AUSTRALIA
Asian shares, commodities and the euro fell on Friday on growing doubts that European leaders can forge a credible borrowing scheme to tackle the Euro Zone’s debt crisis at a summit in Brussels. Losses accelerated and the Australian dollar, a bellwether for investor appetite for risk, dived after EU diplo ... More

USA
Families on cash welfare at their highest The number of families collecting cash welfare benefits rose during the longest and deepest economic downturn in the United States since the Great Depression, the US Census said on Thursday. Caseloads in the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) programme had fallen in ... More

AUSTRALIA
Australia denied on Friday it was pushing for a joint security pact with India and the United States, a tie-up that would likely add to China’s fears that wary neighbours were trying to encircle it. Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd was quoted in an interview with the Australian Financial Review this week as bac ... More

Australia
Australian shares closed below the 4,000 level on Friday, pulled down once again by Europe’s failure to get a grip on its debt
problems.  The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index ended the day down 1.5 per cent at 3984.30, falling below the 4,000 level in intra-day
trading for the first tim ... More

USA Gun issue represents tough politics for Obama President Barack Obama is virtually silent on the issue of guns. He has hardly addressed it, even as Tucson survivors came to Capitol Hill last week to push for action to close loopholes in the background check system.
Democrats have learned the hard way that embracing gun control can be t ... More

USA
Automatic spending cuts a new threat to US economy Just as the US economy is making progress despite Europe’s turmoil, here come two new threats. Deep spending cuts are set to kick in if a congressional panel cannot agree by Thanks-giving on how to shrink the budget deficit. And Congress may let emergency un ... More

Australia
Troubled shopping centre empire Centro has sweetened the deal it will offer hedge funds in a bid to get a merger of the two halves of the group over the line. The company went into a trading halt Friday morning as it negotiated with two hedge funds threatening to scuttle the deal. On Friday evening, it said it h ... More

USA
Obama eyes homewards for support Determined to deepen relations with Asia, President Barack Obama is pouring nine days of valued time into a diplomatic mission away from Washington while Congress struggles toward a crucial budget deadline and a doubtful outcome. Obama departed Friday for far-reaching summits in Hawaii ... More

AUSTRALIA
The Australian dollar finished mildly firmer on subdued trading volumes as investors awaited more news about Italy’s sovereign debt crisis. On Friday, the Australian dollar was trading at 101.51 US cents, up from 101.43 Thursday. There was some relief in European markets overnight as Italy sold off 5 billi ... More

AUSTRALIA
The Australian dollar finished mildly firmer on subdued trading volumes as investors awaited more news about Italy’s sovereign debt crisis. On Friday, the Australian dollar was trading at 101.51 US cents, up from 101.43 Thursday. There was some relief in European markets overnight as Italy sold off 5 billi ... More

USA
Republican harassment furor boosts Obama
The longer the Republican presidential hopefuls battle over sexual harassment claims against Herman Cain, the better things look for President Barack Obama as he mounts his campaign for re-election. Cain has been accused by at least three women of sexual harassment when ... More

AUSTRALIA
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has lowered its inflation and growth outlook and warned Australia’s economy could be dragged down by Europe’s sovereign debt crisis. The RBA expects underlying inflation to be around 2.5 per cent in 2012, half a percentage point lower than it forecast three months ... More

USA
Wage growth slows, benefits least up since 1999
US civilian employment costs rose much less than expected during the third quarter as wages and salaries posted their weakest growth in a year while benefits expanded at their slowest pace since 1999, government data showed. Employment costs rose 0.3 per cent duri ... More

AUSTRALIA
The share market recovered lost ground from the Greek debt crisis, adding USD 57 billion in value last week to close at the strongest level since August 2. Continuing
offshore market euphoria over the debt deal with Greece propelled the Australian market over the week back to the level it was before the Euro Zone crisis ... More

World rejoices as Gaddafi dies
Foreign governments from Britain to China hailed a new day for Libya following Moammar Gaddafi’s death and called on the new government to move swiftly to rebuild a shattered economy and restore order amid chaotic celebrations. Amid the overwhelmingly positive response, there were con ... More

AUSTRALIA
The Australian dollar is up almost one US cent as currency traders await the outcome of the European leaders’ debt summit today. On Friday, the Australian dollar was trading at 102.43 US cents up from 101.55 cents. ANZ senior markets dealer Alex Sinton said the passing of an austerity bill in Greece overni ... More

USA

Tycoon gets longest prison term for insider-trading Raj Rajaratnam, a self-made hedge fund tycoon convicted in the biggest Wall Street trading scandal in a generation, was ordered to serve 11 years in prison, the longest sentence ever in an insider-trading case but far less than prosecutors sought.
Thursday& ... More

AUSTRALIA
Australian shares extended earlier losses to close almost 1 per cent lower following negative leads from US and European markets. By the close of trading, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had shed 38.9 points, or 0.92 per cent, at 4,205.6 and the broader All Ordinaries index was down 37 points, or 0.86 per ce ... More

USA
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs no moreSteve Jobs, former chief executive and co-founder of US technology giant Apple died on Wednesday, the company said. He was 56. “Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasura ... More

AUSTRALIA
The International Monetary Fund has warned that recent global financial market volatility has increased uncertainty over Australia’s near-term economic outlook, but it starts from an ‘enviable position’. In its annual report on Australia released on Friday, the Washington-based institution said ... More

USA
Jobless claims, GDP data ease economic fears
The chances of the US economy averting a new recession got a boost on Thursday with claims for jobless benefits falling to a five-month low last week and growth a touch stronger in the second quarter than previously estimated. Initial claims for state unemployment be ... More

AUSTRALIA
Australia’s finances are among the strongest in the developed world, federal Treasurer Wayne Swan says. The Treasurer on Friday unveiled a budget deficit just below forecast for 2010/11 and affirmed his commitment to a surplus within two years, although he warned the global downturn and current economic tu ... More

USA
A low in jobs, mobility, marriage for young adults
In record-setting numbers, young adults struggling to find work are shunning long-distance moves to live with mom and dad, delaying marriage and buying fewer homes. They suffer from the highest unemployment since World War II and risk living in poverty more tha ... More

USA
Consumer moods up, sentiments at 31-year-low Consumer sentiment in the US rose in early September, but Americans remained very gloomy about the future with their expectations for the economy falling to the lowest level since 1980. The Thomson Reuters University of Michigan’s survey showed consumer sentiment edg ... More

AUSTRALIA
The Australian share market reacted positively to the European Central Bank’s plan to provide liquidity to banks in the Euro Zone, but local traders attributed the rise to short-covering rather than investor buying. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed up 1.9 per cent at 4149.4 after hitting a four-d ... More