Erik Pineda

The Coalition said on Tuesday that it remains firm on its earlier elections stance that the Fair Work Act must be left unchanged for a maximum of three years in order to encourage certainty in the business environment.

Touted by South Australia Premier Mike Rann as the most advanced hot sedimentary aquifer project in the country ever, Panax Geothermal Ltd (ASX: PAX) said on Tuesday that its Penola project saw a breakthrough as the company revealed that the Salamander-1 well in Otway Basin could shortly become a geothermal energy production well.

Emerging iron ore mining player Brockman Resources Ltd (ASX: BRM) revealed on Tuesday that its planned Marillana project in the Pilbara regions of Western Australia could eventually amassed a rich yield of up to $35 billion through the course of its projected 25 year life.

The outlook for Australian corporate bonds over the next few years could be promising as global rating agency Standards & Poor’s said on Tuesday that bond growths would be experienced soon as the sector sets out to ramp up its presence in the financial market.

A report released by the Conference Board of Canada on Monday has stated that BHP Billiton Ltd’s hostile takeover bid on Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan could potentially lead to some negative impacts for the host province and slash Canadian government earnings by as much as $2 billion for the next 10 years.

Investors are on a waiting mode, at least until after the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) anticipated policy rates announcement today, as the Australian bond market opened on Tuesday a bit jittery and somewhat weak on economists’ projections that a lift is in the offing.

Four-wheel drives fueled the record sales numbers of motor vehicles seen in September as the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries reported on Tuesday that Australia’s motor vehicle sales would most likely soar beyond the one million mark on the current calendar year.

Contracting firm Transfield Services Ltd (ASX: TSE) said on Monday that it has chalked up some $1.1 billion worth of work in Australia and New Zealand so far in the first quarter of the current financial year, including substantial deals struck with BHP Billiton Ltd, Caltex Australia Ltd and initial site rollout constructions for the National Broadband Network.

Rains may have exceeded forecast earlier set by Australia’s climatologist but the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said on Friday that the great amount of rain that poured on much of the country would not offset the alarming possibility of severe dry years ahead, which could also affect the country’s short-term agribusiness outlook.

Mineral explorer Conquest Mining Ltd’s (ASX: CQT) complete takeover of North Queensland Metals Ltd (ASX: NQM) assumes a full-swing mode as Conquest chair Jake Klein took the helm on Friday as new chairman of the target company.

Amidst earlier projections made by Access Economics that resource prices would slide down by 2013 and 2014, a senior resources experts said that while iron ore price may see some softening over the next four years coal prices would still flex some muscles due to continuous high demand.

Synthetic gas specialist Cougar Energy Ltd (ASX: CXY) said on Friday that it has struck a partnership with China’s Shanghai Limitedless Investment Group Co Ltd for up to three percent of interests in the company’s business operations in China.

Trading hours in Western Australia maybe slowly catching up with international standards but the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) in the state is convinced that the government is stopping short too soon.

Three major wineries entered the fray in a growing initiative to thwart the planned establishment of a coal mine near the Margaret River in Western Australia.

Uranium explorer Cameco Corporation has admitted on Friday that the decision by the Northern Territory government to block its mining project near Alice Springs caught the company off-guard as it lamented that the initiative would carry industry-wide repercussions.

The Wilderness Society in Queensland expressed confidence that the state’s five-year-old Wild Rivers Act would breeze through a scheduled federal scrutiny as it stressed that the legislation not only protects rivers systems in Cape York but also encourages sustainable development.

An Adelaide mall in South Australia is set to commence extended weeknights trading on Tuesday next week as a city shop union workers called on retailers to only employ staff who wilfully volunteered to work additional hours.

Toll operator RiverCity Motorway Group (ASX: RCY) reported on Thursday that the group should be able to extend its current cash holdings through September next year to keep Brisbane’s Clem7 tunnel operating until that time.

Finally, Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation formally came out on Thursday and denied media reports that it has abandoned its Australian partner, Murchison Metals Ltd (ASX: MMX), on their joint venture of constructing the Oakajee port and rail project in Western Australia.

Still reeling from the series of its financial and operational woes, Cougar Energy Ltd (ASX: CXY) came out scrambling for the right solutions as the company announced on Thursday that it is currently conducting discussions that could lead to an alliance in developing further underground coal gasification (UCG) projects.

Australian politicians are in agreement that the country’s good and services tax (GST) should be left untouched following recommendations made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on its report made public on Wednesday that calls for the further strengthening of consumer-based taxes.

Figures were flying high for Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) as the company reported on Thursday that travellers using the airline’s services have risen by 8.5 percent in August though the company’s revenue seat factor has retreated a bit by 0.9 percent to 79.6 percent for the year.

Mining services firm Asciano Group (ASX: AIO) said on Thursday that it has been awarded a 10-year $550 million hauling contract by Centennial Coal Company Ltd to transport some 4.5 million tonnes of coal from Centennial’s mine site in the Southern and Western Coalfields regions of New South Wales.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) must think twice prior to its alleged plan of laying off thousand of workers as federal senators urged the company to consider first its corporate and social responsibility of providing stable employment in Australia.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday that the Australian economy is robust enough to absorb global financial shocks as the world body praised the country’s economic managers for bringing it into budget surpluses while noting that it is one of the few advance economies which emerged largely unscathed from the global financial crisis.

Fast-becoming giant mining firm Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) declared on Wednesday that the new players in the mining industry were poised to be penalised by the federal government proposed minerals resource rent tax (MRRT) while giant mining firms were set to gain more benefits once the measure is implemented.

Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) had a first crack on the recently approved alliance by Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways on its close competitor Virgin Blue, according to the airline top honcho Alan Joyce.

The Federal Court hearing the $37 million sexual harassment case against luxury retailer David Jones Ltd, nine company directors and former chief executive Mark McInnes finally ordered on Wednesday the revelation of all the names of witnesses involved in celebrated sex case.

Mineral explorer NGM Resources Ltd (ASX: NGM) expressed dismay on Wednesday as it reacted on last week’s revelations by Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) of backing out from the two companies’ merger deal that the latter has attributed to the worsening security situation in Niger.