MARKETS

Despite a positive start, local stocks ended Friday's session only modestly higher, as investors pared back ahead of a key US jobs report being released tonight and next week's local interest rate decision. After hitting 4507 points in early trade, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) finished the session only 3.4pts higher at 4483.3, a gain of 0.1pct. Over the course of the trading week, the XAO lost 0.3pct during extraordinary circumstances where Hurricane Sandy caused the New York Stock Excha...

The Australian sharemarket is improving modestly at lunch for the fourth time this week, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 0.2 per cent or 10.9 pts to 4490.8. Yesterday was the worst day for the local market in three months however, with equities slipping by 1.2 per cent due in part to unimpressive economic news in China.

Australia's agriculture sector is facing another headache in Indonesia, just weeks after it had lost the battle to Pakistan which culled 21,000 Aussie sheep.

Shop owners and residents in India's capital of New Delhi will no longer be allowed to manufacture, import, store, sell or transport any kind of plastic bag starting from November 22 this year.

- US growth is anaemic- Households are doing the right thing - Public sector debt is the keyBy Eva BrocklehurstWhy has US economic growth been so anaemic? Why for so long? Is there light at the end of the tunnel? The answers, according to DBS Bank, lie with public sector debt.

By Peter Switzer, Switzer Super ReportThere are always plenty of critical issues to worry about in this money-making game.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 136 points, or 1.0%, while the S&P gained 1.1% to 1427 and the Nasdaq added 1.

The Australian sharemarket pulled back for the first time this week, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) slipping by 1.2 per cent or 55.5 pts to 4479.9. Today was the worst day for the local market in three months and the XAO finished the session at its lowest point of the day.

The local share market is giving back yesterday's gains, with falls in energy, mining and financial stocks contributing to the sell-down. Overnight, Wall Street resumed trade for the first time since Friday night, with the Dow Jones Index finishing modestly lower. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 32.3pts or 0.7pct to 4503.1.

Renewable energy capacitycould overtake nuclear power in the UK by 2018 if current growth rates persist, and will provide enough power for one in 10 British homes by 2015, according to new research by RenewableUK.

A report released by the federal government on Thursday estimated that Australia would need to import 100 million tonnes of carbon abatement to meet the country's greenhouse gas reduction targets.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 10 points, or 0.1%, while the S&P was up a point to 1412 and the Nasdaq lost 0.

Local stocks enjoyed a strong rally during Wednesday's trade, thanks to positive momentum out of Europe. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose by 29.7pts or 0.7pct to 4535.4.

Last week we mentioned that Germany's audit office wanted the Bundesbank to make sure German gold held in foreign vaults is...you know...actually there...and has not been leased into oblivion, never to back sound money again. Well the story gets better.

The government finally published its Asian Century white paper this weekend. It sure sounds impressive. With the kind of timing this government has, a giant meteor will strike the Asian continent and destroy it sometime next week.

Despite yesterday's blowout $6 billion or so profit from ANZ, it turns out all is not entirely well in Australia's financial services industry. For the last five years, the pattern in the markets has been the same. A crisis starts at the margin, with a peripheral player, and then moves its way up the food chain.

Food Production: Feed the World and Make Money From Agriculture

Today, Fairfax announced that The Stayz Group has acquired YesBookit, the leading holiday rental booking system for property managers. Developed by Midac Technologies, YesBookit integrates with Stayz, Rentahome, HomeAway and Wotif to simplify the holiday booking process for Australian and New Zealand property managers.

The Australian sharemarket is improving for the third straight session, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 0.8 per cent or 34.3 pts to 4540. All sectors are rising with the mining, healthcare and telecommunication industries the standouts. This is despite the closure of U.S markets last night for the second consecutive day due to bad weather. This was the first time in 124 years the American markets closed due to bad weather for two sessions in a row.

By David Eller, Investment U ResearchCan you get an edge over the analysts on Wall Street?Peter Lynch thinks so.

By Greg PeelThe good news is that despite reports to the contrary, the NYSE was not under four feet of water yesterday, and all stock and bond markets will reopen for normal service, including floor trading, tonight.

The Australian sharemarket improved for the second consecutive session, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) edging higher by an unimpressive 0.1 per cent or 6.3 pts to 4505.7. Almost all sectors gained at least some ground, with the exception of energy stocks and the industrials.

Investors must have been wondering how long the good weather would last...how long it could last. Stocks have been on the up and up since March of 2008, the nadir of the crisis. They've doubled from then 'till now.

Stocks managed small gains on Wall Street another lackluster Wall Street trading session on the 25th of October, with doubts surrounding weak business ventures keeping most investors cautious.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered Gazprom, the country's pipeline gas export monopoly, to build a 3,200km pipeline from East Siberia to the Pacific port of Vladivostok, reported Reuters on Monday, in an attempt to reduce the nation's reliance on exports to Europe and develop closer ties with Asian customers.

Local stocks are trading modestly higher at lunchtime in the East, despite falls on the Canadian and European markets overnight. All US markets were closed due to Hurricane Sandy, which is currently bearing down on New York City. It's expected US markets will also close tonight (Tuesday) - which will be the first time bad weather has forced the closure of the NYSE for two consecutive sessions since 1888. The last time a Hurricane closed the NYSE for one day was in 1985. Nearing lunchtime in t...

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) ordered on Monday a five-year ban on trading on Apple Investment Company and a three-year ban on providing financial advice on Alec Khoo & Associates.

By Greg PeelThe NYSE, Nasdaq and other smaller US exchanges were closed last night for all forms of trading by agreement of those exchanges.

While Australia's Parliament is studying the imposition of a travel levy on residents who fly overseas, foreign students in New South Wales (NSW) would enjoy up to 35 per cent discount on public transportation.