MARKETS

The Australian market has extended its gains following much better than forecast job numbers and an unsurprising inflation report in China. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 0.2 per cent or 11.7 pts to 5,189.6, making it the third day of improvements this week. There were 50,100 jobs added in April, 34,500 of which were full-time positions. The unemployment rate eased from 5.6 per cent to 5.5 per cent and the participation rate (the percentage of working-age Australians either employed or loo...

By Kathleen Brooks, Research Director UK EMEA, FOREX.comFX is playing second fiddle to stock markets today.

Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) expects to benefit from the rising demand for steel by China with higher iron ore sales, a company executive said at an international conference in Singapore on Wednesday.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 48 points, or 0.3%, while the S&P gained 0.4% to 1632 and the Nasdaq added 0.

The ASX 200 Index closed at a near five year high today, as investor sentiment was boosted by record closes on the US Dow Jones and S&P 500 Indices, as well as better than expected Chinese trade data. The ASX 200 closed just shy of 5200 points, its best finish since June 30, 2008.

The Australian market is rising thanks to a better than expected Chinese trade surplus and US shares closing at record highs. The All Ordinaries index (XAO) is up 0.7 per cent or 35.8 pts to 5,158.5. A US$18.16bn trade surplus in China at 11.49am (AEST) pushed local shares slightly higher initially while the Australian dollar recorded a more obvious rise to US101.9 cents.

By Bo Becker and Victoria IvashinaFixed-income investors that have targets based on imperfect risk measures are tempted to take on additional risk to raise their portfolio yields.

Out of the blue, Paul Walsh, successful chief executive officer at Diageo Plc, informed that he would retire after successful and fruitful 13 years managing the drinks giant. As it was made public, he would be succeeded by Diageo COO Ivan Menezes.

They are not called Virgin employees for nothing. Female attendants of Virgin Train are protesting the new uniform of the transport form because the blouses are too short and so flimsy.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 87 points, or 0.6%, while the S&P gained 0.5% to 1625 and the Nasdaq added 0.

- RBA saw need to support economy- Economists predict more cuts will be required- Westpac and Macquarie see a 2% cash rate aheadBy Greg PeelIs the Reserve Bank of Australia "behind the curve"?In its April monetary policy statement, the RBA suggested "Global growth is forecast to be a little below av...

The Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) somewhat surprise decision to cut rates for the first time this calendar year helped reduce market weakness. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) slipped by just 0.2 per cent or 11 pts to 5,122.7. At around 2.45pm (AEST), the ASX200 index was up by 0.2 per cent while the Australian dollar hit a low of US101.7 cents just before 3pm (AEST).

After a flat start, sellers have moved in to the Australian share market at lunch, sending the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down by almost half a per cent.

By Peter Switzer, Switzer Super ReportJust when many Australian investors ? and in all likelihood many of our SMSF subscribers ? are thinking BHP Billiton ((BHP)) must be looking like a buy, one expert for my TV show and this newsletter, Roger Montgomery suggested that the share price could fall int...

By Andrew NelsonApril was a funny old month for uranium. After a couple of mostly flat months in February and March, uranium prices dropped through most of April.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 5 points, while the S&P gained 0.2% to 1617 and the Nasdaq added 0.4%.

By Greg Peel"The exchange rate has been little changed at a historically high level over the past 18 months, which is unusual given the decline in export prices and interest rates during that time".

The Australian share market has started the week's trade on a positive note, following a positive lead from Wall Street at the end of last week on the back of better than expected US Jobs numbers.

The Australian sharemarket is higher thanks to a better than expected US jobs on Friday, however a portion of the gains were wiped out due to a weaker than forecast retail spending report. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 1.1 per cent or 54.4 pts to 5159.8. The mining sector is the standout at lunch thanks to a strong rise in commodity prices, in particular copper which jumped by 6.2 per cent.

The Australian Livestock Exporters' Council suspended over the weekend live export of cattle to Egypt following the release of video footing by Animals Australia showing extreme cruel practices on animals for culling at Egyptian abattoirs.

By Ashley Jessen, director of LearnCFDs.com and author of CFDs Made SimpleDespite an extremely healthy lead from the US bourses overnight and an incredible day for our banking sector, our S&P/ASX 200 was unable to inspire any upside remaining flat for the day, down 0.

The Australian sharemarket improved for the second consecutive week, albeit only modestly. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) edged higher by 0.5 per cent over the five past days and finished largely flat today.

The European Central Bank's (ECB) first rate cut in 10 months overnight is encouraging buyers on the local market for the third time this week. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 0.3 per cent, taking the gains this week to 0.76 per cent. Monthly non-farm payrolls tonight in the US will keep investors on edge for the next 10 hours. The creation of around 150,000 is now expected by the market for April.

The Australian dollar has edged slightly higher overnight following the European Central Bank's decision to cut its key interest rate and the release of better US economic data.

By Michael Lombardi, MBA for Profit ConfidentialAs of April 26, more than half of the companies in the S&P 500 issued their corporate earnings for the first quarter of 2013.

With the FOMC and ECB meetings out of the way now, investors will be encouraged to see central banks remaining committed to stimulating the global economy. There has been increasing pressure on the ECB and BoE to join other major central banks in conducting easing measures.

Singapore is a tiny city-state, but it looms large in the international aviation industry since its national air carrier and airport topped two separate lists of best airlines and gateways made by Business Insider.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 130 points, or 0.9%, while the S&P gained 0.9% to 1597 and the Nasdaq added 1.

n US economic data, claims for unemployment insurance fell by 18,000 to a five-year low of 324,000. The trade deficit fell from $43.63bn to $38.83bn as a 2.8pct fall in imports outpaced a 0.9pct fall in exports. Productivity grew at a 0.7pct annual pace in the first quarter, short of forecasts for a 1.2pct gain.