POLITICS & POLICY

Australian Stock Market Report – Midday 5/23/2012

Yesterday, the Australian share market improved for the second straight day, with The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up over 49 points to 4,173 points. But in morning trade today the market fell back into the red.

Australian Dollar Outlook - 05/23/2012

Bell FX Currency Outlook: This morning the Australian dollar is over a US cent lower, currently trading at USD0.9790 after comments about the possibility of Greece leaving the Euro currency resulted in risk aversion trading, and in turn, a fall in the AUD.

Global Markets Overview - 05/23/2012

U.S. stocks erased gains from a day spent mostly in positive territory to close flat Tuesday, as worries resurfaced in late trading about potential European instability.
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China Eyes Investments in Infrastructure to Boost Economy, Asian Stocks Up

Companies engaged in producing raw commodities, particularly coal, iron ore and copper, may look to sunnier skies as China jumps to apply solutions to control its slowing economy. Specifically, the country is looking to the infrastructure sector to lead this economic rally, state-backed newspaper China Securities Journal reported on Tuesday.

Copper Miner Xstrata Confident China Appetite Will Recover

Amid the hype brought by China's suspension of coal and iron ore cargo shipments and its apparent controlled economic slowdown, the copper unit of Xstrata, the world's fourth-largest copper miner, remained confident the world's second-largest economy will continue to import its main product nonetheless.

Energy Watch: Australia’s First Uranium Mine Project Meets Opponent

As expected, opponents have come out to challenge what could be Australia's first ever uranium mine project.The Conservation Council of Western Australia (CCWA) said it is opposed to the construction of the uranium mine project in Wiluna town in the northern Goldfields on the basis that Toro Energy has yet to provide a safe and reliable track record in uranium mine construction, development and maintenance.

Australian Stock Market Report – Midday 5/22/2012

The Australian share market started the week stronger and has also gained in morning trade today, Yesterday the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) closed 26 points higher at 4,124 points. Helping to wipe away some of the pain from the 5.6% loss last week.

Australian Dollar Outlook - 05/22/2012

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar is just north of USD 0.9900 after sentiment was boosted slightly due to supportive comments from policymakers.

China Suspends Coal, Iron Ore Cargo Shipments

In what could be a firm testament of its cooling economic activity, a number of China's raw commodity trading houses have suspended their cargo shipments of coal and iron ore amid the continued drop of the prices of the two commodities in the world market.

Craig Thomson: I Have Done Nothing Wrong

Beleaguered MP Craig Thomson has spoken and was mostly successful in buying more time for his stay in the Parliament, which was threatened by ongoing efforts from the Coalition to move him out of the way.

Global Markets Overview - 05/22/2012

The Nasdaq Composite index rose the most since December as hopes of political progress in Greece and talk of government efforts to buoy China's economy trumped a steep decline in Facebook's newly public stock

Australian Stock Market Report – Afternoon 5/21/2012

The Australian sharemarket managed to improve for the first time in five sessions today, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) gaining by 0.6 pct or 25.6 pts to 4124.4. Shares were up by as much as 1 pct in early trade, fell by 0.12 pct at around lunch however managed to recover in the last few hours of trade.

Australian Stock Market Report – Midday 5/21/2012

Friday our market had what many would call a "shocker" we had widespread selling as losses continued throughout the day by the close the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) has slumped by 110 points to 4,098 points. By the close the ASX had wiped out all of its 2012 gains, listing the worst weekly performance (down 5.6% this week) since September 2011.

6.0 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Italy: Updated Information and Pictures

A 6.0 magnitude earthquake recently hit the north-central part of Italy which caused the death of at least 6 people and injured at least 50 individuals. The earthquake also caused the collapse of numerous historical architecture sites like castles, clock towers, and churches.

Australian Dollar Outlook - 05/21/2012

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar continues in languish in the 0.9800's after the G8 meeting held on the weekend produced no "revelations" of how to deal with the economic woes of Europe.

Xenophon Supports Repeal of Carbon Tax, If…

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon said on Monday that he would not stand in the way of a repeal of the carbon tax if Opposition leader Tony Abbott becomes the next prime minister of Australia.

Global Markets Overview - 05/21/2012

Blue chips extended a streak of declines the likes of which haven't been seen in almost 40 years, amid continued euro-zone concerns and Facebook's lackluster debut. The Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its 12th loss in 13 sessions, the worst 13-session performance since October 1974. The average lost 73.11 points, or 0.6%, to 12369.38.

Australian Stock Market Report – Afternoon 5/18/2012

Today certainly was not an enjoyable day for those involved in markets. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) slumped by 2.6 pct or 109.7 pts to 4098.8. Almost all sectors ended in the red today, with the mining and financial sectors the worst performers. Today was the biggest daily pullback for the ASX in 2012 and the worst weekly performance (down 5.6 pct this week) since September 2011. Australian shares wiped out all of the market's gains for the year in a matter of days.

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