POLITICS & POLICY

The Australian equities and currency markets are set to rebound on Friday benefitting from the positive overnight leads. Although, holding up the bouyant trade for the rest of the day will be a challenge considering the earnings reporting season is almost over and oil price surges might temper further advances.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian dollar has opened back above USD1.0800 this morning, as the European Central bank's second massive injection of cash buoyed sentiment in equity markets.

Stocks rebounded from the biggest decline in two weeks, rising after a strong reading on weekly U.S. jobless claims. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 32 points, or 0.3%, to 13032, in Thursday afternoon trading.

US car giant agrees to settlement paid in shares but denies propping up segregationist regime.

A wise man once said that yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift. However, today was the sort of present investors would have preferred not to have received. The Australian sharemarket fell for the third time this week today, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 1 pct or 42.1 pts to 4346.

The federal government of Australia announced on Tuesday night the sudden end to the $320-million solar hot water programme. The decision was part of the Gillard government's major revamp of its subsidy programmes.

An improved exports scenario in February posed good news for China and the rest of its trading partners, expanding for the first time in four months, with the official purchasing managers' index (PMI) of the world's second-largest economy reaching 51.0, well above expectations of the global market.

As Australia wages its campaign that forces tobacco manufacturers to adopt plain packaging on their products, a U.S. District Court ruled against a similar measure in the United States on Wednesday.

After implementing the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered public buses in Beijing, China, whose energy consumption rose by 7 per cent in 2011 over a year ago, will conduct a trial run of methanol-fuelled cars in three provinces effective March 2012.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has simplified business registration procedures in the country by allowing online listing. Under the guidelines released on Thursday by ASIC, enterprises need to register online only once even if they have businesses in different Australian states.

Iran has devised a scheme to maintain some fiscal normalcy amid international tensions related to its nuclear programme after the U.S. and the eurozone imposed sanctions affecting the country's trade and financial transactions, by accepting physical gold as payment for trade, along with the U.S. dollar and other agreed currencies of other nations.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard flatly denied on Thursday reports that she offered the Cabinet post vacated by Kevin Rudd to Bob Carr, calling media reports about the job offer as "completely untrue."

A group of parents in Victoria is challenging the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in VCAT (Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal) to fight for fairness in the discussion of religions in state schools.

Significant increases across the clothing and footwear and transport equipment sub-sectors together with a lift in new orders were leading contributors to another month of expansion in the manufacturing sector, according to the latest Australian Industry Group - PwC Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI®).

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian dollar traded in a relatively wide range overnight, with the movements driven mainly by developments out of Europe and the US.

The Australian stock market is seen taking on the negative leads in today's trading signifying the impact of U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's statement that quantitative easing (QE3) may not happen soon as expected.

U.S. stocks edged lower after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke took a cautious view of the U.S. recovery and offered few clear signals that the central bank could take additional measures to ease policy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 14 points, or 0.1%, at 12991, in afternoon trading, after rising 50 points earlier in the session.

Virgin Australia (ASX: VAH) announced on Wednesday that it will start to introduce beginning March 1, 2012 a $3 carbon tax surcharge for passengers.

The Australian sharemarket improved for the first time this week today, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) gaining 0.8 pct or 36.9 pts to 4388.1.

Determined to make its presence felt in the global community, the BRICS group - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - has pen-pushed for discussion on their fourth summit scheduled on March the creation of a multilateral bank for their group's exclusive use and disposal.

The host of The Circle, a Channel 10 program, is in the hot seat after criticizing Ben Roberts-Smith, winner of the Victoria Cross. A heavy counterattack was thrown towards the host after describing one of the nation's greatest war heroes as brainless.

The $6-billion Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold project in Mongolia is on track to meet its initial production targetted to commence in the third quarter of this year with the construction of the mine's first phase reaching 73 percent completion, owner Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. announced on Monday.

Andrew Forrest is in danger of losing the management grip on Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), a mining firm he founded that now holds the distinction as the third biggest exporter of iron ore from Australia.

The dental health of Australians has gotten worse, and $10 billion is needed to fix the system that provides care for the Aussies’ teeth.

The score now is two against zero.First was when the Atomic Energy Licencing Board (AELB) and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti)of Malaysia granted Lynas Corp. a temporary operating licence (TOL) to proceed with the controversial $200 million rare earths processing plant in the province of Kuantan. Now second is the issuance of a preliminary objection by Malaysian government legal representatives against the court action lodged by a group of Kuantan residents that challe...

A Senate inquiry is due to report today on the circumstances surrounding forced adoptions in Australia. The inquiry has taken a year to gather accounts and evidence from hundreds of relinquishing mothers across the country.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard needs to clarify reports suggesting that American authorities appear to have secretly established a case against controversial whistleblower Julian Assange, an Australian national.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: In a quiet session overnight, the Australian Dollar held yesterday's gains as local financial markets await a raft of economic data to be released today and the all-important release of the European Central Bank's second round of Quantitative Easing.

Overnight leads from the U.S. and European markets are to provide a boost to the Australian stock market on Wednesday.