MARKETS

A better than expected reading on the health of China's manufacturing sector wasn't quite enough to push local shares into positive territory today. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) slipped by 0.5 per cent, with the mining sector the biggest drag.

'CBA's record result delivers Narev $7.8m pay cheque' said a headline in the Business section of The Australian yesterday. According to the article, the CEO's salary package rose to $2.1m compared to last year. Nice work.

Gold, stocks, bonds - all the major markets seem to have turned around in the last six months. Bond investors have been the worst hit. Many have losses of 20% or more. Surely, there are some major financial problems hidden beneath these figures. Sooner or later, they will show up in the headlines...with the announcement of bankruptcies and defaults.

We expected the summer trading to drag on...and then the markets to set off on their new trends after 1 September: Stocks down. Bonds down. Gold up.

The Australian share market is under selling pressure in the early session, following weakness on US markets overnight and as investors awaited a reading on Chinese manufacturing.

Occurrences of worldwide flooding has cornered the bulk of global insurance claims for the first half or six months of the year 2013, according to preliminary data released by Switzerland-based reinsurance giant Swiss Re on Wednesday.

By Jonathan BarrattNote: This article was written on Wednesday, August 21Tonight sees the release of the minutes from the last FOMC meeting, and the market expects the minutes to reveal a committee ready to start tapering the Fed's US85 billion per month of bond and mortgage securities buy-back...

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 105 points or 0.7% to 14,897 while the S&P lost 0.6% to 1642 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.

The Australian sharemarket is a little higher after a 0.6 per cent slump yesterday. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 0.2 per cent. Most sectors are higher; however significant weakness in the mining and energy sectors is holding the market back.

At least 19 areas in the Philippines' Luzon region have been put in a state of calamity following the onslaught of rains and floods brought by a Storm Trami-intensified southwest monsoon.

Mining giant BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) has committed $2.6 billion for the development of the Jansen potash project in Canada. The commitment comes at a time that BHP logged a 30 per cent drop in prices due to lower commodity prices and uncertainty over the market for this fertiliser ingredient.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 7 points while the S&P gained 0.4% to 1652 and the Nasdaq added 0.4%."On balance, with growth expected to remain below trend for longer and inflation to remain within the target even with the effects of a lower exchange rate, members concluded that a lower level of th...

After a flat start to the week, the Australian market lost ground, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) falling by 0.7 per cent and finishing well below 5100.0. It was always going to be challenging to buck the trend from last night, with both US and European equity markets losing ground. The Dow Jones Industrials fell by 0.5 per cent overnight, dropping for the 12th time in 16 sessions.

The Australian share market has come under selling pressure at lunchtime in the East, after Wall Street recorded another session of losses overnight and insurer QBE Insurance (QBE) missed expectations with its earnings result.

Tropical storm Maring (international name: Trami) may already be pressing the panic buttons of most residents in the Philippine capital of Metro Manila, but state weather forecasters continued to pacify the Filipino populace that the rains it dumped was still far off compared from those dumped by the fatal 2009 typhoon Ondoy (international name: Ketsana).

By Greg PeelIt is not always easy to push a large order through an actively traded, exchange-listed market without having an influence on the price in that market.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 70 points or 0.5% while the S&P lost 0.6% to 1646 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.2%.

The flat result for local stocks appears unflattering, although it was a solid result considering that Telstra and the CBA went ex-dividend , which took 20 points off the market.

The Australian sharemarket is up by around 0.2 per cent at lunch, after a relatively flat few hours of trade.

Equity markets have survived the last few years on the mantra that 'bad news is good news'. Each time GDP slowed, unemployment rose or confidence crumbled, stocks surged.

The Philippine government was forced to suspend offices and classes in 14 provinces, including in the capital Metro Manila, as tropical storm Maring (international name: Trami) maintained its strength and continued to enhance the southwest monsoon early Monday. The state forecasting weather agency has advised the 14 provinces to brace for severe flooding.

The uptrend has broken out but gains were not maintained. The uptrend enters its 9th week with resistance for the first time.

Are we getting closer to the end of QE? The US bond market certainly thinks so. Overnight, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose 14 basis points, to 2.72%. Market interest rates are now hovering around their highest levels in years.

Australian stocks came under selling pressure on Friday, despite a strong rise on the Chinese share market. Another triple digit loss on Wall Street overnight impacted sentiment, while profit taking also seemed to be in vogue.

The Australian share market is under heavy selling pressure at lunchtime on Friday, after Wall Street suffered another triple digit loss overnight.

US Airways and American Airlines, which have been planning to combine the two airlines by the end of September, hit a major merger roadblock. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to block the proposed $11 billion merger between American Airlines and US Airways, which would create the world's largest airline.

About 1,700 local workers employed by mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) will lose their jobs at the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia. Rio blamed the lay-offs to the stop in the $5 billion expansion plan ordered by the Mongolian government.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 225 points or 1.5% while the S&P lost 1.4% to 1661 and the Nasdaq dropped 1.7%.

The Australian sharemarket finished a touch lower, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) slipping by just 0.1 per cent or 4 pts. Continued concerns of Fed tapering in QE is still keeping investors on edge in the US, with the DOW slipping by 0.75 per cent.