Sharon Olalia

The Australian share market is set to open flat after receiving negative leads from offshore markets. Wall Street finished weaker and oil prices slumped back below $US81 a barrel. Metals likewise backpedalled.

Shares in Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) have soared to a record high on the likelihood of being the target of a $3 billion takeover bid from US firms.

The Queensland state government said today it is discussing with a group of coal firms a raised bid for its coal rail network but has not discarded plans to float the $6.98 billion operation.

Ivanhoe Australia (ASX:IVA), which is 80 per cent owned by the Robert Friedland-chaired Ivanhoe Mines, plans to raise up to $269 million for a takeover and project development in Queensland as well as to settle debt.

Business confidence has continued weakening, while trading conditions also deteriorated in July, according to National Australia Bank's (ASX: NAB) monthly business survey.

The Australian currency had slumped by noon as weak local economic data urged traders to take profits.

Australian shares were lower at midday, extending losses through the morning in quiet conditions.

Business executives foresee sales and profits improvement in the three months to December, according to the Dun & Bradstreet final business survey released on Tuesday.

Cochlear (ASX:COH), maker of the world's best-selling hearing implant, has recorded a 19 per cent increase in annual net profit.

Melbourne-based National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB) today announced it had posted $1.1 billion cash earnings in the three months to June, a 22 per cent increase on its profit from the same period last year.

JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH), one of Australia's major home entertainment retailer, expects its sales to go beyond the $3 billion mark this year as continuing demand for iPads, DVDs and TVs helps push record sales and underpins its plan to run 210 branded stores over the next five years.

The Australian currency opened lower Tuesday morning after a night of lacklustre trade as the investment community look ahead of the US central bank's assessment of the American economy.

The Australian share market is set to open flat on Tuesday despite a positive lead from offshore markets during the overnight session. Wall Street finished stronger and the benchmark crude oil contract settled above $US81 a barrel.

Adelaide-based Santos (ASX: STO), Australia's third-largest oil and gas producer, announced yesterday it expects its net profit after tax to range from $180 million to $200m, far beyond analysts' general forecast of $152m.

Australian media company Village Roadshow Ltd (ASX: VRL) has proposed to simplify its capital structure by joining ordinary and preference shares into one listed security.

A major study to be launched in Brisbane today revealed that many Queensland family business owners have been pressured to postpone retirement plans by the dramatic fall in the value of their business and their retirement savings.

Analysts believe blue chips such as Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA), Qantas (ASX:QAN) and Telstra (ASX:TLS) will meet market expectations when they announce annual earnings this week, says a newspaper.

Global miner Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) has been partly reassured by revisions to the federal government's controversial resource tax.

The Australian currency was marginally higher today, trading in a tight range as traders wait for the US Federal Reserve's next ruling on monetary policy.

The Australian share market was higher by noon, boosted by a rally in the resources sector and optimism that the US Federal Reserve could give more stimuli to the economy after weak jobs data.

Pressing on with its ambition to be one of the first Australian companies to turn coal seam gas into LNG for export, Eastern Star Gas (ASX:ESG) has launched a $100 million share placement and declared it has acquired land for a small-scale LNG processing plant in New South Wales.

American companies First Reserve and Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE:ANR) are contemplating a $3 billion takeover of Australia's Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC), which has confirmed it has had a data room open to suitors for some time.

Housing finance for owner-occupied commitments in Australia slumped by a seasonally-adjusted 3.9 per cent in June, well above analysts' prediction of a 2 per cent decline.

Australian job advertisements rose in July, with both online and newspaper ads higher after three months of successive declines, according to a survey by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ASZ:ANZ).

US-based Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:WPI) has not ruled out a $600 million takeover bid for Australian healthcare group Sigma Pharmaceuticals (ASX:SIP).

Australia-based Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (ASX:BEN) has announced a 189.5 per cent rise in annual net profit and claims it has "sound reasons for restrained optimism".

The Australian currency opened a little stronger on Monday after dismal US unemployment data was released Friday night (AEST).

A possible record $6 billion-plus profit from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) this week will reawaken issues that major banks are giving a boost to their bottom lines at the expense of clients.

The Australian share market has received mixed leads from offshore markets over the weekend, with Wall Street and oil prices closing negatively, and precious metals finishing higher.