Australia & New Zealand
Australian, New Zealand Dollars Weaken as Global Equity Markets Decrease The Australian and New Zealand
dollars fell and posted their first weekly losses against the
U.S. currency in November as global investors sold shares to
reduce the chance of losses before year-end.
Woodside Says Pluto LNG Costs May Jump $1 Billion as Labor Expenses Rise Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia’s
second-biggest oil and gas producer, said the cost of its Pluto
project is set to jump by as much as A$1.1 billion ($1 billion)
partly because of higher-than-expected labor expenses.
Australia Should Increase Interest Rates as Growth Accelerates, OECD Says Australia’s central bank should
continue to lead the world in raising interest rates as its
economic growth outpaces most other countries, the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development said.
Resourcehouse, China Exim in $5 Billion Debt Talks for Mine in Australia Resourcehouse Ltd., planning a $3
billion initial share sale, is in talks with Export-Import Bank
of China for A$5.5 billion ($5 billion) in debt funding for its
Australian coal project, Chairman Clive Palmer said.
Cloud Peak Shares Fall After Reduction in IPO Price by Rio Tinto Coal Unit Rio Tinto Group’s Cloud Peak Energy
Inc. coal unit cut the price for its $459 million initial public
offering as buyers extracted concessions from underwriters for
two IPOs and rejected another company’s offering this week.
RBS Australia Sells A$2 Billion of Fixed, Floating Government-Backed Bonds Royal Bank of Scotland Plc’s
Australian unit sold A$2 billion of 15-month bonds guaranteed by
the Australian government, according to a statement from the
seller.
Banknote-material Maker Asks Executives to Step Aside Amid Investigation Securency International Pty, a
banknote-material maker, said it asked its managing director and
company secretary to “stand aside” from their positions while
an investigation takes place into alleged bribery.
Macquarie's Lennon Predicts Steady Global Recovery in Commodity Demand Global commodity demand will have a
steady recovery in the first half next year, with China leading
consumption, according to Macquarie Securities Group.
Macquarie Media Says American Consolidated Media Signs New Loan Pact Macquarie Media Group Ltd., the
owner of regional media assets in the U.S. and Australia, said
unit American Consolidated Media LLC entered into a forbearance
contract with its lenders after breaching loan covenants.
Crude Oil Falls a Second Day in New York as U.S. Dollar Gains Versus Euro Crude oil fell for a second day as
the dollar strengthened against the euro, reducing the appeal of
commodities to investors, and equity markets declined.
Australia Shouldn't Rush `Flawed' Climate Laws, Opposition Senator Says Australia’s carbon-reduction plans
are “fatally flawed” and shouldn’t become legislation before
December’s global climate change summit, amid fading hopes for a
binding international accord, an opposition senator said.
Firefighters Battle Dozens of Blazes as `Catastrophic' Warnings in Place Australian firefighters are battling
blazes in more than a dozen areas of New South Wales as
“catastrophic” warnings remain in place, state Premier Nathan
Rees said today.
Kidney Stones, Malaria, Lyme Disease Linked to Changing Climate in Study Kidney stones, malaria, Lyme
disease, depression and respiratory illness all may increase
with global warming, researchers at Harvard Medical School said.