POLITICS & POLICY

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.

Fox population has been confirmed on the rise in Tasmania, Australia, sending concerns the growing presence of the predator will eventually put at risk the island's native wildlife.

The long-running Voyager 1 Spacecraft of NASA reportedly entered a new layer of the solar system where scientists are unaware of. NASA scientists have now named this area “Magnetic Highway” and further claimed it is the final stop before the interstellar space. The astounding scientific discovery was made known to the public on Monday at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco, California.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar is higher on improving global market sentiment despite yesterday's decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to cut rates by 0.25% to 3.00%, thereby equaling the record low of April 2009.

While embattled MP Craig Thomson has consistently denied that he misused Health Services Union (HSU) funds to pay for the services of prostitutes and the personal travel of his wife, it won't be his denial that could allow him to avoid prosecution.

And now it can be told. The hoax that is the Sandy Island off the South Pacific really never actually existed.

Malaysia is reportedly mulling a repeal of its death penalty laws, and if it pushes through, an Aussie man could be saved from the gallows soon, reports said.

With the world's temperature predicted to hit 4C-6C by 2100, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has urged on the global federal governments to abolish the fossil fuel subsidies as it believed this would greatly lead to reduce carbon emissions.

What could have been a merry observance to mark the end-of-school celebrations in Fiji has resulted to the tragic death of a 17-year-old lad from Queensland, Australia.

U.S. agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) may have upped its takeover bid into GrainCorp Ltd., Australia's largest listed grain trader, as well as bought an additional 5 per cent of the company, but Australia's last standing independent grains handler remain unconvinced it should sell itself to its present persistent suitor.

Palestine's successful bid to be recognised as a "non-member observer state" in the United Nations last Thursday has come at a cost.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar held its ground overnight, following positive news regarding Greece and Spain, and is poised ahead of the RBA's interest rate decision today.

With the holiday season fast approaching, a lot of people will surely include one these famous smart phones on their wish list: Nokia Lumia 920, Apple’s iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S3. Which one is your Christmas choice?

Like every politician, Prime Minister Julia Gillard appears vulnerable to public attacks as the latest Galaxy-News Ltd survey showed that 20 per cent of Australian voters regarded her handling of the AWU slush fund scandal as not transparent enough.

Hotter days are coming for the nations of the world as a leading Australian climate scientist predicted global temperatures will rise to 4C-6C by 2100. The culprit? Global carbon emissions have grown three times faster compared with a century ago.

Stocks edged mostly higher, led by sectors seen as defensive, as weak spending and income data offset German parliamentary approval of bailout funds for Greece.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has opened in the low 1.0400's this morning as financial markets moved very little over the weekend.

The Australian government, after successfully overcoming hurdles to the tobacco plain packaging, is now mulling suggestions to include warnings on the labels of alcoholic drinks, especially those geared towards expecting or pregnant women.

Effective Saturday, Dec 1, all cigarettes or tobacco packs in Australia will be sold in identical, olive-brown plain packaging.

The Bovine Johne's Disease (BJD) first detected among a number of cattle herd in Central Queensland may have already spread out, possibly infecting 160 properties.

Shares of Australian rare earths miner Lynas Corp. jumped to as much as 7.4 per cent in early trade on Friday as the mining company reached a "significant milestone" with the start of operations of its highly-controversial Malaysian processing plant.

After statements from lawmakers sent stocks into a brief tailspin, stock trading settled down with benchmarks solidly in positive ground by mid-afternoon Thursday.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The AUD traded at a high of 1.048 yesterday afternoon after House Speaker John Boehner offered a downbeat assessment of progress in budget talks in Washington. AUD currently trading at around 1.043.

Environmentalists are against the decision of Australia’s chemical regulator to continue the use of Diuron. WWF (World Wildlife Fund) declared the toxic pesticide could destroy the Great Barrier Reef and put the health of residents at risk if not completely banned.

Australia's Asian Century white paper released on October 2012 appears to be a misnomer because the bulk of its focus is on one country in the continent - China.

Latest data released Wednesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has revealed that the suburb Toorak of Melbourne has Australia's highest wage earners. Residents in those area have a net take home pay of at least $132,252.

With global prices of commodities still on a downslide, and the proverbial gold at the end of the rainbow still way out of sight, global mining giant Rio Tinto has announced it will reduce unnecessary costs to generate a $5 billion savings by the end of 2014.

Queensland state is known for its coal resources, but new evidence point that the region's mining frontier has shifted to Curtis Island what with the number of liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects lined up in the island.