MARKETS

A big day for Metcash yesterday, with a reasonable and a convincing win over the ACCC on its $200 million takeover of the Franklins supermarket chain in NSW.

The resources boom powers on, according to the September quarter private investment data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics yesterday.

A dramatic end to November overnight with markets in Europe and the US soaring on the news that six major central banks had moved to ease funding pressures and China made its first monetary policy easing in three years.

Three substantial economic developments announced in quick succession Wednesday morning, including efforts from several central banks to shore up the global financial system, prompted global stock markets to soar and sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average up by more than 400 points.

- NAB sees limited short-term upside for iron ore- Coal prices also forecast to ease through 2012- Commodity prices in general tipped to decline through 2012By Chris ShawFollowing falls to what National Australia Bank saw as oversold levels in October, bulk commodity prices have partially recovered ...

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 490 points or 4.2% (regaining 12,000) while the S&P added 4.3% to 1246 (regaining 1200) and the Nasdaq jumped 4.

By Chris ShawHeading into December, the technical analysts at Barclays Capital note the month is another very positive one for equities, following on from the bullish bias of November.

The local share market is trading flat in early trade, following a generally upbeat session on US and European markets. After the bell on Wall Street, ratings agency Standard and Poor's downgraded the credit ratings of major US banks, sending our market down in the first hour of trade. At midday in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 4.7pts to 4172.

- UBS initiates with Buy rating on Regis Resources- Attracted to solid production growth and exploration potential- Buy ratings dominate for the stockBy Chris ShawEmerging gold producer Regis Resources ((RRL)) has assets containing resources of 6.

Giant Australian miner BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) plans to leave the diamond mining business and instead focus on long-life and expandable assets. The company said it is considering selling its diamond interests in Canada's Ekati mine and Chidliak exploration venture.

U.S. stocks trimmed early gains Tuesday as investors weighed worries about Europe's debt crisis with an unexpected increase in consumer confidence.

- Macquarie initiates on Alacer Gold with an Outperform rating- Strong production growth and improving valuation are likely catalysts- News flow should be positive in coming months- Buy ratings on Alacer continue to dominate stockbroker viewsBy Chris ShawAlacer Gold ((AQG)) has been among the prefer...

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 32 points or 0.3% while the S&P rose 0.2% to 1195 and the Nasdaq lost 0.

It was good timing for Rio Tinto to hold its quarterly investor update yesterday; the bounce on markets on reports of moves to try and fix the eurozone crisis offset an escalation in warnings from the company about the impact of the volatility on customer demand and sales.

It's not quite clear why Qantas shares rose strongly yesterday. After all the airline confirmed what analysts have been warning for a month, that the industrial action and airline grounding in late October and early last month would cut earnings.

A train crash sort of week ahead? The usual suspects are there: Europe, China and the Australian economy and budget position, not to mention the UK's financial and spending outlook.

There's been so much talk about European government bonds lately - as the IMF considers loaning money to Italy and all - but let's get back to Australia, where 10-year government bond yields are plunging.

Could this be the crucial week for the euro, the eurozone and financial stability in Europe and the rest of the global economy?

According to Bloomberg, last week was the worst Thanksgiving week for US markets since 1932, when the Depression deepening after a string of bank collapses sent economies around the world plunging into a deep freeze.

So is this the "Big Bazooka" than many have said that Europe needs to convince sceptical markets that the eurozone crisis can be controlled and conquered?

By Greg PeelCommonwealth Bank economists have trimmed their 2012 global GDP growth forecast by 0.4 percentage points to 3.

Going green has been a popular initiative for some time, but the commercial sector has been slow to pick up the trend. Only now are commercial buildings beginning to go green in a variety of ways, and are doing so for both financial and environmental benefits.

By Greg PeelDue to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in the US, industry consultant TradeTech did not publish its usual weekly update on uranium spot market activity other than to note a US50c drop in the consultant's spot price indicator to US$52.

U.S. stocks rose as euro-zone leaders negotiated a new pact to stem Europe's sovereign-debt crisis and a strong start to the holiday shopping season helped boost the retail sector.

US new home sales rose by 1.3pct in October - marking the fastest pace of growth in five months. The supply of new homes on the market eased modestly from 6.4 to 6.3 months supply. The Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index rose from 2.3 to 3.2 in November.

- Citi initiates on Oroton With Neutral rating- Stockbroker sees stock as fair value at present- Asia offers upside potential but some time away- Only non-Buy recommendation in FNArena databaseBy Chris ShawPrior to today, luxury goods retailer OrotonGroup ((ORL)) was rated as a Buy by all four broke...

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 291 points or 2.6% while the S&P added 2.9% to 1192 and the Nasdaq jumped 3.5%.

The Australian Retailers Association warned members Monday to brace for weak Christmas sales based on the performance of the retail sector for the last 18 months.

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) launched its high-frequency trading platform, ASX Purematch, in a bid to boost its competition with the Chi-X Australia, which has gained over 2 per cent market share in less than one month of trading.