MARKETS

By Andrew NelsonLast week was another slow one on the uranium spot market. There were just three transactions concluded, reports industry analyst TradeTech, who noted 350, 000 pounds of stock changed hands.

By Greg PeelYesterday the People's Bank of China issued a statement suggesting "that overall banking conditions are at a reasonable level," and that "banks should prudently manage liquidity risks that have resulted from rapid credit expansion".

Sellers returned from the weekend energised and keen to add to their work of recent weeks. Any sense that a new week might bring with it some consolidation after the falls of recent weeks was quickly dismissed. The fall for the market on Monday was its worst in 2 months taking the index back to levels seen at the start of the year.

Mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) will no longer push through with the planned sale of its $1.3-billion diamond business because of cautiousness among buyers.

Local shares are down 1.4 per cent at lunch, exceeding all of last week's losses in just two hours of trade. The defensive healthcare sector is bucking the trend, while all other industries are slumping significantly.

- Japan must restart nuclear fleet to keep recovery on track- US$80+ needed to incentivise new supply- RBC sees US$65/lb in 2014- US$80/lb by 2017By Andrew NelsonCommodities analysts at RBC Capital Markets expect uranium demand to increase at a rate of 4.

Besides a salary of $100,000 a year, which they will actually work only between August and December 2013, six mates from the U.S., Canada, France, Brazil, UK and Ireland were declared on Friday winners of Tourism Australia's Best Jobs in the World promo.

Despite the market making an effort to sneak into the black this afternoon, Australian shares still slipped modestly to make it two straight sessions of losses. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) slipped by just 0.4 per cent; a huge improvement from the close to 1.5 per cent falls 30 minutes into the day. The XAO fell 1.1 per cent this week.

The Australian market is losing ground for the second consecutive session, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 0.3 per cent. The situation was dire this morning however, when the index was down by more than 1.5 per cent in early trade.

The American Medical Association (AMA) has lashed out against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), labeling the latter's lifetime ban against gay men donating blood as "discriminatory" and "not based on sound science."

By 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 Kathleen Brooks, Research Director UK EMEA FOREX.comThe markets are still in carnage mode post the FOMC.

An expert advisory group warned of the possibility of 8 sites on brown coal mines across the Latrobe Valley collapsing. The warning is the result of an independent investigation in the collapse of the Morwell River diversion that inundated the Yallourn mine with 60 billion litres of water, damaged infrastructure and cut electricity for months from the nearby power plant.

By Greg PeelWhen US bonds started to move on Fed taper talk in May, the Aussie went first. When the Aussie started to go, the foreign exit of Australian stocks, held for yield differentials, was quick to follow.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 353 points, or 2.3%, while the S&P lost 2.5% to 1588 and the Nasdaq dropped 2.

By Stephen Hogan, Senior Private Client Adviser, Equities/DerivativesAustralian MarketThe Australian market (XJO) closed down -19.

The much vaunted US Fed meeting has come and gone, and some of the more significant market concerns have been realised. Chairman Bernanke re-iterated that risks facing US economic growth and employment had eased in recent months and as a result it was reasonable that the Fed should looking at slowing the pace of bond purchases (quantitative easing) later this year, with a view to ending the initiative by the middle of 2014. Whilst this was by no means a revelation, the commitment of the central ...

The Australian share market is being heavily sold off on Thursday, with weaker than expected Chinese manufacturing data (PMI) exacerbating the selling.

The AUD has fallen below USD 0.9300 for the first time since September 2010 after US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke announced that the US Central Bank's stimulus measures would end in mid-2014.

As expected, QE tapering is coming; as expected, $85 billion a month is here to stay in the interim; as expected, a timeline was given and as expected these changes to the current programme are conditional to the state of the underlying economy.

In US economic news, Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke reiterated its commitment to buying $85 billion in bonds per month given still-high unemployment. However the Fed did highlight that risks to growth and employment have lessened in recent months and as such it was likely that it could slow the pace of its bond purchases later this year and look to end the QE program by mid-2014. The Fed will not raise interest rates until unemployment fall below 6.5pct or provided inflation remains below 2.5...

By George Leong, B.Comm. for Profit ConfidentialChina's economy is slowing, but the rich in that country continue to get richer and are growing in number.

By George Leong, B.Comm. for Profit ConfidentialChina's economy is slowing, but the rich in that country continue to get richer and are growing in number.

By Jonathan BarrattOil has gradually being trading higher over the course of the week and as it knocks into resistance at US98.

The fortunes of Australian mining billionaire Nathan Tinkler continues to reverse after financiers seized on Wednesday his $600 million 20 per cent controlling stake in Whitehaven coal.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 206 points, or 1.4%, while the S&P dropped 1.4% to 1628 and the Nasdaq lost 1.

The behaviour of financial markets in recent months has been defined by one issue. What will the Fed do with Q.E. To this end it's interesting to note how composed the markets have been in the last day given the import of the day ahead in the US. Wednesday in Washington will see the Fed conclude its 2 day meeting with a press conference. In this forum the US Fed Chairman is expected to provide some clarity in relation to its bond buying program. 'Tapering' has been an expression frequen...

Australian shares are trading close to the highest levels of the day, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 0.5 per cent. There still is significant hesitation ahead of the Federal Reserve's statement on monetary policy due at 4am (AEST) tomorrow morning. Investors are hoping for further clarification on the US central bank's plans on stimulus in the future.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 138 points, or 0.9%, while the S&P gained 0.8% to 1651 and the Nasdaq added 0.