POLITICS & POLICY

Seven West Media Ltd, Australia's largest locally listed media company, said its takeover by West Australian Newspaper Holdings in 2011 has helped lift its first full year net profit to $226.9 million, up by 97.1 per cent over the previous year's $115.1 million.

Three decades from now, the world's financial activity may very well be managed and controlled by the richest people from Asia.

The New South Wales government ended on Tuesday its one year impasse with the Shooters Party over amendments to the state government's anti-graffiti legislation.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard was completely clueless of the alleged nefarious activities of her former partner, then Australian Workers Union boss Bruce Wilson, 17 years ago. Mr. Wilson, on the other hand, claims that they were backed by her former employers at Slater & Gordon law firm.

The emerging El Niño weather pattern that Australian scientists have been closely monitoring could prove beneficial to the country's sugar cane growers in Queensland, according to a senior forecaster.

U.S. STOCK MARKETSThe Dow finished with its biggest decline in almost three weeks Tuesday, falling for the second session in a row after knocking on the door of multiyear highs early in the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 68.06 points, or 0.5%, to 13203.58, its sharpest drop since Aug. 2.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar is relatively unchanged this morning, currently trading at USD1.0470 as low trading volumes make it hard for the AUD to hold onto the gains experienced following the RBA's release yesterday.

Tony Abbott is convinced he is a ‘modern man’ as he parried accusations from Labor ministers that he behaves quite differently when dealing with female colleagues at the Parliament.

Philippine government officials confirmed on Tuesday that the body of the country’s interior ministry chief, Jesse Robredo, has been retrieved from the wreckage of the private plane that crashed Saturday afternoon in seawaters located south central of the Philippines.

The number of New Zealanders making an exodus to Australia has reached a record high in July, Statistics New Zealand said, which reported that a whopping 53,900 people departed New Zealand to transfer to the resource-rich nation.

The U.S. State Department has accused WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange of sidestepping the real issues surrounding his legal predicaments even as a key Labor figure sounded off grave concerns on the prospect of the Australian national getting a fair trial in the United States.

As expected, the board of Australia's Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund (HDF) has recommended on Tuesday the A$1.4 billion ($1.46 billion) bid of gas distributor Pipeline Consortium APA Group, a day after rival suitor Pipeline Partners Australia (PPA) bowed out from the chase game.

Alan Joyce, chief executive officer of labour beleaguered Qantas Airways Ltd., has decided not to accept his bonus and pay rise for this year, in what could be a fitting gesture in light of the continuing massive fiscal crisis affecting both local and international companies.

Oil major Chevron Corp on Monday announced it had reached a $450 million agreement with Royal Dutch Shell PLC to exchange its assets in the Browse development for stakes in the Clio and Acme fields in the Carnarvon Basin.

U.S. STOCK MARKETSU.S. stocks took a pause Monday, with the Dow industrials ticking down for the first in three sessions, as telecommunications and consumer-discretionary shares fell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 3.56 points, or less than 0.1%, to 13271.64.The blue-chip benchmark had capped its sixth-straight weekly advance on Friday, putting it within striking distance of multi-year highs.

Coalition leader Tony Abbott suffered a double whammy in two successive days. On Monday, he was ejected by Parliament during a heated Question Time and the next day reports said support for Labor continued to rise despite the introduction of the carbon tax in July.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar had a very quiet night with markets noticing the effect of the traditional summer holiday periods in the Northern Hemisphere.

Pipeline Consortium APA Group could most likely win the takeover battle over Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund (HDF) after rival bidder Pipeline Partners Australia (PPA) announced on Monday it no longer plans to match APA's raised bid.

Australia may find it hard to meet the demands of the ‘Asian Century’, this was hinted Monday by former Treasury Secretary Ken Henry in a speech before the Australian Industry Group held in Canberra.

Poor prices of coal in the world market spurred by a continuing weak demand from the Asian market had prompted China-backed Yancoal Australia to suspend its expansion plans in all its seven mines in Australia.

Gu Kailai, wife of former Politburo top contender Bo Xilai, was given a suspended death sentence on Monday, concluding a brief but high-profile murder trial that China watchers said was both a political and criminal proceeding.

New Zealand suffered its first female combat kill in Afghanistan on Sunday following an attack on Humvee army convoy that was on its way back to a forward base manned by Kiwi troops in the Afghan province of Bamyan, reports said.

BlueScope Steel Ltd's financial performance for the 12 months to June 30 has improved, albeit marginally, after posting a full year net loss of $1.044 billion, up by one per cent than the $1.054 billion a year ago.

Stocks inched forward Friday to cap their sixth straight weekly gain, finishing a hair short of multiyear highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 25.09 points, or 0.2%, to 13275.20, about four points shy of its mark on May 1, when it set a more-than-four-year high.

Australia: The AUD has been the beneficiary of global central bank and institutional buying in recent weeks. This has been due partly to Australia's relatively higher interest rates and yields on Commonwealth and state government bonds as compared to other developed economies.

The latest Treasury’s admission that Australian surplus cannot be supported by current levels of federal revenues only proved that the May budget presented by Treasurer Wayne Swan was grossly unrealistic, the Coalition said.

Cost cuts and a business expansion in Asia have proven to be an effective business strategy for the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group as third-quarter profit jumped 10 per cent from a year ago.

South Australia has a new underground copper and gold mine, as Oz Minerals launched on Friday its latest project development at Prominent Hill.

For every cause, there will always be a corresponding, resulting effect.With prices of commodity on the downhill, coupled with growing operating costs, Queensland miners may be forced to slash jobs if only to be able to comply to a proposal to increase mining royalties in the Australian state.