POLITICS & POLICY

National Australia Bank (NAB) and Commonwealth Bank on Monday joined ANZ Bank and Westpac in raising their interest rates. That means the big four had decided to be independent of the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) overnight cash rate decisions.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The AUD rallied yesterday after the Greek Parliament passed the austerity measures required by the European Commission, but failed to breach 1.0800.

The Australian stock market is seen heading for a slow but steady start on Tuesday with the positive global markets performance extending limited gains on commodities and other risk-related assets.

Stocks added to gains and hit session highs in afternoon trading, buoyed by the adoption of austerity measures by Greece's Parliament. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently ahead 82 points, or 0.6%, at 12884. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index advanced 10 points, or 0.8%, to 1353, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 29 points, or 1%, to 2933.

The Australian sharemarket has kicked off the new trading week higher, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 0.9 pct or 36.8 pts to 4359.4. Futures were initially pointing to a slightly lower start to trade, however turned positive once the Greek parliament passed new austerity measures despite a number of violent protests in seven Greek cities.

A hundred life-sized sea lion cut-outs are displayed on the shores of Wellington's Oriental Bay on Monday as a conservation organization calls on the public and the government to protect the critically endangered New Zealand sea lions.

Commodities from copper to crude oil, in three years to five years, may plummet anywhere from 50 per cent to 70 percent from existing level prices as a domino effect of a China potentially falling into a recession by 2015, a mutual fund CEO said.

The Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan on Monday said the country had imported a total of 5.23 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in January, compared over 4.12 million tonnes a year earlier.

A looming trade war between China and the European Union over the latter's carbon pricing scheme is the least that the world needs at this time, with major economies already reeling from the effects of the widespread debt crisis in the euro zone, according to the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Prime Minister Julia Gillard appears to be losing her sheen in the money department as new data released by Newspoll showed that Australians now lean heavier on the Coalition bet, Tony Abbott, as the better economic manager.

On Friday, most of the world's crucial commodities line-up was down spurred by weak Chinese economic data, losses in the euro and renewed problems in Greece over a failed negotiation for its bailout deal.

The big four are apparently determined to veer away from the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) overnight cash rate policy. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and National Australia Bank (NAB) are expected to launch a review of their interest rate after Westpac and ANZ Bank hiked their rates on Friday.

Official data from China's Bureau of Custom confirm that exports and imports by the world's second-largest economy had indeed fallen this January from a year ago.

Video clips of a former Afghan Army soldier emerged this week, containing his admission of attacking members of the coalition forces serving in Afghanistan last year.

Australian stocks are in for a rough day as there are not enough leads from other markets to rally on Monday's opening, analysts say.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard issued on Friday a new directive that requires members of the cabinet to secure clearance with her office prior to their appearance on Australian newspapers.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The AUD tumbled on Friday from the close to 1.0800 to open just below 1.0700 this morning as financial markets became nervous before the vote on austerity measures by the Greek Parliament.

Stocks were dragged down for their worst one-day loss in about six weeks by tumult over the Greek bailout, disappointing readings on the U.S. economy and a downgrade of nearly three dozen Italian banks.

ANZ Bank announced on Friday that it will increase its variable home loan and small business interest rates by 0.06 per cent. The announcement establishes ANZ's independence for the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) overnight cash rate policy which the central bank at kept on Tuesday at 4.25 per cent.

The federal government of Australia launched on Thursday a $340-million energy programme designed to provide energy efficiency to businesses, local government and communities.

On Thursday, the governments of China and Canada renewed yet again their bilateral ties over a planned sale of some $3 billion uranium yellowcake exports to the world's second-largest economy.

More jobs in Australia continue to be placed on the chopping block as the axe moves to the construction industry. Kell & Rigby, one of Australia's oldest building firms, announced on Thursday the loss of 500 jobs.

Four days after it retained the overnight cash rate at 4.25 per cent, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) lowered on Friday its inflation and growth forecast for the first six months of 2012.

As a definite effect of the continuing sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone, coupled with the fiscal weakness also happening in the United States, China had braced itself for a less than favorable performance of its exports during the first month of the year.

Bell FX Currency Outlook:The Aussie traded to a low of USD 1.0740 in our session yesterday, to open at USD 1.0785 this morning with markets buoyed as Greek political leaders appeared to have come to an agreement on terms for the country's bailout.

Ever since the age of the cassette tape the media industries across the globe have been "lobbying" and "contributing" to our politics in a way many of us do not even understand.

Auckland has to re-evaluate its current style of new housing, or else it would need an extra 20,000 ha to accommodate new houses in the next three decades, reports said.

Local stocks are expected to rebound on Friday with the gains posted overnight by European and U.S. markets routing from the positive resolution of the Greek debt deal.

U.S. stocks drifted upwards Thursday as investors took stock of a Greek austerity deal and continued improvement in the U.S. labor market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 21 points, or 0.2%, to 12907 in afternoon trade.