Lawrence Villamar

The Australian dollar fell and fell hard during domestic trade yesterday with cracks well and truly starting to appear across global markets.

The European Commission, the European Union's executive body, has launched a public consultation and investigation into shadow banking practices in the region, as they aim to implement new controls and supervisory measures for the system in the future.

In minutes released from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s most recent meeting in which interest rates were left on hold Governor Glenn Stevens remained relatively upbeat in regards to Australia’s economic outlook stating that downside risks have become somewhat less likely during the early parts of this year.

The Australian dollar managed to find some upside yesterday after Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens expressed confidence in China’s economic growth.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde has said that the global economy is showing signs of stabilisation, but warned that there is no room for policy mistakes at this critical point in recovery.

A quick preview of the key economic events for the upcoming week.

The Australian Dollar remained well supported above the 1.05 handle against its US Counterpart on Friday with local equities closing flat in what was an overall very subdued day of trade.

What's the moral justification behind your appointment? That's the question that JJ Domingo, a political blogger from Manila, asked the Renato C. Corona, the present Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. Corona is facing an impeachment trial that will reach its conclusion this month.

The recent rally in the Greenback seems to have lost steam yesterday, as markets consolidate upon what was quite a rapid gain.

The Australian Dollar dropped to lows of 1.0430 overnight as the US Dollar continues its surge on encouraging economic data.

Despite losing billions in 2011, bailed-out British banks, including Lloyds and RBS, continued to pay out millions in bonuses to its top executives.

The Australian Dollar rallied during local hours yesterday, as regional equity markets rallied an average of 1% across the board.

Australian hunk Liam Hemsworth admits that having his brother Chris Hemsworth and girlfriend Miley Cyrus does help when it comes to navigating Hollywood.

The Australian Dollar was pushed temporarily lower throughout local hours on Friday and a surprising trade deficit for the month of January was reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

U.S. stocks coasted higher Thursday as optimism increased that Greece will complete a debt-swap deal.

New claims for unemployment insurance in the US rose by 8,000 to 362,000 in the latest week, ahead of forecasts near 351,000.

In figures released yesterday Australia’s unemployment rate rose to 5.2 percent in February as companies across the nation shed more than 15 000 workers.

The Australian dollar has recovered a little from yesterday’s lows with our next move likely to be determined by today’s release of Australian employment numbers for February.

The US ADP National Employment index showed that 216,000 new private sector jobs were created in February, close to market forecasts.

Stocks rose ahead of a U.S. consumer-credit report and on news of progress toward Greece's debt restructuring and consideration by the Federal Reserve of further measures to aid the economy.

The Australian Dollar fell against its US Counterpart during intraday trade yesterday after figures released showed Australia’s economy expanded at half the pace forecasted by economists.

The 2011 natural disasters, such as the twin earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan, was by far the costliest, with the United Nations disaster risk reduction agency UNISDR estimating the economic cost to be at least $380 billion.

Alien plant species are fast finding their way on Antactica by “hitchhiking” on scientists and toursist. A new nternational study found that this poses a threat to the "delicate frozen ecosystem" in the continent.

Does weight lifting have negative psychological effect? In a new study, more than 10 per cent of the participants showed symptoms of a psychological disorder that led them to think that their body is “too small” or “insufficiently muscular”.

The Euro zone economy contracted by 0.3pct in the December quarter but annual growth still stands at 0.7pct.

Australia’s Central Bank as expected maintained the official benchmark cash rate at 4.25 percent in a statement released yesterday.

China has cut its target for economic growth in 2012 from 8.0pct to 7.5pct.

In official figures released yesterday, company gross operating profits fell a staggering 6.5 percent in the December quarter, well below the majority of forecasts which had tipped inventories to rise by 0.2 percent.

The ISM index for New York rose from 536.5 to 543.1 in February. And the weekly Economic Cycle Research Institute index rose from 123.2 to a near seven month high of 124.2.