POLITICS & POLICY

Syria Oil Pipeline Blows Up, Protesters Blamed

Part of a pipeline running to an oil refinery in Homs, Syria blew up Thursday causing thick black smoke to hover about the city where protest against President Bashar al-Assad started in March.
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U.S. Downplays Remarks on China's Rise in Asia-Pacific

The United States has declared that its planned stationing of U.S. Marines in Australian territory was to be taken as its exclusive ties with a long-time ally and not meant to antagonise any country in the Asia Pacific region.

NAB, Westpac, CBA Give in to Pressure, Pass RBA Rate Cut in Full

The three other large Australian banks - National Australia Bank, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank - gave in to pressure and announced Friday that it will pass on in full to customers the 25 basis points cut in overnight cash rate approved on Tuesday by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

Australian Stock Market Report - Morning - 12/09/2011

From Craig James, Commsec Chief EconomistMORNING REPORT (8.00am AEDT) -- US jobless claims fell 23,000 to 381,000 in the past week - a nine month low. US wholesale inventories rose 1.6pct in October after rising by a downwardly revised 0.3pct in September. The October result marked the largest rise since May 2011.

Global Markets Overview - 12/09/2011

From Morrison Securities: U.S. stocks fell in afternoon trading as investor focus shifted from disappointment over the European Central Bank to the closely watched summit on Europe's sovereign-debt crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 171 points, or 1.4%, to 12026 in recent action. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index shed 23 points, or 1.8%, to 1238 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 42 points, or 1.6%, to 2607.

NSW Sees Changes in Organ Donation Proceedings

The state government of New South Wales says changes are necessary in the existing proceedings regarding organ donation sign ups and families overruling prospective donors’ decisions.

Australian Stock Market Report - Afternoon 12/08/2011

The Australian sharemarket ended a touch lower today with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) losing 0.3 pct or 12.4 pts to 4338.9. Almost all regions of the market lost at least some ground, with the energy sector by far the worst in percentage terms. The miners flirted with positive ground for most of the day and did not add to the market's weakness today.

Coal India Slashes Production Target Triggering Power Outages

Indian nationals better ought to brace themselves for more power shortages and energy crisis as state-run Coal India Limited (CIL) announced on Wednesday production targets for the current fiscal year as contained in its annual plan have been slashed to 440 million tonnes from 453 million tonnes.This, as the federal government of India rejected CIL's demand to scale down its target output.

Indian Bridal Gold Jewellery Gets Tweaked

India is now abuzz with activity related to its annual wedding season. In almost every nook and cranny, one will find hordes of beaming brides and their families hopping from one jewelry shop to another trying to find the perfect gold jewelry that is fit to their budget.To accommodate the budget, India's gold jewelers have devised ways to sell their merchandise, to the point of tweaking the jewelry's gold content.

China's Gold Output Up 3.87%

Two months before the traditional lunar Year of the Dragon, the Chinese are already agog in their preparations, including acquiring and purchasing gold related products, even as prices of the yellow metal have surpassed $67.69 per gram in Beijing.Latest data gathered from the website of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) disclosed gold output by the world's second-largest economy grew by 8.436 metric tonnes, a 3.87 per cent hike year on year, to reach 226.38...

ANZ Bank Passes on to Consumers Full Interest Rate Cut

ANZ Bank announced on Thursday that it will pass on to consumers the full 25 basis points interest rate cut made by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Tuesday. It becomes the first of the four large Australian banks to cut its interest rate by 25 basis points, leaving the pressure on Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac to follow suit.

China 2011 GDP at 9.2% Only: Chinese Think Tank

From an earlier 9.4 per cent projection, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), a government think tank, on Wednesday slashed to 9.2 per cent its forecast of China's GDP for 2011, citing the current sluggish economic recovery worldwide coupled with the country's tight monetary policy as well as withdrawal of stimulus measures on consumption as culprits for the growth slowdown.

Australian Stock Market Report - Midday 12/08/2011

The Australian sharemarket is losing ground for the second time this week with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 0.2 pct or 9.8 pts to 4341.5. Most sectors are lower with the energy and financial stocks holding the market back at lunch. The miners were lower in early trade, managed to creep into positive territory at around 11am (AEDT) only to pullback over the last hour.

Large Australian Banks Still Adamant in Passing Rate Cut

While smaller Australian banks have passed on in full to customers the 25 basis points overnight cash rate approved by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Tuesday, the four large banks are playing a waiting game which one will first pass on the rate reduction and by how much.

Global Markets Overview - 12/08/2011

US markets extended their gains overnight in a choppy session, as traders tried to position themselves ahead of the key European summit. Reports out of Europe continue to dominate trade, with plenty of headlines to digest. A report suggesting the G-20 is considering a $600 billion IMF lending program saw US markets charge higher late in the session. However, the IMF has since denied the report which resulted in US stocks retreating in the last moments of trade.

Australian Stock Market Report - Morning 12/08/2011

US consumer credit grew sharply for the second straight month, rising by $7.65 billion in October. German industrial production jumped by 0.8pct in October to be 4.1pct higher than a year ago. In contrast Italian Industrial production fell by 0.9pct with UK industrial production down by 0.7pct in October.

Top Five Robot Gift Suggestions for the Holidays

Robots make for fantastic gifts this holiday season. Even if your giftee is no mad scientist, robots still make for cool and unique gifts. Robots are readily available in many retail stores and websites. Owning robots isn't the just for scientists and the ultra-rich. Here are some affordable robots for Christmas.

Research Suggests 'Sexting' Problem may be Exaggerated

So it’s not as bad as previously reported, but what could be done about it? A new research has found that only 2 per cent of teenagers send sex-related messages and/or naked photos of themselves using their mobile phones, as opposed to 20 per cent reported in 2008.

Global Scarcity of Uranium Looms

Challenges in sourcing funds for new mining projects, interruptions in both new and ongoing mine production, as well as the conclusion of the Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) agreement are near-perfect ingredients for a shortage of uranium in the very near future, a top producer warns.

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