POLITICS & POLICY

India will soon be scouring the ocean floor bed for rare earths as it positions to institute a "strategic presence" in the area of deep sea mining.

While the Opposition, the New South Wales government and some businesses such as bakery chain Brumby's are blaming the carbon tax for rise in prices, Australia's retail industry is rejoicing because the carbon compensation caused the sector's growth rate to hit a two-year high.

In spite of promises by Coalition leader Tony Abbott to repeal the carbon tax if the Opposition wins in the 2013 election, big polluters in Australia believe otherwise.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: While the Australian Dollar briefly pushed through USD1.0300 late in our trading session yesterday, it has since retreated back, currently trading at USD1.0260, as markets wait for the outcome at tonight's European Central Bank meeting.

Trading volumes were low, with the U.S. market closed for the Independence Day holiday. Analysts widely expect the European Central Bank to announce a 25-basis-point interest rate cut Thursday, but a recent deterioration in economic data has many market participants hoping for a cut that's twice as deep

Australian bakery chain Brumby's apologised on Wednesday after being caught by regulators attempting to make more dough by blaming the carbon tax for price increases. Brumby's parent company, Retail Food Group Limited, apologised for the unacceptable error of judgment.

The Australian sharemarket gained for the fifth time in six days today and is trading around two month highs. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose by 1.1 pct or 47.4 pts to 4213.8. Despite the gains, investors still stayed away from the market today due to a U.S public holiday tonight (American markets closed tonight).

The carbon tax, despite the support by some large Australian businesses, continues to be the favourite whipping boy of the Opposition and even some state governments.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott would want Liberal MPs to take their job seriously and not entertain any hints that a post in the Parliament would only require half the effort and half the heart.

The Australian Federal Court has instructed insolvency firm PPB Advisory on Tuesday to take over the reins debt and mortgage fund operator Provident Capital.

Origin Energy and US giant ConocoPhillips, owner of the A$23 billion ($23.6 billion) Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) project, along with China Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec), has approved on Wednesday a final investment decision on the second of its two-train coal seam gas (CSG) to LNG project.

Overnight overseas markets gained across the board after better than expected factory orders in the US and strong auto sales for the month of June. The US market closed early ahead of the July 4 Independence Day holiday. Commodity prices rallied higher and the Aussie dollar also gained.

Even if the Reserve Bank of Australia's Tuesday decision to hold the overnight cash rate at 3.5 per cent was widely anticipated by analysts, business leaders are still hoping for another rate cut in the coming months.

"The US seems to have gotten the worst of it," said a French friend this morning. We were taken aback. Everyone knows Europe is in a state of permanent crisis. The US seems solid by comparison, no?

Australian lawmakers received hefty pay boosts prior to their six-week winter break, leaving them as among the best-paid politicians around the world.

The Foreign Investment Review Board has given the regulatory approval to Woodside Petroleum to sell to Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsui & Co. one-third of its controlling stakes in the $30 billion Browse liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Western Australia.

U.S. stocks rose in a shortened pre-holiday session as surging oil prices bolstered energy shares and factory orders rebounded more than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 72.43 points, or 0.6%, to 12943.82. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 8.51 points, or 0.6%, to 1374.02.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has opened just under the USD1.0300 level as investor risk appetite improved overnight.

While Australia's minimum wage earners were given a 2.9 per cent pay increase beginning July 1 which is equivalent to a $17.10 per week boost, federal MPs and other officials got their second salary hike in three months.

Data from Australia's Bureau of Meteorology on Tuesday forecast the resurgence of the El Niño weather pattern in the later part of 2012.

China is facing a major coal oversupply in three major ports, the state-run Xinhua News reported.

Investors gave a muted response to the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision today to leave the official cash rate on hold at 3.5pct, as expected. There was virtually no reaction on the stock market when the decision was handed down at 2.30pm AEST, with stocks closing slightly lower following yesterday's strong rally and a mixed finish on Wall Street overnight. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) finished the session down 6.1pts or 0.2pct to 4166.4.

Prices of safe haven yellow metal gold are seen to advance this week on positive forecast developments from the U.S. manufacturing sector.

After cutting the overnight cash rate for two successive months in May and June, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) retained the key lending rate on Tuesday to 3.5 per cent.

Too much of a good thing could also very well be a bad thing. While it is great that Australia's workers are empowered and can readily bargain their labour and wage demands, this very freedom could actually turn off potential investors and kill the economy of the tiny island-nation.

Sophie Mirabella was "in shock" and "unaware" that GetUp! director needed medical attention when he collapsed during a live panel talks on TV, a spokesperson said. How many people could react like Greg Combet in such a scenario?

Craig Emerson has been a trending topic on Twitter for hours now, thanks to an infamous video of him, which has now gone viral on the internet. The video, an interview with ABC News on carbon tax, shows the Minister for Trade and Competition breaking into a song while defending a serious topic of discussion among Aussies today.

Following a slightly stronger start to the trading session, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is currently unchanged. The energy sector was the best performer yesterday after oil prices shot up by 9.5 pct. Today, the oil and gas producers are holding the market back most significantly.

Russian steelmaker OAO Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) has withdrawn from a A$554 million or $567 million bid to acquire Australian iron ore developer Flinders Mines after a minority shareholder challenged the plan in a legal complaint. Shares of Flinders Mines immediately took a beating, dropping more than seven per cent in early trade.