MARKETS

By Kathleen Brooks, Research Director UK EMEA at FOREX.comRisk is back on and some indices are hitting fresh multi-year highs as I write this.

Rudi Filapek-Vandyck, Editor FNArenaI joined Twitter. Not because I am curious what this celebrity has to say about her kids, or to read that another one is waiting for a connecting flight, impatiently.

By Alexander GreenMore than two thousand years ago, the Greek sage and philosopher Epictetus counseled, "It is impossible for anyone to begin to learn what he thinks he already knows.

US jobless claims held steady at 351,000 last week - marking the lowest reading since March 2008.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 46 points or 0.4% while the S&P gained 0.4% to 1363 and the Nasdaq added 0.8%.

US existing home sales rose by 4.3pct in January to a 20-month high of 4.57 million, slightly below market expectations.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 27 points or 0.2% while the S&P lost 0.3% to 1357 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.

Four profits yesterday from companies of varying sizes illustrate the current state of the Australian economy, and where the profits, revenue growth and pain are occurring.

Just a suggestion that OneSteel, in seeking a new name, might be about to ditch its low profit steel making business, was enough to send the shares up more than 12% by the close yesterday.

A fitful reaction from the markets to the news that the second bailout of Greece is much closer after eurozone finance ministers agreed to the latest bailout package.

The U.S. and Mexico have reached a cooperative agreement for oil and gas drilling along the maritime border in the Gulf of Mexico, ending years of negotiation that has left the area untapped for more than a decade.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 15 points or 0.1% at 12,965. The S&P gained 0.1% to 1362 while the Nasdaq lost 01.

Facebook Fan Pages are a great way to build your brand, remain Top of Mind. engage with your customers and now Facebook are about to improve their functionality even more.

Women's retailer, Specialty Fashion Group has joined the no dividend club and a spot of rationalisation after confirming earlier guidance of a sharp drop in sales and earnings for the December half year.

Lend Lease has lopped interim dividend from 20 to 16 cents, a slash of 25% after a small fall in earnings for the period to December 31.

Australia's largest steelmaker, Bluescope Steel, reckons it is laying the foundations for a return to profits after revealing a total loss of more than half a billion dollars for the six months to December 31.

By Greg PeelWith the RBA board members pulling on their RBA board shorts in January and slapping on the zinc cream, this month's monetary policy meeting was the first since December.

FNArena has added another video to its Investors Education section on the website. ATW's Jerry Simmons is expecting break-out moves for gold and equities this week.

By Greg PeelIn what is becoming a painfully slow spot uranium market, last week saw only one transaction completed totalling a mere 75,000lbs of U3O8 equivalent, industry consultant Trade Tech reports.

By Greg PeelAs I write the meeting of eurozone finance ministers is continuing in Brussels. The purpose of the meeting is to assess the austerity package agreed to by the Greek government in return for the granting of another E130bn in bail-out funds to carry Greece through 2012, to be delivered in ...

US consumer prices rose by 0.2pct in January and the core measure (excludes food and energy) also rose 0.2pct. The leading index rose by 0.4pct in January, just short of forecasts.

A positive move from China at the weekend has added to signs the world economy isn't tanking as many forecasters believed it would.

It's the peak week in the December 31 profit reporting season with over 100 major companies due to report interim or full year figures in the next five days.

The focus is likely to remain firmly profits (see the top story) and on interest rates with the Reserve Bank front and centre this week, led by Governor, Glenn Stevens.

By Eswar Prasad and Lei YeIs China's currency destined to become the dominant global reserve currency? This column argues that despite not yet having a flexible exchange rate or open capital account, China's government is pursuing 'liberalisation with Chinese characteristics'.

By Richard (Rick) MillsAs a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best informationSometime between 1500 and 1565 a large graphite deposit was discovered in Cumbria, England.

U.S. equities rose after positive news from the labor and housing markets, then drifted higher on reports of progress toward a second bailout for Greece.

New claims for unemployment insurance in the US fell by 13,000 to 348,000 in the latest week - the lowest level since March 2008.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 123 points or 1.0% while the S&P gained 1.1% and the Nasdaq leapt 1.5%.As the sun set on the Asian zone and began to rise in Europe last night the mood was very sombre on heightened expectations that Greek default was now nigh.