The Australian government has assured mining companies and opposing sectors their demands will be met in the final version of the proposed mining tax bill.
Barring any more glitches, Prime Minister Julia Gillard is virtually assured of sailing her proposed minerals resource rent tax (MRRT) though the Parliament’s lower chamber this week, paving the way for a near-certain approval by the Senate early next year.
The mining tax proposal of the Labor government, set to be voted on likely by Wednesday, appears to be a more popular measure than the proposed lifting of uranium exports to India.
Forces of Libya's interim ruler, the National Transition Council, are searching Terhouna city, 90 kilometres southeast of Tripoli, for the youngest son of former leader Moammar Gadhafi and head of an elite brigade from the fallen regime.
Qantas Airways has rejected suggestions that it allowed negotiations with union officials to be bogged down by deliberate delays in order to secure intervention from Fair Work Australia (FWA).
Australian banks are no longer relying heavily on the wholesale funding markets. Instead it has turned to the retail deposit for low interest rates since the start of the global financial crisis.
Australia is bent on completing its mission in Afghanistan regardless of the setbacks its troops absorbed in the past few months, according to Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
The US healthcare system is a mess, as both health insurance and medical treatment costs continue to soar exponentially year after year. But one way some companies are helping to address this dire situation is to begin penalizing workers that represent the biggest drain on the system (smokers and the obese) with higher healthcare premiums.
Blaming below-par professionalism and negligence, U.S. intelligence officials confirmed this week that underground operatives supplying information from Hezbollah and Iran have been busted earlier this year.
From Craig James, Commsec Chief EconomistUS existing home sales rose by 1.4pct to an annual rate of 4.97 million in October. Economists had expected sales to fall to a result near 4.80 million. The National Association of Realtors said that the proportion of distressed sales eased from 30pct to 28pct. Home prices are down 4.7pct on a year ago. And the inventory of homes fell from 8.3 months to 8.0 months.
The 21-day period for Qantas management and unions to agree on new contracts lapsed on Monday with no negotiation extension made by the parties, so the dispute will now have to be settled by the Fair Works Australia (FWA).
Clashes between demonstrators and police around Cairo's Tahrir Square continued for the third day on Monday raising the death toll to at least 24 and the number of injured people to 1,700.
From Stan Shamu, Market Strategist, IG MarketsGlobal markets declined overnight after US lawmakers failed to reach a deficit-cutting agreement. This failure to act is magnifying the European debt issues that investors are currently trying to deal with. Moody's came out to say that rising French government borrowing costs and an uncertain economic position continues to pose a threat to the outlook for France's AAA credit rating. This confirms what most investors have feared for a while....
Bell FX Currency Outlook:
Risk aversion was the flavour of the trading session last night as concerns briefly shifted from Europe to the US as their deadline for deficit reduction looms.
The British and U.S. governments announced Monday a ban on credit and financial transactions with Iran's banks and central bank as punishment for building nuclear weapons. Canada's government is also expected to impose the same sanctions.
The Australian sharemarket lost ground for the fourth time in five days today with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) easing 0.3 pct or 13.1 pts to 4233.6. The market was split in half today with the energy, industrial, healthcare and telecommunication services all ending higher however weakness from the mining and financial sectors was enough to drag the broader market into the red.
Aurora Minerals has announced the discovery of more than 600 meters of broad copper mineralization at its GBO prospect, along with promising intersections at its Pink Elephant prospect from Stage 2 drilling at its Glenburgh Copper-Gold Project in central Western Australia.
For as long as the world mulls the global economy is headed for a recession, panic acquisition of the safe haven yellow metal will continue, pushing demand and prices to further go up.
Australian miner Lynas Corp. had received a pat on the shoulder after the executive branch of government in the Malaysian state of Pahang confirmed its rare earth metals plant pose no harmful effects to the people nor the surrounding environment of Gebeng in Kuantan, Pahang.
Oceana recently called on the 48 fishing member countries of the ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) to protect endangered sharks, tuna and swordfish.
With bilateral relations between China and India increasingly getting beneficial for both, experts from India's chamber of commerce forecast the trade goal set between the two countries may be achieved two years ahead of target.
The proposed minerals resource rent tax (MRRT) is configured by the federal government to spread out the benefits of the ongoing Australian mining boom but collateral damages of the plan could deliver fatal blow to small business sectors, reports said.
Now that the Royal Sister is officially back on the market, many prominent figures are coming up as possible replacements for her long-time ex-lover, Alex Loudon.
It appears that Prime Minister Julia Gillard faces opposition from among the left-leaning members of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) following outright dissensions announced over the weekend by Senator Doug Cameron.
With the forwarded drawdown from $300 million worth of funds to prop up its operations, Australia's OneSteel Ltd scrambles to turn around its operations within 12 months, according to reports.
Peak Resources aims to raise A$3.2 million to fund its 100 per cent acquisition bid into the Ngualla Rare Earth Project in southern Tanzania.
The Australian sharemarket has kicked off the new trading week a little indecisively with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 0.6 pct or 26.5 pts to 4220.2. Most sectors are lower with the mining sector down around 1 pct.
Qatar's first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been released bound for China to PetroChina's newly-commissioned LNG receiving terminal at Rudong in Jiangsu province.
Weeks into a lingering stalemate that practically paralysed Qantas Airways’ operation, no deal is yet in sight as both company management and union leaders appear steadfast on pushing for their respective stance.
In an absurd attempt to fight back at federal regulations that greatly limit the amount of junk food that can be served as part of government-funded school lunch programs, Congress has proposed a new spending bill that classifies pizza as a "vegetable." Reports indicate that the bill would allow for just two tablespoons of tomato paste to be considered a serving of vegetables.
