MARKETS

'My biggest worry is that millions of Australians are expecting money to be waiting for them that won't be there,' says Nick Hubble, your weekend editor and man behind the new Money for Life Letter, which launched earlier this week. If you haven't seen Nick's new film yet, you can check it out here.

The Australian sharemarket kicked off the new trading week in the red, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down by as much as 0.3 per cent within the first half an hour of trade. From 11.30am (AEDT) onwards however; the XAO has managed to stage a recovery and is now largely flat. The local market has lost ground for three straight weeks.

By Greg PeelDanske Bank's base case scenario with respect to the US fiscal cliff is that a resolution will be reached in negotiations by year end.

Despite cooling demand from China for steelmaking ingredients, Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) forecasts Chinese steel output would still hit 1 billion tonnes in the next 20 years.

Passengers of Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Tiger Airways suffered on Saturday from chaos as the check-in system in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Sydney Airport crashed for two hours due to a computer glitch.

Introduced by Greg PeelAt the end of October uranium industry consultant TradeTech dropped its spot price indicator for U3O8 by US$5.

Activision Blizzard Inc. posted its profit for the third quarter which exceeded analysts' estimates as company saw strong sales of its "Skylanders" and "Diablo" game titles. The largest video-game maker has also raised its full-year outlook as it expects strong holiday shopping season's sales of the latest game "Call of Duty."

Stocks fell this morning. Hard. Last we checked, the Dow was down by more than 300 points. Gold dipped too, shaving $20 off the previous session's $45 per ounce gain. And energy prices were down across the board, with a barrel of oil trading just a touch above $85.

The Australian sharemarket ended in the red for the second straight day this week, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) slipping by just 0.4 per cent or 19.7 pts to 4482.5. The value of shares traded was significantly higher than usual today. Over the past five sessions local shares eased by just 0.15 per cent, making it the third consecutive week of losses. So far this month, the XAO is down 1.3 per cent; equities have still improved by 8.89 per cent in 2012 which is 4 per cent better than Ameri...

Wal-Mart Tempts Customers with Black Friday Deals on Thanksgiving Night

We don't know. But if it's anything like the last four it will be full of meaningless sound bites, lies, trillion dollar deficits, and probably more bank bailouts. There was something genuinely depressing about the whole US election thing.

Did you see former Treasurer Peter Costello's article in yesterday's Age? He gets stuck into fund managers and all the other travellers on the superannuation gravy train. The 'super system' holds around $1.3 trillion in assets, so it's no surprise it's attracting plenty of hangers on.

Local stocks are trading in the red today, with most of the damage being done by Westpac (WBC and the National Australia Bank (NAB), which are trading without rights to their dividends. Overnight, US markets rose at the open then traded lower, as investors focused on the so-called "fiscal cliff" with tax increases and spending cuts to occur from the 1st January.

- Macquarie visits six Chinese cities- Finds a lack of stress- Canton Trade Fair figures down- Analysts see only modest 2013 export growthBy Greg PeelThe Chinese economy appears to have stabilised from its more rapid than expected slowdown over 2012, if iron ore prices and recent PMI data are anythi...

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 121 points, or 0.9%, while the S&P lost 1.2% to 1377 and the Nasdaq dropped 1.

The Australian sharemarket fell for the first time in five sessions, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) slipping by 0.7 per cent or 32 pts to 4502.2. No sectors were spared from the selling; however local shares are coming off an impressive winning streak, with equities (shares) ending in the red for just two of the past nine sessions.

You may of already had your fill of electoral madness so how about some central banking madness?

Larry Summers, bless his heart, is back on the Financial Times editorial page. He's arguing for more stimulus...more spending...more Barack Obama. We should send him a 'thank you'. He's been great for business.

Local stocks have followed global markets into the red, as investors bailed out of equities overnight. The Dow Jones Index recorded its worst trading session for 2012, with investors concerned about how the US government would tackle the so-called "fiscal cliff" and help avoid America heading back into recession. Uncertainty over the Greek parliament vote on austerity measures also contributed to a sell-down. Early this morning, the Greek government secured enough votes in parliament to ap...

By Greg PeelAs of today we have a Democrat in the White House, a Republican majority in the US House of Reps and a Democrat majority in the Senate, just as we had the day before.

Acting on the recommendations of industrialist Louis Gallois, France will grant businesses 20 billion euros ($25.7 billion) in annual tax credits as a way of boosting the country's economic competitiveness.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 312 points, or 2.4% to 12,932, while the S&P dropped 2.4% to 1394 and the Nasdaq lost 2.

The Australian share market closed higher today, receiving a spike in the last hour of trade as news networks called the 2012 US Presidential Election a Democratic victory. Barack Obama himself tweeted "Four more years", with the projected decision sending the market up 0.7pct.

The Australian sharemarket is improving for the fourth straight day and for the seventh time in eight sessions, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 0.3 per cent or 12.3 pts to 4516. Almost all sectors are higher; however volume of shares traded remains light ahead of the results from the U.S Presidential elections.

By Marc Lichtenfeld, Investment U Senior AnalystThis weekend, I was at a boxing match, talking with someone affiliated with the show.

Australia's livestock export sector has never been at a more precarious situation as the industry battles brutal and inhumane ways that the animal imports undergo in other countries.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 133 points, or 1.0%, while the S&P gained 0.8% to 1428 as the Nasdaq dragged with only a 0.

The Australian sharemarket rose for the third straight session and for the sixth time in seven days. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) edged higher by just 0.2 per cent or 10.1 pts to 4503.7. Despite the improvement, investors weren't overly interested in equities with the Melbourne Cup demanding much of the attention. There were only $2.7 billion worth of shares traded today; around 25 per cent less than yesterday.

Local investors are hedging their bets today, ahead of arguably one of the busiest days of the year. At 3.15pm AEDT the "race that stops the nation" will see millions of Australians leave their desks to watch the Melbourne Cup, while tonight in the US, the hotly contested 2012 Presidential Election gets underway. Also of significance to market watchers, is this afternoon's interest rate decision at 2.30pm AEDT. Money markets are now factoring in just a 47pct chance that rates will be cu...