MARKETS

Australian shares have opened higher, following Wall Street´s gains overnight.

Thank goodness that's all over. Throughout the whole tiresome election sales pitch, we've purposefully refrained from making any comments on politics. But now that it's all over for another three years, we'll make a few.

Sports experts believe the choice of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to select Tokyo as hosts of the 2020 Summer Games in a good one. They base their agreement on Japan's record in hosting international sporting events and the capital city's first-class transportation system, plus a well-regulated hotel sector that can accommodate athletes and visitors without overcharging them.

By Greg PeelThe EU's nuclear energy goals continue to evolve in a variety of ways, notes an extensive report from industry consultant TradeTech, depending on individual member states' nuclear strategies, with a common goal of enhanced safety and security standards in the post-Fukushima era...

Due to its net loss of $5.77 billion for the 2013 financial year caused by $6 billion asset write-downs and restructuring costs, Newcrest Mining executives took substantial cuts in their pay package and bonuses.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 140 points or 0.9% while the S&P gained 1.0% to 1671 and the Nasdaq added 1.2%.

The Australian share market enjoyed a solid start to the trading week. The removal of election uncertainty, strong Chinese trade data and a successful Olympic bid by Tokyo also supported stocks in the region. Japan's Nikkei Index rose 2.5 per cent while the Shanghai Composite in China was up 3.5 per cent.

Australian shares are a touch higher, with some better than forecast economic news out this morning assisting. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 0.4 per cent. The number of loan commitments by those buying, building or renovating properties jumped by a better than forecast 2.4 per cent in August. The number of job advertisements made by businesses in newspapers and online slid by 2 per cent, however Chinese inflation numbers were mostly as expected.

There will be an 8.5 per cent drop of new-born lambs in New Zealand due to the drought. Based on a yearly stock number survey by Beef + Lamb New Zealand, the number of lambs is expected to about 24.5 million.

It is a buyers' market in Australia's Gold Coast as property prices plummet up to 50 per cent since 2010, while median price is a third below Sydney's prices. Although property prices in Gold Coast went up 0.8 per cent in the past year through June, other large Australian cities logged an average of 3.8 per cent hike.

By Stephen Hogan, Senior Private Client Adviser, Equities/DerivativesAustralian MarketThe Australian market (XJO) closed up 36.

Investor caution saw the local market close flat after being in the red for most of the session. Investors elected to stay out of equities ahead of the August non-farm payrolls report being released in the US tonight and tomorrow's Federal Election.

It would make more economic sense for Australia to pursue renewable energy rather than continue the use of coal, despite the possible availability of carbon capture and storage technology, according to a study by the University of New South Wales.

Aussie Market started off weaker than expected.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 6 points while the S&P rose 0.1% to 1655 and the Nasdaq added 0.2%.Bridge Street failed to fire yesterday despite a strong lead from Wall Street, with the July trade balance data weighing on sentiment.

The Australian sharemarket slid for the second straight day, despite the best improvements in a month in the US last night. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) fell by 0.4 per cent, with only the defensive healthcare sector, industrials and IT industries escaping the selloff.

Sneaky Germans may have found several ways to dodge the law on how to bring in foreign currency in the country from abroad, but border authorities usually detect the smuggling attempts.

The Australian share market remains in the red on Thursday, despite predictions of a solid session. Overnight, Wall Street recorded its best gains in more than a month, rising 0.7 per cent and setting the SPI futures up for a 0.3 per cent gain locally.

By Jonathan BarrattAt the moment our focus remains on Syria for the next move in oil. As mentioned, Syria does not produce any oil of note however investors see any military invention by the US as a regional issue and as such a premium is being built into the market.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 96 points or 0.7% while the S&P gained 0.8% to 1653 and the Nasdaq added 1.1%.

Yesterday's data dump was a non-event. Retail sales rose 0.1%, the current account deficit widened a little, and the RBA didn't change interest rates. The ASX200 followed suit with its own dramatic move, rising 0.16%.

By Chris Weston, IG MarketsEvery now and then the market picks a currency, throws it firmly in the spotlight and runs with it.

The Australian share market closed in the red today for the first time since last Wednesday as concerns of a US led invasion into Syria jittered investors around the globe and saw a slide in commodity prices during Asian trade.

The Australian sharemarket is slipping for the first time in five trading sessions, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 0.6 per cent at lunch. Continued tensions in Syria and an increased probability of QE tapering in the US later this month are catalysts.

The continued protest by Romanians over the proposed grant of a mining permit to dig gold and silver from Europe's largest gold mine to be given to Canada's Rosia Montana has led Romanian President Traian Basescu to suggest on Tuesday the holding of a referendum on the issue.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 23 points or 0.2% while the S&P gained 0.4% to 1639 and the Nasdaq added 0.

Stock markets predict the outcome of wars. At least legendary investment banker Barton Biggs reckons so. We're reading his book Wealth, War and Wisdom in preparation for the Syrian attack.

Apologies to Chris Leithner for using and abusing the title of his excellent book in our headline. But The Evil Princes of Martin Place are at it again - they're fixing the interest rate and creating inflation. We're calling it the evil pincers of Martin Place, which is where the Reserve Bank of Australia is based.

As the release date of iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C is drawing near, retail outlets are slashing the prices of the devices in their inventory. The latest in this line is Wal-Mart which has started to carry the iPhone 5 and third-generation iPad at a steep discount, at least for Apple products.