11 hours and 7 minutes ago, source: FN Arena

By Andrew Nelson The Dow closed 13 points or 0.13% lower, while the S&P 500 gave up 0.3% and the tech heavy Nasdaq retreated 0.5%. Stocks were in the red for most of the session, but an afternoon push threatened to cement a positive close before some last minute selling pulled the Dow back below the gain line in fairly thin trade.

1 day and 7 hours ago, source: FN Arena

By Andrew Nelson The world's economy might be gradually rebalancing, but its nothing to get excited about yet if you're in one of the Group of 7 "advanced"  economies.

1 day and 9 hours ago, source: FN Arena

By Chris Shaw Investment in precious metals is on the way up, as evidenced by the gold price pushing through the US$1,100 per ounce mark in recent weeks.

1 day and 11 hours ago, source: FN Arena

By Greg Peel The Dow closed down 93 points or 0.9% while the S&P lost 1.3% to 1094 - back under the psychological 1100 level - and the Nasdaq lost 1.7% following a broker downgrade of the chip sector. Wall Street plummeted from the opening bell last night following the release of economic data.

1 day and 11 hours ago, source: FN Arena

RBS Australia rates as Buy - The Senate program has Telstra due to be discussed next week on the last sitting day of the year, but the broker expects a deferment to 2010.

2 days ago, source: FN Arena

By Chris Shaw Recently former US Federal Reserve governor Frederic Mishkin wrote an article arguing not all asset bubbles are bad for the economy, which as Michael Rosborough of CIBC World Markets notes is at least a partial acceptance that one current objective of policy in at least some economies is to create asset bubbles to use as a policy tool. The theory is one of pushing up the prices of some assets so as to allow for a return of investor confidence, which is an important element of an economic recovery.

2 days ago, source: FN Arena

By Greg Peel French bank Societe Generale has made the headlines many times in the past two years, but two particular occasions stand out.

2 days ago, source: FN Arena

 By Greg Peel The Dow closed down 11 points or 0.1% while the S&P dipped less than a point to 1109 and the Nasdaq was also only just in the red. The rule of thumb is that a big up-day will only be confirmed if the second day following is also positive.

2 days ago, source: FN Arena

JP Morgan rates as Upgrade to Overweight from Neutral - Target $40.88 (was $35.49).

3 days ago, source: FN Arena

By Andrew Nelson Yesterday, the RBA released the minutes from its November board meeting, when it increased the cash rate by 25bp for a second straight month.

3 days ago, source: FN Arena

By Chris Shaw Australia's economic outlook continues to brighten as the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Index for September rose to well above its long-term trend rate of 3.1%, posting an annualised growth rate of 5.8%.

3 days ago, source: FN Arena

By Greg Peel The Dow closed up 30 points or 0.3% but the S&P managed only a 0.1% gain to 1110 while the Nasdaq added 0.3%. It was one of those rare sessions in which stocks finished higher, or at least not lower, despite the US dollar index rising half a percent to 75.31.

3 days ago, source: FN Arena

Credit Suisse rates as Outperform - Having been restricted the broker has now resumed coverage with an Outperform rating and $10.00 price target, down from $10.72 previously.

4 days ago, source: FN Arena

By Chris Shaw The improvement in economic conditions in Australia appears to be working its way down the scale as the latest National Australia Bank SME (small to medium enterprises) Quarterly Survey, covering the three months to the end of September, has shown business conditions in the smaler business end of the market have returned to positive levels for the first time since the Global Financial Crisis began in September of 2008. In the period the larger SMEs recorded the strongest gains, those with annual turnover of between $5-$10 million recording an index reading of plus six, up from a minus 13 reading in the June quarter.

4 days ago, source: FN Arena

By Andrew Nelson Explosives and fertiliser maker Incitec Pivot beat market expectations with its FY09 result and shares rallied 6.5% yesterday as investors warmed to the result.