2011/01/17 11:20 - Expect strong markets this week, with the Australian market unlikely to wait for the US to come back from the Martin Luther King Jr day holiday. Us industrial production gains in December confirm the resilience and broad based nature of the US recovery.
2011/01/14 11:22 - European nations continued to easily sell their bonds at competitive yields to recent market rates, confirming there is no sovereign debt crisis, according to Clifford Bennett, chief economist at Herston Economics. The US dollar continued its decline, oil remained bid, and Sterling the other market favourite of the week, continued to make strong gains.
2011/01/13 11:17 - Equity markets may well have seen their lows for the year, and this is no time to hesitate according to Clifford Bennett of Herston Economics. With ASXSP200 5,000 likely to be seen very quickly, and a year-end forecast of 5,600, the risk reward opportunity is outstanding.
2011/01/12 12:08 - It is all about the Queensland floods today, and the impact will be far reaching. Investors will be understandably distracted and liquidity could become an issue, even for the Australian dollar. Should the currency start to move to quickly, Clifford Bennett expects the Reserve Bank of Australia would have to intervene to support it. Meanwhile overseas developments have been positive with both Italy and Greece easily raising funds overnight. This fears about Europe have been exaggerated, and the outlook for equity and commodity markets is quite positive. The local share market looks set for steady gains from current levels, while the Australian dollar will remain under pressure for a couple of days.
2011/01/11 12:05 - Oil and the Australian dollar are the favoured markets to watch, while Sterling and Gold are building as well. The European sovereign debt crisis is on its last legs according to Bennett, who expects more positive than negative surprises out of Europe as Greece proves it can achieve and exceed the austerity targets it has agreed with other European nations.
2011/01/10 12:20 - Clifford Bennett provides a report on unemployment numbers and the impact on the outlook of the US economy, with the impact of the economy based on the majority of the population employed resonating a positive outlook. The Australian market looking up, particularly gold and oil, Clifford recommending to watch the Oil stocks closely over the next 72hrs for significant gains. Summarizing Clifford speaks about the local and international markets, briefly touching on the ASX, US, Euro and Portugal, as well as rumours over the media articles published over the weekend suggesting France and Germany wanting to pressure Portugal to request a rescue package from Europe, in which Berlin has refuted.
2011/01/07 11:56 - Clifford Bennett from Herston Economics Provides the Australian, Asian and Global Market Overview for January 7, 2011. Mr Bennett is a leading economy forecaster and Chief Economist at Herston Economics
2011/01/06 17:36 - Chief Economist, Clifford Bennett, is widely recognized for his often market leading and insightful economic and financial market forecasts. Clifford has 25 years international experience with some of the world's leading investment banks, and was named the "world's most accurate currency forecaster" by Bloomberg News NY. Clifford is the author of "Warrior Trading" published by John Wiley & Sons New York, and frequently appears in the financial print and television media.
2010/10/29 16:29 - General Manager of Global Mining Division of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSE:CM) (NYSE:CM) Mr. Terblanche recently led a team to Shangdong, China, visiting Shandong Gold (SHA:600547) and received a warm welcome.
2010/10/14 14:20 - Emerging lithium producer, Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX:GXY) (PINK:GALXF) is pleased to announce the appointment of four directors to the Galaxy board.
2010/09/24 09:01 - Linc Energy Limited (ASX:LNC) (PINK:LNCGY) today announces that Mr Brian Johnson has advised the Board that he intends to stand down as Chairman and resign from the Board at the Annual General Meeting in November this year.
2010/08/19 15:55 - FINANCE VIDEO: Randolph Koppa From Trade and Development Bank Speaks With Yuji Iwasaki in Mongolia.
2010/07/28 13:55 - Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, will address the World Capital Markets Symposium (WCMS) in Kuala Lumpur on 27-28 September 2010, marking his speaking debut in Malaysia, the organizers of the Symposium announced on Wednesday. Wales, who founded the free, multi-lingual virtual encyclopedia in 2001, will join policy-makers and financial industry experts in sharing their thoughts at the Symposium, with the theme "Transforming Capital Markets: Leadership, Change and Governance".
2010/07/22 16:55 - AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd. (AXA APH) (ASX:AXA) Chief Executive Andrew Penn said Thursday the company's Hong Kong business was profitable and growing with sales for the first half up 20 per cent on year. Growth was also accelerating across the Asia region with sales increased 52 per cent in the first half of 2010 compared to the same period last year.
2010/07/16 17:00 - The World Capital Markets Symposium (WCMS), to be hosted by the Securities Commission Malaysia on 27-28 September 2010 in Kuala Lumpur, will once again bring to Asia a truly unique platform aimed at providing participants with varied perspectives and insights into the opportunities presented to the international financial services industry to change business as usual by rethinking leadership and governance principles.
