POLITICS & POLICY

First it was Russia hoarding all it can on supplies in the lead up to the December 21, 2012 Mayan doomsday countdown supposed to happen next week. Now it's the Chinese who are hoarding, this time on all candles they can hold at on fears there will be three consecutive days of darkness after that fateful day.

As we reported yesterday, America is the place to be. We've got all that gas and oil. The roughnecks are squeezing it out of rock.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: Australian Dollar at fresh highs as US Fed stimulus gives sentiment a boost.

Federal Court Justice Steven Rares threw out on Wednesday the sexual harassment case filed against disgraced House Speaker Peter Slipper by his former staff James Ashby in April.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has rallied to its highest level in almost three months after a rise in German investor confidence and more optimism regarding the US fiscal cliff (read - avoiding go over "thine cliff").

Australian radio hosts Michael Christian and Mel Greig emotionally reach out to the grief-stricken family of Nurse Jacintha Saldanha. In a taped Reuters interview, a weeping Mel Greig apologized to Saldanha’s family for the hurt caused by their prank phone call.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard remains the popular choice among voters as Australia’s prime minister but the trouble is she would easily lose out to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, the last Newspoll-News Ltd 2012 survey said.

It's like looking a lot at some tug-o-war. While many still pick on the supposed end of the world on December 21, 2012, still others take round the clock efforts to debunk the Mayan doomsday myth. While the Mayan calendar indeed ends of that date, it actually heralds the start of new beginnings for Earth and its people.

An earthquake that lasted for three minutes forced Australians living in Darwin, probably already deep in dreamland, to rouse from their sleep at 2.30am local time. The source of the earthquake? A 7.3 magnitude earthquake in the Banda Sea off Indonesia that is actually more than 600 kilometres away from Darwin.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar remains well supported despite negative political headlines out of Europe.

New voter enrolments or updating the current electoral database will likely impact negatively on Coalition support, a new study said, potentially shaving off marginal numbers from the opposition and swinging them over either to the government or the Australian Greens, reports said.

Latest data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Monday had revealed that the number of new home loans in Australia grew just a pinch in October, which was well below industry expectations.

Existing shareholders of Australian rare earths miner Lynas Corp continued to express support to the mining company by agreeing to its share purchase plan even as its beleaguered processing plant in Malaysia continued to face strong opposition from the community on which the facility is located.

Sir Patrick Moore, the world-renowned British astronomer whose works advanced the study of space and encouraged the common folk to "look up," died Sunday at his West Sussex home. He was 89. A series of tributes flooded Twitter and Tumblr following the announcement of Sir Patrick's death.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has maintained its relative strength from last week as US non-farm payrolls released on Friday night improved more than forecast.

Western Australia Treasurer Troy Buswell is again in hot water due to his alleged lewd behaviour towards Perth businessman Nicholas Kailis. The joke-gone-wrong on Mr Kailis, managing director of Kailis Brother, actually happened at a private function a year ago.

NASA grieves over the loss of space spider “Nefertiti” last Monday at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. after surviving 100 days in outer space aboard the International Space Station. The experiment mission was designed to conclude if a spider dependent on gravity while catching their food can settle in and survive in micro gravity.

The latest survey of consumer confidence by the Chamber of Commerce of Western Australian and the Industry-Curtin Business School have shown that despite hard times, consumers in that state would still be willing to splurge for this coming 2012 Christmas season.

The Mayan calendar has marked a conclusion of some sort with the end of its 13-baktun cycle. Some New Age followers say it is all about a spiritual re-awakening. Others are saying it has something to do with the sun's alignment in the Milky Way. For those who enjoy making social web memes, the Mayan calendar news is just another funny topic.

For the first time in more than two years, Australians' contributions into various superannuation funds experienced a decline in the September quarter, spurred by jobs cuts and financial anxieties.

Australia's construction sector in November, despite enjoying lower interest rates, continued to remain sluggish--a trend foreseen to hover until 2013.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: Australian Dollar finds continued support on better than expected Labour Market Data.

Australian parents on the lookout for either cheap or cute toys to give to their little ones have been forewarned to take precautionary measures as the Office of Fair Trading in Queensland seized thousands of toys it deemed dangerous to give.

Almost 100 expressions of interest from potential buyers planning to purchase all or part of the ailing Australian food icon Rosella have been collected by its receivers, raising hopes that the company and its 275 workers still have a bright future ahead.

The Australian Bankers' Association (ABA) said the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has again confirmed that Australian households and borrowers are not paying more for their mortgages and business loans even though banks do not pass on RBA cash rate cuts in full.

NASA scientists stated the moon’s surface has been receiving massive impacts from numerous asteroids and comets. Latest information obtained from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission reveal the nearly crushed lunar interior just below the surface. In conclusion, planet Earth as well as other terrestrial planets in the Solar System may have also endured the attacks of space rocks.

In 20120, Yao Defen of eastern China’s Anhui province was recognized as the tallest woman in the world in the Guinness World Records where she stood at 2.33 meters tall. Sadly, the world’s tallest woman already passed away last November 13.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: Australian Dollar little changed in relatively quiet overnight session ahead of key employment data today.

In yet another expected twist, Australian rare earths miner Lynas Corp got into another legal battle for its newly operational processing plant in Malaysia.