POLITICS & POLICY

After a shaky start to the day, the Australian sharemarket managed to edge higher for the second consecutive session. In the first few hours of trade, shares changed directions more frequently than a lost tourist however settled with the release of some important economic news. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose 0.3 pct or 12.3 pts to 4104.7.

Prince Philip who is also known as the Duke of Edinburgh was not present during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee concert because he was rushed to the hospital due to an infection. Despite this mishap, celebrations were still in progress and royal members assured the public that Prince Philip was already on the way to recovery.

The Transit of Venus has begun at 22:09 UTC on June 5th (8:09 a.m. June 6th in Australia) and photos of the astronomical phenomenon have surfaced online. We took a look at the photos being uploaded to Flickr, particularly those in The NASA Venus Transit Observing Challenge Pool.

The Australian economy may be among the worlds' most developed but as far as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is concerned, the country has a lot of catching up to do to achieve a respectable level of green economy.

China took offence on the regular air quality advisories issued by the U.S. diplomatic mission in the country, which Beijing claimed was not only inaccurate but also contradict the official notices issued by the country's environment officials.

Australia's economic growth had exceeded expectations in the March quarter of 2012 on the back of better consumer spending and construction activities.

The horrific story finally ends as Luka Magnotta, the “Canadian Psycho” cannibal who “chopped and ate” gate lover finally got arrested. And in such a peculiar place, Magnotta was captured in an internet café while he was checking news about himself.

Indonesia, the world's top thermal coal exporter, is looking into implementing duties on its exports of the raw commodity to save more for domestic use, a risk which could mean losing some $11 billion for its national coffers.

Africa still holds the key to the best gold discoveries among all gold-bearing countries in the world, irrespective of the political upheavals and armed uprising in that region, the chief executive of Montreal-based Semafo Inc. (SMF) said.

Coal miners in Canada continue to remain bullish on the fate of the sector in the world market amid dropping prices and an oversupply in China, the second-largest economy and also one of the world's largest consumers of the raw basic commodity.

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has again called on the country's giant banks to pass on to their customers the benefits of the rate cut that the Reserve Bank has announced yesterday, insisting that these lenders are profitable enough.

The issue of Australian banks earning mega profits while borrowers are being slapped with high interest rate cropped up again with the release on Wednesday of a report by the Australian Institute.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has held ground trading at USD 0.9750 following yesterday's widely expected interest rate cut by the RBA and some disappointing news in Europe overnight.

The Dow industrials rose Tuesday for the first day in five sessions as a reading on the service sector unexpectedly rose and officials from industrialized countries discussed the ongoing European crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 26.49 points, or 0.22%, to 12127.95.

Oil and gas giant Exxon Mobil Corp. could be exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States anytime soon.

The optimists out there often say things such as "It might be stormy now, but the rain won't last forever". Those words rang true for markets (not so much the actual weather) today in Sydney. Shares rose for the first time in five days, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 1.5 pct or 59 pts to 4092.4. The market ended close to its best level of the day and improved in the second half of trade (following the central bank's rate cut).

With mounting concerns on the environmental preservation of the Great Barrier Reef that now includes the UNESCO, the federal government had halted the final approval of the coal mine project initiated by Gina Rinehart's Hancock Coal and India's GVK.

India, a country vastly rich in mineral resources, has ironically started to import iron ore, the key ingredient to steel making, the newspaper Economic Times reported.

As expected by economists and analysts, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cut on Tuesday the overnight cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.5 per cent. The move aims to pre-empt the possible repercussions of the uncertainty if Greece will leave the Eurozone and weakness of the Chinese an American economies.

Coalition leader Tony Abbott has resorted to using a metaphor to warn Australians of the ill-effects of the carbon tax scheduled to be collected beginning July 1.

Australia can't seem to wait for a change in federal government, according to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, as he declared on Tuesday that the nation has come to realise that Labor policies currently in-place have been wrecking the domestic economy.

Matamec Explorations Inc., developer of the Kipawa rare earths project in western Quebec, announced on Monday its mineral processing pilot plant operations for the rare earths project have already went online.

Surveys have been suggesting that Prime Minister Julia Gillard will not carry the Labor Party to victory in 2013, yet all is not lost for the government as voters pointed to a one man they think is the fittest to lead the nation - Kevin Rudd.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's forecast Tuesday that after its June 17 election, Greece will have one-in-three chance of abandoning the euro in the coming months.

All eyes are not only on the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) which announces on Tuesday its decision on the overnight cash rate, but also on Australian banks if it will pass in full any rate reduction.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: With UK markets closed for the Queen's Jubilee celebrations, the AUD has strengthened to be currently trading at USD0.9720 despite a lack of liquidity and very little direction during the offshore trading session.

Stocks tilted lower shortly after the open following a report that orders for manufactured goods fell in April, versus forecasts for orders to hold steady. Stocks then spent most of Monday's session in the red before reversing course late in the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 17.11 points, or 0.1%, to 12101.46.

Tanzania has started to earn from the royalty rates under its new Mining Act in 2010, The Citizen newspaper reported.

The Australian sharemarket lost ground for the fourth straight session, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 2 pct or 83.5 pts to 4033.4. The ASX200 Index also closed below 4000 pts for the first time since November last year. All sectors lost ground, with the exception of the gold producers and the defensive telcos.