2010/07/16 13:30 - Australian shares opened flat this morning. Wall Street overnight closed in the red despite the US market pared most of its early losses after news of halted flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The losses were caused by disappointing economic data including inflation figures, manufacturing in New York and industrial production across the country.
2010/06/23 12:22 - Australian media mogul Kerry Stokes' Seven Group Holdings (ASX:SVW) confirmed it has applied for shares in Agricultural Bank of China's (AgBank) massive initial public offering (IPO) and expects a decision shortly. The maximum value applied for is US$250 million.
2010/06/15 11:38 - Bow Energy Limited (ASX:BOW) (PINK:BOWYF) is pleased to announce that it has appointed Mr Peter Harbison to the position of Chief Financial Officer.
2010/05/14 10:20 - AMP Ltd (ASX:AMP) says it is still interested in acquiring the AXA Asia Pacific Holdings' (ASX:AXA) Australia and New Zealand business while the Australian competition watchdog did not block its proposal.
2010/05/12 13:30 - Australian shares opened stronger this morning on bargain hunting, despite Wall Street overnight fell on worries over the effectiveness of the bailout plan for eurozone and fears over China's further move to tighten monetary policy. Yesterday China's data showing that inflation in the country is rising prompted declines in most Asian markets.
2010/04/29 13:30 - Today Australian shares continued their losing streak in early trade, despite a positive lead from Wall Street. Yesterday the Asian and Australian market declined massively on the back to credit ratings downgrades for Greece and Portugal. Australian market's decline today was led by financial shares.
2010/04/27 13:30 - The Australian shares opened higher on Tuesday despite most Asian markets dropped in early trade. Miners were boosted by stronger copper and gold prices. Most Asian markets yesterday rose as sentiment was improved after prospects of a European Union and the International Monetary Fund bailout for Greece. The Australian sharemarket was closed on Monday for a public holiday. In economic news today, the Australian Bureau of Statistics is due to unveil producer price indices (PPI) for March quarter. The National Australia Bank releases its business confidence survey for the March quarter.
2010/04/22 13:30 - Australian share dropped sharply this morning, while most Asian markets also opened lower as Greece's debt woes lingered. Thursday Japan's Nikkei shed more than 1.7 per cent in early trade, and Australia's S&P/ASX200 declined 1.1 per cent. Yesterday Asian markets were stronger as technology stocks were encouraged by solid earnings from Apple and higher commodities prices pushed up resources shares. Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.7 per cent each, China's Shanghai Composite climbed 1.8 per cent.
2010/04/20 13:30 - The Australian stock market has opened stronger led by financial shares, as Wall Street rebounded after investors reassessed the potential effects of the fraud case against Goldman Sachs. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index and the broader All Ordinaries index both were up 0.5 per cent in early trade.
2010/04/19 13:30 - The Australian stock market opened in negative territory this morning following Wall Street's plunge on Friday. Asian markets also fell sharply Friday. Japan's Nikkei lost 1.5 per cent on stronger yen, while China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 1.1 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively, due to Chinese government's further move to restrict speculative property investments.
2010/04/15 13:30 - Australian shares were stronger in early trade Thursday as resources sector were boosted by expectations of a batch of positive economic data from China. The benchmark ASX200 index rose to above 5000-point territory for the first time in 19 months, following the recent rebound of the broader All Ordinaries share index. Asian markets broadly were higher today with Japan's Nikkei opened up 0.9 per cent.
2010/04/14 13:30 - The Australian market rebounded to above 5000 points today after Wall Street gained on hope of upbeat US corporate earnings. On Wednesday, investors would look to consumer sentiment data from Wespac and Melbourne Institute. The local market fell back to below the 5000 points level on a weaker performance in Asian markets. Today Asian shares were mostly higher following the positive lead from Wall Street.
2010/03/26 13:30 - Wall Street Thursday closed with little change after the market trimmed its early gains. US stocks rose for most of the session, but in the afternoon the market declined as falls in crude oil future hit the energy shares. Higher metal price could help the Asian markets Friday to offset some negative sentiment that cut gains on Wall Street. Asian bourses ended mixed Thursday while fiscal concerns in euro zone persist. Hong Kong and Shanghai markets lost more than 1 per cent each. However, Japan's Nikkei 225 Average added 0.1 per cent, South Korea's Kospi rose 0.4% and Taiwan's Taiex finished 0.2% higher.
