POLITICS & POLICY

An Australian graduate school has graded as A the performance of Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) released the report on Thursday, to coincide with the International Women's Day. Ms Gillard is Australia's first female prime minister.

The highly debated rare earths processing plant of Lynas Corp. in Malaysia was never part of the Australian miner's overall blueprint submitted and approved a decade ago. In fact, according to the original plan, the now known Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) should have been erected at Meenar, Western Australia.

In US trade, markets rebounded from the previous day's big falls on improved optimism that the Greek debt swap will proceed, and also on better-than-expected ADP US jobs data. The ADP numbers are a good indicator in the build-up to Friday's US non-farm payrolls data. Reports that the Fed is considering a new type of bond-buying program also helped to lift sentiment.

The US ADP National Employment index showed that 216,000 new private sector jobs were created in February, close to market forecasts. In Germany, factory orders fell by 2.7pct in January taking the annual contraction to 4.9pct. A sharp fall in foreign orders was the main driver of the weakness: foreign orders fell by 5.5pct, while domestic orders rose by 0.9pct.

The Australian sharemarket lost ground for the third straight session today, making it the worst three day pullback for the local market this year. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) slumped by 1.4 pct or 61.1 pts to 4234.4. All sectors ended in the red, despite some modest gains recorded by the telcos earlier in the day.

Environmental activists were gearing for costly campaigns that they hope would convince Australia to gradually abandon mining, which they claim would bring economic and ecological destruction over the long haul.

The central bank is not keen on forcing the Australian dollar to assume values that were inconsistent with the dictates of market forces, according to Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Deputy Governor Philip Lowe.

Greenpeace Australia plans to disrupt and delay coal export projects in the country in a campaign to stop the booming sector. The Australian reports that the funding proposal for the anti-coal campaign considers 2012 and 2013 the critical years.

The New Zealand Immigration has been asked to review its visa-waiver agreement with South Africa amid fears that terrorists could easily obtain a fake passport from the country to gain NZ entry.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has indicated that she intends to maintain harmonious relation with the Australian business community despite the recent backlash spawned by comments aired by a senior member of her government.

The Bank of Queensland (BoQ) increased its home loan interest rate by 10 basis points despite the Tuesday decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to hold the overnight cash rate at 4.25 per cent.

Native spiders went busy spinning their webs to create their new homes on top of tall grasses, bushes and fences.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The AUD has been sold off overnight, trading down to a low of USD 1.0525.

Global market trades have gone awry overnight that might cascade negative sentiments to the local market on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks were on pace for their biggest decline this year, hurt by soft readings on global economic growth and concern over a looming deadline for Greece's bond swap with private bondholders.

The Australian sharemarket lost ground for the second straight day, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) falling by 1.3 pct or 58.7 pts to 4295.5. Almost all sectors finished in the red with the I.T sector the lone improver. The world's largest share registry, Computershare (CPU) was the biggest contributor to the sector's gains, rising by 1.9 pct or 15 cents to $8.05. Listed companies tend to have a share registry that looks after their administration tasks and shareholder responsibilities...

Banks have offered emergency relief packages to assist people affected by the floods in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT, the Australian Bankers' Association (ABA) said.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has maintained the country's benchmark rates at 4.25% considering an economic turnaround by the second half as a result of some structural changes especially the onset of the carbon price on inflation.

The appointment of Senator Kate Lundy as Minister for Multicultural Affairs has received mixed response in Australia. She is the first minister given the portfolio which was abolished in 2007 by then Prime Minister John Howard who preferred to push for a shared national identity.

Australian mining major Rio Tinto Group, also the world's third biggest mining company, is set to infuse some $2 billion into its Orissa iron ore project venture in India amid reports the country's local steel demand alone will balloon by 9 per cent annually over the next five years.

There were tell-tale signs that Coles and Woolworths were flexing too much muscle in pressuring suppliers to ramp up their production but without the corresponding benefits.

The controversy now has hit home.With Lynas Corp. still to fully arrest and win over the controversy surrounding its Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Malaysia, here comes yet another information that could possibly whip up a storm right where its home base is.

Rare earths miners in China and Australia have decided to fast-track their respective exploration projects amid earlier reports that the falling prices of rare earths in the global market will trigger anew a massive demand for the precious metals.

Official dealings with the government must be undertaken with a fully established identity, this according to new laws that will take effect April 30 this year in New South Wales.

Global markets retreated overnight with China's announcement acknowledging a weakness in its economy and growth would be subdued in 2012 at 7.5%

Stocks bounced back in afternoon trading from morning losses, but remained in the red amid concerns about slowing global economic growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 21 points, or 0.2%, to 12956, led lower by Alcoa, which dropped 3.4%.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The AUD has opened below USD1.0700 this morning, currently trading at USD1.0670, as a downgrade in Chinese growth forecast sees a fall in commodity prices that could also result to a decline in the value of the AUD.

As global mineral producers want a more aggressive stance in their search for new sources of precious metals including gold, platinum, and palladium; and other industrial metals, but they might be caught within a credit crunch that may hamper their plans this year.

The backbone of China's newfound economic might mainly rests on its manufacturing sector, which experts said could face serious skill shortages soon as millions of Chinese migrant workers gradually return to their rural homes.