MARKETS

Inch by Inch. This sums up the progress of the market over the course of the last 5 days. A series of unspectacular daily gains which yielded a rise of 1.2% for the week. It's precisely this type of weekly improvement that has seen the market advance by more than 10% since the end of November. More than $6.5 Billion in shares were transacted on Friday, a figure substantially inflated by an option expiry the previous day. At its highest point of the session the market hit a fresh 20-month high...

The local sharemarket is higher for the eighth straight session, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 0.4 per cent or 17.8 pts to 4851.6. Global markets rose overnight, with the Dow gaining for the fifth day while European equities aren't far off two year highs.

By Kathleen Brooks, Research Director UK EMEA, FOREX.comIn recent posts we have mentioned the importance of Treasury yields, so I thought it was time to take a closer look at US government debt and the driver of yields going forward.

Australians who are considering buying stocks of oil and gas companies on the basis of the reported $20 trillion worth of potential oil reserves at the Arckaringa Basin in South Australia: beware.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 46, or 0.3%, while the S&P was flat at 1494 and the Nasdaq tanked 0.7%.Rooster one day, feather duster the next.

FNArena is surveying investor sentiment in Australia in an effort to generate, over time, a guage similar to the AAII Investor Sentiment Survey in the US.

Consistency has been the by word the the Australian share market this week. The gains have been modest in scale, although the volumes on from time have been surprisingly strong given the holiday period. Today was such a case, with $4.3 billion shares changing hands. From a technical point of view this is quite positive. It highlights the willingness of participants to accept higher prices.

After 19 years, U.S. military women soldiers wanting to engage in direct frontline combat as their ultimate service and sacrifice to their country will now become a reality as the Pentagon on Wednesday terminated its ban on women serving in front-line combat roles.

News reports that South Australia could be sitting on a vast oilfield worth more than $20 trillion sparked global interest in the oil and gas sector amid rising price of the energy source. It was not just the resource sector that was livened up by Linc Energy's two reports but the cyber world as well.

The Australian market is improving for the seventh straight session; the longest winning streak in around three months. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 0.1 per cent or 2.9 pts to 4815. The miners are holding the market back today while the financials are helping to keep the situation a little positive.

BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) seems to be following the footsteps of competitor Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) in terms of write-downs, firing and commodity production. A week after Rio fired Chief Executive Tom Albanese mainly over the write-down of aluminium assets, BHP said on Thursday that it will likely write off $4 billion of its Australian aluminium and nickel assets by February 2013.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 66 points, or 0.5%, while the S&P gained 0.2% to 1494 and the Nasdaq added 0.

Another financial turbulence has hit the losing Australian flag carrier, Qantas, which reported on Wednesday the end of its multi-million contract with Air New Zealand. As a result, Qantas is sharpening its job-cutting axe.

- Canning Basin highly prospective- Buru a first mover- Macquarie gets on boardBy Eva BrocklehurstMid cap energy stock, Buru Energy ((BRU)), has entered Macquarie's sights as it strives to make a name in Western Australia's Canning Basin.

Midweek has come and gone for the Australian sharemarket and consolidation remains the dominant theme for local investors. At face value the small improvement for the index appears unimpressive, although the increaseD volume points to investor willingness to support the market at higher levels.

What could have been an otherwise pristine and silent coral reef has been turned into an overnight sensation after a Navy minesweeper vessel by no less than the world's economic giant unceremoniously damaged the protected marine area.

The Australian sharemarket is higher for the sixth straight session, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 0.3 per cent or 14.1 pts to 4817.00. This makes it the longest winning streak for local shares in over a month.

Toward the end of 2012, at the peak of speculations if there would be an apocalypse because of the Mayan Calendar prediction, there was global attention on volcanic eruptions. However, instead of fearing these end-of-the-world portents, amid more reports of increased volcanic activities in different parts of the world, crafty tour operators are benefiting from these potential volcanic blasts by promoting volcano tourism.

-Solid quarterly production-Well managed-High quality mines-Nickel price the stumbling blockBy Eva BrocklehurstNickel miner Western Areas ((WSA)) hit all the right notes with the broking community after its solid December quarter production results and evidence of being well managed.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 62 points or 0.5% while the S&P gained 0.4% to 1492 and the Nasdaq added 0.3%.

The market inertia that dominated the start of the week continued for regional markets on Tuesday. The close of trade for the ASX 200 saw only modest gains on similarly modest volume. The atmosphere of inertia in itself is a test for the overall market. Since November last year, the index has rallied in the order of 10%. The end of 2012 has seen investors become less risk averse with hurdles being navigated successfully. It will be worth examining the behaviour of markets in general in the event...

The Australian sharemarket continues to improve and is up for the fifth consecutive session. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 0.2 per cent or 11.7 pts to 4813.9. Shares have improved by around 3 per cent so far in 2013, which is not quite as strong as this time last year. Over the first 3 weeks of 2012, the local market had gained 4.5 per cent.

China will spend nearly $250 billion a year on educating tens of millions of youth moving from rural to urban areas.

The Russian government will debate this week on whether to allow private energy companies to begin exploring for oil and gas in its Arctic Shelf,.

Australia's mining sector appears to have rejoiced too soon in the partial recovery of iron ore price in the global market. With the commodity reaching $138.50 at the start of 2013 from a low of $89 a tonne in 2012, miners such as Rio Tinto had planned production boosts.

By Andrew NelsonLast week Paladin ((PDN)) reported its quarterly results and while they were broadly well received, with production and sales levels strong, brokers remain universally concerned about the direction of the underlying uranium price, which has become the main driver to which broker reco...

By Greg PeelGreetings and Happy New Year. Great summer, huh? Forty degrees one day, twenty the next and not much in between.

FNArena is surveying investor sentiment in Australia in an effort to generate, over time, a guage similar to the AAII Investor Sentiment Survey in the US.

With no near term catalysts emerging from the northern hemisphere since weeks end, Consolidation was the main theme for local stocks as the new trading week got underway.