AUSTRALIA

The Australian dollar has opened lower this morning following a bout of risk aversion trading overnight.

The Australian Dollar has opened little changed and is still starts with a 9 as global markets seem to be becoming cautiously optimistic about the economy in the latter half of calendar 2010.

A total 16 patients with abnormal heart rhythm have been treated at the Flinders Private Hospital via remote control surgery.

More than 80 percent of the 532 French winemakers surveyed by online marketing company mysocialwinery.com said they did not blog or use Facebook, Twitter or other websites that allow consumers to comment, recommend, track or question wine producers.

Major diversified miners are due to post surging first half results after a strong rebound in prices with demand driven by China and India.

CIT Group , the commercial lender that last year emerged from bankruptcy, on Tuesday reported a quarterly profit that dwarfed analysts' estimates.

With the diamond flow becoming tight in global markets, Surat's diamond polishing units are now awaiting roughs from Zimbabwe, which recently got a reprieve from the KP scheme, which allowed the country to sell a portion of its diamond stocks.

Long-distance commuting is still the norm in spite of progress in flexible working practices, finds global workplace solutions provider Regus.

Overnight we saw the AUD break through USD0.9000 and this morning it is currently trading comfortably above this level.

The Australia Dollar has opened up in the mid 0.8900's after another modestly strong showing from US and European equity markets on Friday.

The AUD has opened up over USD0.8900 this morning after a surprisingly strong night offshore last night.

An Australian scientist who invented the flight data recorder famously known as the black box to help investigate aircraft accidents has died at the age of 85, defense officials said on Wednesday.

AXA Asia Pacific , target of an $11.5 billion takeover battle, flagged a 5.7 percent rise in first-half operating earnings, shy of market expectations, as its Hong Kong operations were hurt by currency movements.

The Australian Dollar has opened higher after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said the next rate movement was all but dependent on official inflation data due next week.

South Australia Coroner Mark Johns is suggesting a victims-of-suicide toll similar to the road toll saying this may prevent 200 people in the state from taking their own lives every year.

All diamond producing African antions are now rallying behind Zimbabwe threatening to leave the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme if Zimbabwe was not allowed to market its diamonds freely. African countries, led by diamond rich Namibia, has already conveyed this decision to the KP.

The AUD has opened fairly unchanged this morning currently trading around USD0.8690.

Private equity firms TPG and Carlyle won a bidding war for Australian hospital owner Healthscope Ltd , agreeing to pay $1.73 billion in the country's largest buyout deal since 2007.

Oil prices steadied near $76 a barrel on Monday, pausing from the previous session's decline, as investors weighed the sharp drop in U.S. consumer sentiment against early signs of improved underlying oil demand. Analysts said the marginal slide in oil prices shows that crude was receiving ample support above $74 a barrel, thanks to bullish inventory reports that showed large drawdowns in U.S. crude stocks over the past three weeks.

The euro stayed below two-month highs versus the dollar on Monday, dented by a downgrade of Ireland and the suspension of talks between Hungary and the IMF, but steadied as traders awaited results of bank stress tests. Moody's Investors Service downgraded Ireland's sovereign bond ratings rating to Aa2 with a stable outlook from Aa1.

The euro extended losses on Monday, pulling further away from two-month highs, after Moody's cut Ireland's credit rating, highlighting the fragility of Europe's fiscal health.