since...

he Australian market opened a little weaker than expected today The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose by 10 points but by lunchtime it had lost a bit of ground and was only up 8 points to 4,418 points.

PepsiCo Inc. informed on Tuesday that its president, John Compton, resigned from the post to run a large privately held company in the state of Tennessee, Pilot Flying J Oil Corp. John Compton's resignation comes as a surprise after less than a year on the job. Zein Abdalla has been appointed John Compton's successor.

One of the longest-running myths in financial markets is going to damage a lot of portfolios: the myth that central bank money printing - in the context of a modern banking system - hikes the value of stocks.

There's a movie about a zombie apocalypse where fireworks are used to distract the zombies. While their yellow eyes are peeled to the sky, scroungers go looking for food outside the safety of the walls. The violent zombies are so absorbed by the fireworks they let people walk right past them. Think of it as stimulus.

In a bid to boost the state economy, New South Wales Resources Minister Chris Hartcher said on Saturday that NSW is open to uranium exploration. Besides announcing the state policy, Mr Hartcher moved one step ahead by seeking expressions of interest in licences.

How QE Favours the Rich

If you need any further evidence that the bulk commodity bubble has burst all over the place, look no further than the actions of the Queensland government. These bozos announced their budget on Tuesday, ratcheting up the royalties on coal production.

We're back in the City of Lights, Fellow Reckoner, La Ville-Lumière. The hot and dusty Medina of Marrakech is behind us. So too the coastline of Portugal and the cities of Seville and Madrid. But what is ahead...for Europe...for the world?

The Australian sharemarket improved strongly today following the U.S central bank's decision to stimulate the American economy. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose by 1.2 pct or 50.4 pts to 4410.2. Thanks to today's improvements, the XAO is around 1.4 pct stronger today than this time last week and has had its best single day of trade since 27 July.

Spanish house prices continue to slide, as the economy slumps deeper into recession mainly due to weak demand and stringent austerity measures.

Overnight there was only one focus for the US markets, the outcome of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting to decide on a new monetary policy. The market is hoping for additional stimulus and that is exactly what it got. The FOMC announced an open ended Quantitative Easing (QE) program focused on purchases up to US$40Billion worth of Mortgage Backed Securities (MBSs) a month. The program will commence tomorrow and can be increased with additional asset purchases if required to try an...

Three unions at BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) rejected on Thursday the latest workplace agreement offered by the giant miner. The unions want changes to the offer before they submit the deal for a vote to their 3,000 members assigned at BHP's coking coal mines in northeastern Australia.

Iranian oil tankers have been unloading millions of barrels of oil near a small port island just off the East Malaysian coast.