2010/03/22 13:35 - Asian shares are set for a weak start on Monday after US markets fell on lower commodities prices and Greek debt concerns. Japanese market today is closed for Vernal Equinox Day. Most Asian markets gained on Friday. Japan's Nikkei index rose 0.8 per cent while weakness in yen boosted exporters. China's Shanghai Composite was also higher, with Alunimium Corp of China surged 10 per cent on Friday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.2 per cent and South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.7 per cent.
2010/03/18 13:30 - Asian stocks are expected to extend gains on Thursday as US and Britain markets climbed to multi-month highs overnight. Wall Street was pushed to a fresh 17-month high as investors cheered for the drop in February Producer Price Index, or wholesale inflation. Yesterday most major Asian markets were stronger after the U.S. Federal Reserve pledge to keep interest rates low for an extended period. The Bank of Japan also left its rate unchanged at 0.1 per cent. The Nikkei Index gained 1.2 per cent and South Korea's Kospi was up 2.1 per cent. Shanghai Composite lifted 1.9 per cent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.7 per cent.
2010/03/11 13:30 - Dow Jones Industrial Average was marginally higher overnight, supported by financial stocks. But material stocks were under pressure as commodities prices declined. Asian markets Wednesday closed mixed. Singapore market finished 0.8 per cent higher to their a seven-week high after a report showed that Singapore's economy was expected to grow 6.5 per cent in 2010. Japan's Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index finished flat after moving between gains and losses during the session. South Korea's Kospi ended 0.1% higher. But China's Shanghai Composite snapped a three-day rise and fell 0.7 per cent ahead of the inflation data.
2010/03/05 13:30 - Friday Asian stocks received a positive lead from Wall Street. US stocks overnight posted a slim gain, supported by better-than-expected retail sales data and analyst upgrades of a batch of blue-chip companies. Yesterday most Asian markets closed lower on renewed worries about China's policy tightening. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 1.4 per cent, while Shanghai Composite lost 2.4 per cent, with China's banking and property shares dropping sharply. Singapore market was also impacted by China's property bubble concerns, and Straits Times slid 0.5 per cent. Japan's Nikkei 225 was off 1.1 per cent as strong yen hurt exporters.
2010/03/02 13:30 - Asian markets are expected to rise today as Wall Street rallied overnight on improved data of manufacturing employment in the US and a takeover of American International Group's Asian arm by British insurer Prudential. Resources shares in Asia were up on Monday as the massive earthquake in Chile raised concerns on copper supplies. Asian markets closed mostly higher yesterday. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.5 per cent, lifted by a rise in non-ferrous metal shares. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 2.2 per cent and China's Shanghai Composite added 1.2 per cent on expectations Beijing may retain an appropriately loose monetary policy at the upcoming meeting of the National People's Congress.
2010/02/17 09:30 - The Australian sharemarket closed higher Tuesday. Financial stocks were boosted as Westpac's strong earnings result provided a positive sign for the banking sector and Australia's economy. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 22.3 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 4567.8, while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 20.4 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 4590.8.
2010/02/16 13:30 - Asian shares declined in thin trade on Monday. Tokyo stocks fell on the pre-weekend fall on Wall Street and monetary tightening in China, despite a slightly better than expected gross domestic product figure in fourth quarter was released yesterday. Australian stocks Monday was also lower, weighed down by some disappointing earnings reports. There is no lead from Wall Street and major Asian markets including Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore are still in holiday break on Tuesday.
2010/02/15 11:31 - The Australian sharemarket eased some early gains and closed slightly higher on Friday. This was the first weekly gain in five weeks while the global markets had been shadowed by China's monetary tightening, worries on US economic recovery stability and sovereign debt issue in Euro zone.
2010/02/11 09:30 - Australian shares gave up early gains after disappointing trade numbers from China raised concerns that Chinese economy is cooling. The market closed slightly higher as earnings reports from market heavyweights BHP Billiton and Commonwealth Bank helped the rise. At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 8.3 points higher, or 0.2 per cent, at 4513.4. The broader All Ordinaries index rose 12.3 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 4533.
2010/02/10 09:30 - Australian shares fell on Tuesday led by financials sector as investors remained concerns over Europe's financial health. At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 16.3 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 4505.1. The broader All Ordinaries index fell 18.1 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 4520.7.
2010/02/09 13:30 - Asian shares mostly declined yesterday on uncertainty about the sovereign debt issue in Greece, Spain and Portugal. Japan's Nikkei stock average sank 1.1 percent to a two-month low at the close. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.9%, while Hong Kong's Heng Seng Index lost 0.6%. But Singapore's Straits Times Index gained 0.4.
2010/01/27 13:30 - U.S. stocks closed slightly lower on Tuesday, giving up early gains boosted by consumer confidence data and strong earnings from Apple. Investors remained cautious as there were continued concerns over bank regulation plans.
Australian Economy