POLITICS & POLICY

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.

Australia suffered its first combat death this year in war-torn Afghanistan as the Defence Department confirmed on Tuesday the demise of a veteran Digger, who was serving his seventh tour in the 10-year conflict.

On the second day of the implementation of the controversial carbon tax, the Labor-led government of Australia scored three points against the Opposition after three major Aussie companies aired their support for the measure.

The local share market rallied today, on the back of positive sentiment out of the US and Eurozone. Investors around the globe appear to have welcomed the outcomes of the European Union summit last week, which essentially saw leaders agree to use bailout funds to assist troubled banks directly, rather than having the borrowed funds added to government debt. Local investors continued their buying spree today, with stocks finishing in the black for a fourth consecutive session. The All Ordinaries ...

The Alpha Mine & Rail project in Queensland, a collaboration project of Georgina Hope Rinehart, one of the richest women in the world, and India's GVK Group, may be able to secure a green clearance as early as August 2012.

Detained Aussie lawyer Melinda Taylor will be home soon as the International Criminal Court (ICC) confirmed on Monday that its detained legal team in Zintan will be freed later tonight.

As the string of controversies rocking the national leadership of the beleaguered Health Services Union (HSU) migrated to the cyber world, national secretary Kathy Jackson maintained that she was a victim of 'dark forces' within the labour group.

Today starts a new financial year and stock market investors would be happy to see the end of the 2011 2012 financial yea, as the Australian stocks market fell over 11% last year.

Australia need not only expedite new construction as well as expansion of varied mining infrastructure pipeline projects such as road, rail and port projects, but also ensure to manage them well in the light of expected surge in the demand of commodities.