Manufacturing activity remained flat in November according to the latest Australian Industry Group - PwC Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI®). The Australian PMI® was broadly unchanged, up just 0.4 points to 47.8, to remain below the 50 points level separating expansion from contraction.
Bell FX Currency Outlook:
The AUD has had a huge rally overnight following coordinated intervention from the world's major central banks.
The Queensland parliament on Wednesday voted 47-40 to pass into law a bill recognising and legalising same sex civil unions.
Three substantial economic developments announced in quick succession Wednesday morning, including efforts from several central banks to shore up the global financial system, prompted global stock markets to soar and sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average up by more than 400 points. Central banks around the globe announced a coordinated plan to make dollar funding cheaper for European banks.
MORNING REPORT (7.30am AEDT) The world´s major central banks acted jointly on Wednesday to provide cheaper US dollar liquidity to European banks. The surprise emergency move included the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and the central banks of Canada, Britain, Japan and Switzerland.
The Duchess is set to make the Holidays a fashionable one by commissioning dresses from the high end fashion house.
Greater accountability and better fiscal management are needed to achieve more inclusive growth in developing Asia-Pacific nations, Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Haruhiko Kuroda said on Wednesday.
Minmetals Resources Limited (HKSE:1208) ("MMR") has appointed mining industry stalwart Anthony Larkin as an independent non-executive director of the company to further strengthen the board's project risk assessment capabilities.
The New York Film Critics Circle named the starkly beautiful silent film "The Artist" the year's best film Tuesday. "The Artist," also earned the best director award for French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius.
Korea's Samsung had won the first legal battle against Apple Inc. as an Australian court overturns the decision disallowing the sale of the Galaxy tablet in the country on Wednesday.
A deal secured by Optus with NBN Co has assured the telco of just compensation in the event the National Broadband Network project of Prime Minister Julia Gillard becomes a casualty of political wrangling in Canberra.
A Chinese daily has scored the United States and its NATO allies for its arrogance in conducting unilateral military operations in Asia that so far not only failed to resolve the Afghan War but also fuelled more terror activities.
France's Council of State, which hears cases against decisions of the national government, has annulled the 2007 and 2008 rules of the agriculture ministry suspending the planting of genetically modified corn in the country.
The Federal Government will reduce the baby bonus to parents by $400 starting September 2012 so it can save money.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev switched on a missile early-warning radar station in the Baltic port city of Kaliningrad Tuesday in a move to counter the U.S. and NATO missile defence shield for Europe.
The 14-year-old boy from Sydney found guilty of marijuana possession in Bali, Indonesia will be home before Christmas as his two-month sentence handed on Friday will cover the time he spent in detention in Denpasar while his trial went on.
The fiscal crisis now hitting the Eurozone has not only immobilized the region and sent panic jitters to other nations, it has also rendered shipments of a majority of Chinese exporters to slump in the past few months, data from a newly released survey showed.
A group of Chinese enterprises, led by the Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco), is eyeing to develop the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea in West Africa.
Australian authorities will look deeper on the report of an Apple iPhone that suddenly self-combusted shortly after the landing of a regional carrier last week.
Australia Post Chief Executive Ahmed Fahour knows how to turn a problem into an opportunity. He showed his success on Tuesday when the agency he heads opened its 24/7 operations that relies heavily on delivery and pick up of parcels ordered online by Aussies.
2011 was a year full of various surprises which include weddings everywhere. With royals, actors, models, and singers taking the plunge and diving into a life of long term commitment.
Difficulties experienced from meeting stringent requirements and securing state approval in trying to construct a land-based receiving terminal has prompted the China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC Group) to build the country's first floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving and storage facility.
Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co. on Tuesday said it is targeting to sell to the Japanese market some 5 million tonnes a year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a major field project in offshore Mozambique.
A consortium of seven Indian companies, led by state-owned Steel Authority of India (SAIL), has been awarded the mining rights to develop the huge Hajigak deposit in Central Afghanistan.
U.S. rare earth metals (REM) miner Molycorp Inc. announced on Monday it has entered a deal creating a joint venture with Japanese companies Daido Steel Co. Ltd. and Mitsubishi Corp. to manufacture and sell high-powered rare earth magnets that targets the automotive and home appliance markets.
Despite the apparently darker days ahead for the global financial situation due to the impact of the European debt crisis, Treasurer Wayne Swan is confident that Australia would rise above the crisis.
While Australia's Business Council favoured a return to fiscal surplus, unions advised the Labor government to be prepared to abandon its budget surplus promise in response to budget cuts announced on Tuesday by Treasurer Wayne Swan.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was recognised by fellow Australians Sunday for his resolve in letting the world know how governments work, specifically that of the United States.
The solar thermal industry at the world's second-largest economy is poised to grow by as much as 17.6 percent higher in 2011 to reach 57.6 million square meters, compared a year ago, according to an industry expert.
China is mulling to invest nearly 18 billion Yuan ($2.82 billion) to exploit minerals in Eastern Tibet's Qinghai region in the next five years. This came almost three months after Beijing announced in August plans to intensify mining efforts in the Tibetan Autonomous Region.
