POLITICS & POLICY

Japan is set to spend some $8 billion that will upgrade its air capability, possibly opting for a fleet of radar-evading F-35 combat jets manufactured by American firm Lockheed Martin, reports said.

As exports and home sales continue to slide, no thanks to the continuing European debt crisis and stringent real estate policies at the home front, China's manufacturing has been forecast to contract for a second month in December.A preliminary reading of HSBC Holdings PLC's China purchasing managers' index (PMI) released Thursday (2:30GMT) showed the activities in the country's mainland's factories continue to dip in December, 49.0.

Asian buyers of the much coveted precious metal gold went into a buying spree as other skilled investors liquidated their investments of the safe haven metal on speculation of a dollar strength rising.

The Mackay Conservation Group warned of the danger of the new coal terminal being planned in Queensland a day after the state government announced the award of tracks of land to two companies which will develop the ports.

Morningstar has again launched its yearly pick for the top fixed-income managers of the year. The tough criterion will again focus on how these managers delivered outstanding returns based on a sound strategy for the long term and not just on the highest returns made for the fiscal year.

The World Bank (WB) banned on Thursday Australian engineering firm Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) from participating in its projects for two years. The ban was due to KBR's misconduct in talks over a Vietnamese water supply contract.

The Australian sharemarket is doing it tough at lunch with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 1.3 pct or 55.1 pts to 4194.7. Today's weakness has effectively wiped out almost all of this month's gains.

Australian banks are citing the high cost of money caused by the ongoing eurozone debt crisis as they reason why they would not likely follow the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) the next time the central bank cuts the overnight cash rate.

Talks of brewing restiveness within members of the Australian Labor Party have sprouted in the immediate aftermath of the cabinet reshuffle implemented earlier this week by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, reports said.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The AUD has fallen again overnight as concerns over the Euro Zone debt crisis continue to drive the markets.

A sluggish start is seen for the Australian stock market as a reflection of negative overnight leads from the U.S. and European stock markets. In spite the good import numbers reported for the first time in the U.S., stocks still skidded due to the pessimism pervading the commodities markets. In yesterday's trading the top

From Morrison Securities Pty. Ltd. U.S. stocks sank for a third straight day as falling commodity prices added to investor anxiety over the euro and a jump in Italy's borrowing costs.

Papua New Guinea was engulfed in a political turmoil on Monday when its Supreme Court ordered the reinstatement of Sir Michael Somare as the prime minister, a post that parliament bestowed earlier to Peter O'Neill. But O'Neill refuses to turn over his post, so the country technically has two leaders.

A U.S. Air Force drone monitoring pirates off the East African coast crashed in the airport of Seychelles on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection of China has finally come up with a set of draft safety rules to ensure not only the efficiency but also safety of the country's nuclear plants once it goes online again.

The Australian sharemarket certainly could not put 'consistency' down on its resume as one of its strong points. Over the past 20 business days, local shares have improved exactly half of the time and have gained by an uninspiring 2.5 pct over the past three months.

China denounced Canada's decision this week to withdraw from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, accusing it of reneging on its commitment to help reduce global carbon emissions.

Toyota Tsusho Corp., trading company of Japan's biggest automaker, Toyota group, announced recently it has entered an arrangement to supply coal-bed methane to BG Group Plc.'s liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.

The Queensland government awarded on Wednesday to Adani Mining and Dudgeon Point Project Management (DPPM) land for a new coal port south of MacKay. The planned port would have an export capacity of 180 million tonnes.

China will definitely raise the bar for natural gas importation as it gets more aware of the impacts of its fuel emission contributions to the environment over the last decade.

The Australian sharemarket is losing ground for the second straight day with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 0.3 pct or 14.8 pts to 4236.9. The market's two largest sectors, the miners and the financials are both weaker. The financial sector, which includes the big four banks, makes up more than 30 pct of the Australian market while the miners account for around 25 pct of its size.

Canada is withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol, according to its Environment Minister Peter Kent.

A Rutherglen man's effort to find the remains of his brother under a disused mine near Avoca got a boost from the Victoria government, which offered to reimburse up to $25,000 in cost to the digging.

Iran has shot down 'official request' from the United States that its spy drone that went astray in Iranian territory, underscoring that the Americans violated the Islamic Republic's airspace while attempting to gather intelligence.

As the world continues to rely more on liquefied natural gas (LNG), prices will slowly be given a separate mechanism and move away from being linked to crude oil over the next decades.

China's Fenxi Mining Group has been chosen by Kenya to develop coalmines that cover at least two blocks from the Mui basin in the country's eastern province.

Global miner BHP Billiton on Tuesday announced it had approved to sell a portion of stakes of 8 per cent in its South African coal arm to a consortium of black investors led by investment firm Pembani Group (Pty) Ltd. to help meet regulation requirements of black ownership targets.

Despite the growing risks to global growth caused by the European debt crisis, Australia's resource and energy exports are expected to hit $206 billion for 2011-12. It is a 15 percent rise from the past 12 months, said the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE).

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said shadow cabinet had resolved on Monday to maintain the Coalition's current position on the same-sex marriage push, ahead of a likely Labor conscience vote on the issue.