Christine Gaylican

For a third straight month, business owners in Australia have been down by pessimism as the Australian dollar reached new highs, an indicative report by the National Australia Bank (NAB) said.

Barely recovering from the devastating earthquakes in February, Christchurch City in New Zealand has again encountered consecutive earthquakes today measuring magnitude 6 and 5.5.

The Australian livestock industry may get a reprieve from the financial debacle posed by the six-month-cattle ban to Indonesia by tapping into the $5-million contingency fund of the Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), said Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig.

A new challenger for the top post of the influential International Monetary Fund has come in the person of South African former Finance Minister Trevor Manuel was reported to be challenging France's Christine Lagarde for the top post in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), reports said.

There is now no stopping the Australian government from implementing the economy-wide carbon tax that aims to lower greenhouse emissions. The Gillard administration even got the support of independent MP Tony Windsor after the Productivity Commission report.

Government authorities have decided to get involved in the investigation of some alleged misgivings of the MTAA Superannuation Fund management that can result to millions of losses for Australians investing their hard-earned incomes.

Australia needs to brace for higher electricity rates and transport costs as soon as the government implements the carbon tax. This is one of the key results of the independent study made by the designated independent team the Productivity Commission.

An Air New Zealand Boeing 767 made an emergency landing at the Auckland airport on Thursday after experiencing engine problems shortly after take-off, the airline and emergency services said.

For the first time, Australia's biggest airport will be managed by a woman effective on 1 July, the company said as Ms Kerrie Mather has been appointed as Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sydney Airport.

Australia's government led by Prime Minister Julia Gillard did not promise to give the local cattle industry any compensation for the recent implementation of a live export ban to Indonesia, which will last for six months.

As the Australian share market went down for a sixth consecutive trading day, investors went to the New Zealand markets, which rose close to 20 points to 3525.39, a change of about 56 percent.

The Reserve Bank's decision to hold off plans for an upward rate adjustment in the past few months had impact well on Australia's consumers, who are now more spend-thrifts and conscious on what to spend on.

Australia's stock market has opened at a modest pace taking on from overnight leads as Wall Street gave up mid-session gains as Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke hinted that further stimulus is required to boost the US economy.

Weak trading sessions in the US and European markets will likely rebound in local trading on Tuesday. Investors at the Australian Stock market would likely be on the sidelines as there would be some reluctance ahead of the RBA interest rate pronouncement at 2:30PM AEST.

Australia's Reserve Bank has maintained its benchmark interest rate for a sixth straight meeting as signs of slower domestic economic expansion dims with the slowdown in the U.S. and China.

Frequent travelers across the Asia-Pacific, specifically from Australia to Singapore, can take advantage of the new arrangement between Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines.

As world markets ended up disappointingly with a tepid performance on Friday, analysts expect some negativity spreading, but the good market support for the Australian share markets will hopefully hold it up at today's trading day.

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region have remained quiet at the end of Monday's trading as public holidays in China, Hong Kong, and South Korea have kept only Tokyo's Nikkei and Australia's S&P 500 working until the afternoon.

Australia has generated fewer jobs in May, according to a survey made by the ANZ Bank, which was reflected in lower job placements posted online or on newspapers.

Australia's consumer prices slowed down in May that may prompt the Reserve Bank of Australia to keep benchmark interest rates steady at tomorrow's meeting.

Australia's share markets drifted lower today in subdued trading conditions as investors and traders took a breather after a wild week. Losses were limited by bargain hunting and technical support at the low point established in the last fortnight. Globally, markets are on hold ahead of the non-farm payrolls data to be released tonight in the US, analysts said.

Australia's employers led by an industry group and the retailers association have warned of the possible consequences of the minimum wage increase approved by authorities.

Five aboriginal groups in the Western Pilbara region is set to benefit from the mining resources boom in Australia as they confirm signing an agreement with mining firm Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO).

Australia's services sector showed poor signs of improvement, according to the latest Australian Industry Group/Commonwealth Bank Australian Performance of Services Index (Australian PSI®), the seasonally adjusted index fell 1.6 points to 49.9 after a strong lift the previous month (readings below 50 indicate a contraction in activity).

Expect a lacklustre trading today at the Australian stock market because of negative to mixed leads derived from offshore trading overnight.

As signs of a recession could be well-around the corner in the medium term, the Australian Parliament is still sticking by its positive outlook that the economy can rebound from this slump. However, Australia's industry sectors are wary that the underlying weakness of the economy must be addressed immediately.

Beijing's Chinalco and Rio Tinto will explore mainland China for world-class mineral deposits under a joint venture (JV) formalised today. The JV is subject to Chinese regulatory approvals and once established will operate under the name Chinalco Rio Tinto Exploration Co. Ltd. (CRTX).

The world's leading e-commerce company Alibaba.com now has well over 550,000 Australians using it as a business source, with an average of more than 20,000 people signing up to its site each month, latest figures show.

A proposal to buid a third runway has been pushed by Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong as passenger traffic is seen to grow more in the coming years.