MARKETS

The Australian dollar fell to the lowest in more than a week as Prime Minister Julia Gillard set an election on August 21, which analysts said will prompt the central bank to refrain from raising interest rates next month.

Futures traders have put their bets on the Aussie dollar gaining on the US dollar, figures from the Washington-based Commodity Futures Trading Commission show.

Singapore-based commodity trader Olam International Ltd. has expressed plans to take control of NZ Farmin Systems NZ Farming Systems Uruguay Ltd. offering NZ$109.6 million ($77 million).

Analysts are warming towards the idea of more US dollar weakness, but at the same time risk aversion is back, and on the rise.

Stockbrokers seem to be initiating coverage on Peet with a Buy rating.

On Wall St, US markets slumped during Friday evening's session as a report showed consumer sentiment had dropped to its lowest level in a nearly a year and earnings reports disappointed market expectations.

U.S. stocks face a volatile week with a torrent of earnings due, facing up against concern about the economy's underlying strength.

US consumer sentiment fell from 76.0 to 66.5 in July, well below expectations of a result near 74.5.

The Australian Dollar once again retreated during Friday evening's trade as concerns about the global economic recovery emerged and equity markets headed down in Europe and the US.

The Aussie dollar held onto support around 0.8750 in early offshore trade rallying back above the 88 cent handle on the back of gains in EUR/USD.

National Australia Bank Ltd. has reached an agreement with AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd., AXA SA to extend the period for NAB to satisfy the concerns raised by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission until Aug. 31.

In view of the election campaign, some important dates for investors to be aware of.In chronological order.Tomorrow we g...

A slumping US dollar, weak gold and oil, poor US consumer sentiment, weak quarterly reports and low inflation.It was a c...

Normally it's a profitable trade: buy commodities or derivatives based on them, when the US dollar is weak and then watc...

Miner OZ Minerals says it has lifted its annual gold production guidance after higher than expected production in the J...

Miner OZ Minerals says it has lifted its annual gold production guidance after higher than expected production in the J...

We've seen the outline for the coming election campaign in Australia, starting with the RBA minutes tomorrow, but the ...

The Australian share market pulled back once again today only a little with the S&P/ASX 200 index easing by 0.40pct. The market finished around 0.5pct lower this week.

The Australia 200 CFD Index finished 0.5% lower, with broad based falls across the market.

The world could not expect drastic adjustments on yuan’s rate as China is set to maintain its policy of managed currency exchange rate regime, arguing that that such measure was only in consideration of the country’s long term economic interest.

The local market lacked guidance today due to mixed data from overseas markets overnight.

Westpac has found the majority of Australians believe house prices will rise in the next 12 months, but it's a smaller majority and price expectations have been tempered.

Kristina Keneally, Premier of New South Wales, has made a visit to Shanghai’s Bright Foods Store to see for herself how NSW’s Hunter Valley wine is doing in the Chinese market, currently the fourth biggest export line for Australia’s wine.

The AUD has opened slightly stronger this morning as ongoing concerns about the recovery in the US economy weakened the USD.

US jobless claims fell to two-year lows in the latest week, falling by 29,000 to 429,000.

US stock markets pared session losses Thursday to arrive at a mixed finish as the halted flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico offset poor economic data that dampened hopes for a rapid exit from recession.

The Chinese Government appear to be successfully slowing the economy and the hot housing sector without too much danger...

Now we know just how pessimistic the Federal Reserve has become about the American economy.A combination of comments an...

It's no wonder growth expectations among big global and regional institutional investors have slumped in recent months....