POLITICS & POLICY

Ten days after Australia implemented its $23-a-tonne carbon tax law, the country's competition watchdog said it has received a total of 630 complaints against it.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on Thursday that remote areas in Australia will soon enjoy wireless broadband access with the sealing of the $280 million deal between NBN Co and U.S.-based ViaSat Inc.

At the rate BHP Billiton Ltd.is going, having filed for environmental approval for its iron ore expansion plans in the Pilbara region, it sure does look the global miner is bent to hoard much of Australia's natural reserves despite uncommitted action to push for the advancement of its two major expansion projects in the country.

Australia's unemployed has grown by 0.1 percentage points to 5.2% in June, as the number of people with jobs declined by 27,000 to 11,500,500 in the sixth month of the year, latest figures released Thursday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed.The Australian dollar, at 1200 AEST, dropped at 101.93 US cents immediately after the figures were released.

The Australian share market closed marginally lower yesterday and overnight market were held back once again by Eurozone concerns and lack of immediate stimulus help from the US Federal Reserve.

South Korea earned praises this time as it hinted the likelihood of backing down from its earlier announced plan of resuming whale hunting in pursuit of scientific research.

A study by an Edith Cowan University School of Management research team estimates a 25 per cent annual turnover rate for the 50,000 fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workers in Western Australia.

Investors pared most of their losses in late trading, but still handed the Dow Jones Industrial Average its fifth straight loss after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's June policy meeting showed few signs that central bankers were moving towards further action. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 48.59 points, or 0.38%, at 12604.53, after falling as many as 119 points in intraday trading.

Besides promising to repeal the carbon tax if the Opposition would win the 2013 election, Coalition leader Tony Abbott also vowed changes in work flexibility arrangements which would benefit Australia's tourism industry.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar is slightly stronger this morning, currently trading at USD1.0250, as investors digest the US Fed Minutes and news that Spain has added additional deficit-reduction measures.

Australia's exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is facing stiff rivalry from oil and gas exploration companies in East Africa amid the whopping 24 oil discoveries made from just only 27 test wells there.

Labor must clearly define its distinction from the Australian Greens but a veteran figure of the ruling party said today that ongoing stoush between the federal partners was wholly unnecessary.

A direct Australian dollar and China yuan currency conversion could very much augur well for a stable trade between the two growing economic leader nations.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard was playing politics when she picked Brisbane to play host for the 2014 G20 summit, top officials of New South Wales said on Wednesday.

China, as it gears its economy to sustain the continued global fiscal crisis along with general plans to boost domestic consumption, could transform from a major rare earths producing and exporting nation to a major consumer and importer of the precious metals essential to make high-tecg gadgets and applications.

The Australian sharemarket is losing ground for the fifth straight day, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 0.2 pct or 9.9 pts to 4128. Despite the falls, the last week and a half has been extremely quiet on markets, so the losses cannot be taken too seriously.

On the second week of the implementation of the carbon tax, Treasurer Wayne Swan said the $23 per tonne carbon price is now a reality which Australians would have to judge its impact on their lives.

Worries from the tech and industrial sectors and an underwhelming earnings report from bellwether Alcoa sent stocks tumbling Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 83.17 points, or 0.7%, to 12653.12, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 10.99 points, or 0.8%, to 1341.47.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has opened fairly unchanged this morning after trading to a high of USD1.0245 overnight during the European session.

It was yet another extremely quiet session on the Australian sharemarket today, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 0.5 pct or 21.9 pts to 4137.9. This did not come as a huge surprise due to the falls on most global markets overnight and the lack of interest in shares in Europe and the U.S.

Noting the financial crisis that continues to hit and stall the eurozone, the World Gold Council (WGC) said it expects gold demand from China to pare from the 1,000 metric tonnes it earlier predicted in May to just about 870 metric tonnes overall for 2012.

USEC Inc., a global energy company and provider of enriched uranium fuel and nuclear industry-related services for commercial nuclear power plants, announced it has completed by 90 per cent the conversion of weapons-grade uranium from dismantled former Soviet Union nuclear warheads into low enriched uranium fuel under the program called Megatons to Megawatts(TM).

Australia has signed two business deals with Sundaram Business Services (SBS), the business process outsourcing arm of Sundaram Finance Ltd., which will aid the latter's expansion plans in the Asian nation.

The institution that breeds Australia's future military officers has been wracked by sexual misbehaviours and other abuses that date back from 50 years ago, according to the newly-published report of law firm DLA Piper.

Gold producer from Australia Integra Mining has undergone into a trading halt on Tuesday as it seeks to raise $25 million to pay down debt as well as finance a number of expansion projects.

U.S. authorities will have to wait until next year before they can get a hold on Megaupload owner Kim Dotcom following decision by a New Zealand court to postpone his extradition hearing for March next year.

At least eight major producers of rare earths based in China's Guangdong Province have formed an alliance, the Guangdong Rare Earth Industry Group, in compliance to the federal government's pronouncement to start building a rare earths reserves.

Shipments of the key steel-making ingredient iron ore from Australia's Port Hedland to China dropped in June by as much as 7.6 percent from a month ago, port authority data showed.

Nervousness about Europe's debt crisis, an economic slowdown in China and the onset of domestic earnings season pushed U.S. stocks lower for a third-straight day Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 36.18 points, or 0.3%, to 12736.29. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gave up 2.22 points, or 0.2%, to 1352.46.