News

As at: Wednesday 10/03/2010 01:01 PM

• amp appoints new infrastructure head

  amp capital investors has appointed boe pahari as head of infrastructure asia pacific, to lead its infrastructure investment team.

• rba says labour market strong

  the australian labour market is "quite strong", a senior reserve bank of australia (rba) official says.

• aussie dollar firms, bonds weaker

  the australian dollar was slightly higher at noon, as a strong consumer confidence report prompted anticipation of firm official labour force figures.

• asx down on weaker materials, property

  the australian stock market had moved into the red at noon on wednesday after eight straight session of gains, led by weaker materials and property sectors.

• stocks to watch

  stocks to watch on the australian stock exchange at noon.

• bendigo to issue new securities

  bendigo and adelaide bank ltd has announced a new issue of residential mortgage backed securities.

• seek lifts stake in malaysian business

  online jobs agency seek ltd has increased its presence in asia after paying $23.5 million to more than double its stake in a malaysia-based jobs website.

• consumer confidence holds steady: survey

  the reserve bank of australia's (rba) decision to raise interest rates in this month has failed to dent consumer confidence, a report says.

• adamus resources hopes to raise $30.5m

  adamus resources ltd plans to raise up to $30.5 million in a new share sale to accelerate exploration activities at a gold mine in ghana.

• aurox and atlas agree to merge

  aurox resources ltd and atlas iron ltd have agreed to merge via a scheme of arrangement.

• macmahon shares in trading halt

  the shares of macmahon holdings ltd have been placed in a trading halt as the engineering firm enters the final negotiations for a contract.

• aristocrat chairman to step down

  aristocrat leisure ltd chairman david simpson is to leave the company amid three board changes at the gaming machine maker.

• economic capacity need improvement: rba

  australia's economic future will be challenged by an under-supply of capacity and housing, the reserve bank of australia (rba) says.

• eu urges us to join speculator crackdown

  european officials urged the us to join in a crackdown on speculators who bet against europe's currency union, warning they might ban some credit default swaps.

• australian dollar opens higher

  the australian dollar opened higher after a business confidence survey boosted traders' hopes of an interest rate rise in april.

• stocks to watch

  stocks of interest on the australian stock exchange today.

• oil prices dip as us dollar gains

  oil prices dipped slightly on tuesday as the us dollar rose and investors turned their attention to upcoming inventory data.

• aussie stocks get positive offshore lead

  the australian stock market is receiving mostly positive leads from offshore trading, with wall street and base metals prices higher in afternoon trade.

• us stocks gain slightly

  wall street stocks posted modest gains on tuesday amid cautious trading on the anniversary of the beginning of the market's rebound from its lows last year.

• get ready for next crisis: imf chief

  the world needs to prepare for the next economic crisis, even as it begins to recover from the worst recession since the great depression, the imf head says.

• westrac to expand at near-boom levels

  the kerry stokes-owned heavy equipment firm that is also the proposed merger partner with mr stokes' seven network holdings ltd is set to expand amid a surge.

• consumers more likely to spend: access

  strong jobs growth should provide a firm foundation for retail spending over this year and next, independent forecaster access economics says.

• $a closes lower as $us gets stronger

  the australian dollar closed slightly lower after a stronger us dollar eroded gains from the release of positive domestic business confidence and job ads data.

• stocks end higher for 8th straight day

  the share market recorded its eighth straight session of gains to close higher after stronger than expected economic indicators turned around early losses.

• market wrap

  across asia, regional indices are all weaker after inconclusive direction from wall street, with higher metal prices and positive reads on the us service sector being offset by washington rhetoric about reforms to the healthcare and financial sectors

• stocks to watch

  stocks to watch on the australian stock exchange at the close:

• petrol price war is over, survey finds

  petrol prices have returned to their pre-price war heights with the national average price of unleaded rising 3.7 cents in the week to march 7.

• sharp rise in revenue for atlas iron

  atlas iron ltd has reported a sharp rise in first half revenue and narrowed its net loss as it continues to develop its second mine.

• triple whammy hits would-be home buyers

  many would-be home buyers have given up the dream of home ownership, hit by rising interest rates, tougher lending conditions and an end to a government grant.

• cbd arm wins solar energy contract

  cbd energy subsidiary eco-kinetics has won a two-year contract with ergon energy to supply on- and off-grid photovoltaic systems for solar energy generation.