AUSTRALIA

China's manufacturing sector regained some momentum in August while India and Russia continued to power ahead, cheering investors in the face of signs that sputtering U.S. recovery was cooling global demand.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Tuesday claimed her Labor Party was best placed to run a stable minority government after the election dead heat, warning of political gridlock if a consensus is not found.

Pakistan will not suspend any players being investigated for alleged corruption without proof of wrongdoing, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt says.

Pakistan could release any players under investigation for alleged corruption from their squad for the one-day series against England, a source in the team told Reuters.

Canada's Agrium Inc said it would be interested in Potash Corp's nitrogen and phosphates business, worth an estimated $12 billion (7.7 billion pounds), if miner BHP Billiton secures its $39 billion Potash takeover and decides to sell the assets.

Pakistan endured the worst day in their turbulent cricket history on Sunday when a corruption scandal erupting overnight was succeeded by their heaviest test defeat.

Pakistan intend to complete their England cricket tour despite a police investigation into corruption allegations involving the fourth test which concluded at Lord's on Sunday.

Australia's opposition leader denied on Friday he was manoeuvring to force the country back to the ballot box after a weekend election delivered a hung parliament, with independents holding the balance of power.

Boeing Co said on Friday it now expects delivery of the first 787 Dreamliner in the middle of the first quarter 2011, owing to a delay in engine availability.

Australia, one of the world's largest wheat exporters, said its exports to China have already tripled this year. According to Australian Wheat Board (AWB), demand from the world's most populous nation in the nine months ended June 30 totalled 740,000 tonnes, of which 80 per cent was in bulk and 20 per cent in containers, or about 7 per cent of total wheat shipments.

International Grain Council on Thursday further slashed global wheat output estimate for 2010-11 by 7 m tones to 644m tones. In its latest report, the IGC however said wheat consumption will hit a record despite soaring prices because of a dearth of alternatives in Russia.

Boeing Co has pushed back delivery of its first 787 Dreamliner by several weeks due to a delay in the availability of a Rolls-Royce engine which is needed for the final phases of flight testing.

Australians are betting that a minority government expected to be formed in the next few weeks will not last a full term and fresh elections will be called in 2011, an online bookmaker said on Friday.

Actor Paul Hogan, best known for playing an outback hunter in the Crocodile Dundee movies, has been stopped from leaving Australia until he pays a multi-million dollar tax bill, according to his lawyer.

It seems there is no end to China's appetite for metals. China's economic health is robust and it is continuing with the metal buying spree. China's imports of all metals rose in July with imports of refined lead in particular jumping by over 80 per cent compared with June, while refined zinc and nickel imports both surged by over 50 per cent.

The Australian Dollar has opened slightly lower today after losing more than one US cent due to an increase in risk aversion in Europe and the US, as evidenced by falls in the Dow Jones Industrial Average to as low as 9,938 on the release of durable goods orders and further evidence of weakness in the US housing market.

It is the time for mergers and acquisitions in the mining sector. After the recent copper miner Vedanta's takeover of Cairn India, now two gold mining majors in Australia announced their merger on Tuesday. According media reports, Australian gold miner Newcrest bought rival Lihir Gold with the deal creating the fourth largest group in the sector.

This morning the AUD is fairly unchanged from the levels traded yesterday, currently trading around USD0.8900.

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The U.S. dollar held steady on Monday, retaining most of the gains it made late last week when growing worries about the global economy prompted investors to park funds in the world's most liquid currency, while the Australian dollar slid on political uncertainty.

Political uncertainty has pushed the Australian Dollar to open this morning at 0.8860 against the US Dollar, sliding as much as 0.8%