MARKETS

Institutional buy-side investors see the emerging financial markets as a source of ongoing positive returns as developed markets continue to show slower growth and increased risks. According to TABB Group in new research published today, prime brokers hold the key to the hardest-to-access markets based on their ability to provide cost-efficient access products as well as technology platforms, including direct markets access (DMA) systems and cross-region, cross-asset portfolio management too...

At a basic level, electronic alpha capture is poised to become a major work flow tool forevery portfolio manager and broker-dealer to prioritize data points and opinions, pushing the most relevant ideas to the surface.

By Richard (Rick) MillsAs a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best informationThe rare earths are a group of 17 elements comprising Scandium, Yttrium, and the Lanthanides.

U.S. stocks closed sharply higher Tuesday, notching a fourth-straight day of gains, as investors bet Greece will take the appropriate actions toward averting a sovereign debt default.

Australian shares held on to early gains to put in their best performance in about a week on the back of firm offshore leads.

US existing home sales fell by a less than expected 3.8pct to an annual rate of 4.81 million units in May.

Bankwest has informed broker partners it will maintain its existing clawback structure following 1 July.

A major international report has predicted that average food commodity prices will be much higher this decade than the last.

The Australian sharemarket is making up for yesterday’s pullback and the All Ordinaries index (XAO) is 0.8 pct or 36.3 pts stronger to 4548.8. Almost all sectors are higher with the mining and energy players amongst the most significant improvers at lunch.

Australian consumers have been carefully weighing their spending and priorities have been set to stop themselves from buying things that are unnecessary.

Export earnings from the rural and mineral resources sectors are expected to reach a record of $256 billion in 2011-12, according to the Australian commodities-June quarter 2011 report, released by ABARES today.

- Russell Investments remains cautious on investment outlook- Global equities slightly cheap, better value relative to Australian shares- Australian dollar remains overvalued- Reversal in commodity markets still expectedBy Chris ShawAs Russell Investments points out, the recovery in global share mar...

By Greg PeelThe week before last saw minimal activity in the spot uranium market which was largely a result of attendance at the World Nuclear Fuel Conference, but last week was hardly a hive of activity either.

A pledge by European leaders to head off a Greek debt default helped push U.S. stocks higher Monday, easing the market's recent sovereign-debt jitters.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 76 points or 0.6% while the S&P gained 0.5% to 1278 and the Nasdaq added 0.5%.

Anonymous, the hacker collective famous for performing cyber attacks as public retribution, has reportedly teamed up with LulzSec, the hacker group that attacks mostly for entertainment, for a mission going by the title AntiSec (Anti-Security) which seeks to expose any government-classified information that can be stolen.

Patties Foods has announced plants to donate a full day’s production worth of its iconic Four’N Twenty pies - 138,000 pies in total - to Australia’s largest hunger relief organization, Foodbank.

Japan is pushing towards a radical reworking of its consumption tax as a way of boosting revenues as the country grapples with the cost of rebuilding after the March 11 quake and tsunami, a crippling deficits and rising debt which are being made worse by the costs of the country's rapid ageing.

Suddenly help for Greece is getting tougher, despite the widespread expectation that the 12 billion euros of loans from the IMF and EU would be paid so as to avert a financial crunch.

The Australian stock market reversed early gains to shed three quarters of a per cent on Monday, as skittish sentiment triggered a broad-based sell-off.

Euro zone ministers have given Greece till July 3 to approve further spending cuts and tax increases in exchange for another €12 billion in emergency funding.

A small sigh of relief on Friday night as US sharemarkets posted their first weekly gain since April, with the S&P 500 and Dow ending moderately higher in the face of worries about Europe's debt crisis and a slowing US economy.

A big week for the US economy, or rather a week when the current gloomy sentiment about the outlook for the US economy will be further tested.

So now for the hard part of 'saving' Greece a second time in 13 months and hopefully making sure it will be the last.

Despite a positive start, Australian stocks closed at a near 10 month low today as markets around the Asian region tumbled after European governments failed to agree on a new bailout package for Greece.

U.S. stocks closed higher Friday, snapping a six-week losing streak, as hopes intensified for a resolution to the Greek debt crisis.

- OceanaGold has revised its mine plan for Didipio- Brokers see this a key de-risking event- The market is ascribing no value to the projectBy Greg PeelOceanaGold's ((OGC)) core mining operations are centred in New Zealand, but the company's exciting prospect for expansion comes in the for...

(This story was originally written and published on Wednesday 15th June, 2011. It has now been re-published to make it available to non-paying members at FNArena and to readers elsewhere).

It might sound a bit melancholy, but Greece and the US economy will again dominate markets here and overseas in the coming week.