POLITICS & POLICY

A Department of Treasury study found that mining companies continue their aggressive recruitment to meet labour shortages suffered by the sector. Among their measures are the downgrade of selection criteria and allocation of a large amount of money to train new recruits.

Apparently irked to the brim over the misplaced information and emotional blackmail being fed to the locals where its Lynas Advance Materials Plant (LAMP) is located, Australian rare earths miner Lynas Corp. had upped its arms and taken legal action against a protest group as well as a number of media outlets in Malaysia.

To further expand bilateral strategic cooperation through trade and investment links between their nations, China and Russia over the weekend inked some 27 agreements worth $15 billion that mostly includes partnerships on energy, equipment, IT and finance.

Clive Palmer's quest for change and tussles with Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan appear headed to the political arena as the mining billionaire indicated on Monday that he intends to contest the senior Labor MP's Parliament seat in Lilley, Queensland.

Determined to rely less on China for its supply of the critical rare earths elements, Japan is set to sign with Kazakhstan on May an agreement to jointly develop rare earth mines mainly to exploit the rare earth metal dysprosium, a critical ingredient to electronics and auto makers.

All the ingredients for the Australian central bank to cook up a rate reduction on May 1 are present, economists said, further making a strong case for a cash rate push back on Tuesday, which has been expected and demanded by many local industries.

Foes and critics have been pressing on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to put off the fiery scandals engulfing her government, which she did over the weekend by asking two controversial figures to stay out of the Labor picture until they have been cleared of criminal and civil allegations.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has continued its recent appreciation, pushing into the high 1.0400's on Friday, as equity markets continue their firm tone while recently released Q1 corporate earnings are strong.

Hope springs from global markets and is seen cascading towards the Australian domestic markets with key commodities stocks gaining with the weaker US dollar. Analysts from IG Markets, Comsec and Morrison Securities share their views for this week.

MORNING REPORT (6am AEST)The US economy grew at a 2.2pct annual pace in the first quarter of 2012, down from 3.0pct in December quarter 2011 and slightly below market forecasts centred on a gain of 2.5pct. But consumer sentiment rose to a 14-month high of 76.4 in April, up from 76.2 in March and above market forecasts.

Solid quarterly results from consumer-oriented stocks including Amazon.com sent stocks higher Friday, pushing benchmarks to their biggest weekly advance since mid-March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 23.69 points, or 0.18%, to 13228.31, and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index advanced 3.38 points, or 0.24%, to 1403.36.

The Australian sharemarket ended a little lower today for the second time this week. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) fell 0.3 pct or 11.6 pts to 4433.4 with almost all sectors losing ground. The market has remained largely unchanged over the shortened trading week (ANZAC Day public holiday on Wednesday).

New Zealand Finance Minister Bill English has become more stringent in managing Government's finances, saying preliminary Budget estimates in recent weeks had revealed a $1-billion worsening of the forecasts for 2014/15.

New Zealand Post is considering reducing its delivery services from six to three days a week and managing a lower staff count in response to an "irreversible" downturn in postal revenue.

A finance think tank agrees with the federal government that delivering a surplus next year would further boost the Australian economy, already heading into relative growth despite the lingering global difficulties.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian dollar followed US equities higher overnight after better than expected company earnings and US housing data pushed markets higher.

Investors shrugged off disappointing readings on the job market and euro-zone economic confidence, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average more than 100 points higher for the third time this month.

The Australian sharemarket edged higher for the second time this week, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) ending 0.3 pct or 11.1 pts stronger to 4445.0. In the first 15 minutes of trade this morning, the market hit a high of 4466.2 (0.75 pct rise) only to gradually give back most of those gains throughout the session.

Rio Tinto and Chinalco's listed subsidiary, Chalco, have completed the formation of their joint venture (JV) to develop and operate the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, following the completion of all Chinese regulatory approvals. As a result, a consortium led by Chalco has made an earn-in payment of US$1.35 billion, in line with an agreement reached with Rio Tinto in March 2010.

Prices of safe haven precious yellow metal gold may do a seesaw every once in a while, but there is no doubting that it will sustain a bull market with much higher prices in the years to come, primarily anchored and supported by the acquisition of central banks.

On Tuesday, afternoon before the Anzac Day public holiday, The Australian share market rose 3.6 points to 4,433 points. The Australian share market jumped on the back of the solid leads from the overseas markets over the last 2 days. US and European markets higher overnight, helped by positive earnings result from key European banks and consumer product companies and outstanding numbers from Apple and Boeing in the US.

The odds are building up against on-leave House Speaker Peter Slipper, with a key MP urging him to stay out of the picture at least until he clears his name while the Coalition may field a likely successor to his post.

Beleaguered Australian miner Lynas Corp., whose Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Malaysia continues to be embroiled in a nasty game of domestic politicking and misinformed public, has been given a thumbs up for safety and low radiation emission no less than by a Malaysian radiology expert.

Claiming adherence to the rule of law, lawyers for Labor MP Craig Thomson asked the Australian Senate on Thursday to keep the Fair Work Australia (FWA) report on the alleged wrongdoings committed by Thomson while serving as top-ranking Health Services Union (HSU) official private.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The AUD has rallied back towards USD1.0350 following last night's FOMC statement release.

Surging shares of Apple and dovish words from the Federal Reserve chairman drove U.S. stocks higher for a second day and propelled the Nasdaq Composite to its biggest gain this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 89.16 points, or 0.69%, to 13090.72.

MORNING REPORT (7am AEST)The Federal Reserve has kept the policy target range for the federal funds rate at zero to 0.25 basis points. The Fed said the economy has been expanding moderately but vowed to keep rates at exceptionally low rates to 2014. Fed chief Ben Bernanke said that ´´we think monetary policy is in the right place´´ but that ´´doesn´t mean we won´t take further action´´ to stimulate growth.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on Wednesday that because of the values that Anzac Day represents, the day has become more significant than Australia Day.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard flatly denied accusations from the Coalition that she was making light of the sexual harassment accusations hurled against embattled House Speaker Peter Slipper.