Aussie market higher at noon

THE Australian stock market was firmer at noon, on track to post a third straight day of gains, with the healthcare and industrials sector leading the broader market higher.

At 12.06pm (AEST), the All Ordinaries index had risen 38.4 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 4618.2 points.

On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract was up 36 points at 4555 points, with 18,451 contracts traded.

The local bourse opened about 0.9 per cent higher, but eased back during the morning in keeping with trading patterns of recent times amid sluggish volume and turnover on the last day of the 2010/11 financial year.

Bell Potter senior adviser Stuart Smith said the market had for the past several months gone through "a bit of a spell" between 11.30am and 12pm.

"I'm don't know if it's waiting for overseas markets to open or what, but it sounds like it," Mr Smith said.

"We are in bear phase, but we are trying to climb out of the bear pit," Mr Smith said.

"We are just heading into a positive direction for end of the year and I think everybody is happy with that."

The best-performing sector at 12.06pm was healthcare, up 1.75 per cent according to IRESS data.

Industrials (up 1.59 per cent) and utility stocks (up 1.33 per cent), also were strong during the morning.

Overnight, Wall Street extended gains to a third straight day, while futures contract prices for gold, oil and copper also settled firmer.

Meanwhile, a positive vote in the Greek parliament on austerity measures designed to avoid the nation defaulting on its debts also buoyed market sentiment.

Making news today, Insurance Insurance Australia Group (IAG) maintained guidance of an insurance margin of 8-10 per cent for 2010/11, after saying the Christchurch earthquake earlier in June would cost up to $65 million in net insurance claims.

IAG was steady $3.38, while the insurer's industry peers were flat to higher. QBE was steady $17.04, Suncorp was up one cent at $8.02, and Bank of Queensland was up nine cents, or about 1.2 per cent, at $8.14.

The biggest mover was CSL, which advanced 2.4 per cent, or 77 cents, to $33.07.

National turnover in Australia was 1.15 billion securities worth $1.63 billion.

There were 647 stocks up and 352 down, while 376 were unchanged.

View the original article here

Aussie market higher at noon

THE Australian stock market was firmer at noon, on track to post a third straight day of gains, with the healthcare and industrials sector leading the broader market higher.

At 12.06pm (AEST), the All Ordinaries index had risen 38.4 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 4618.2 points.

On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract was up 36 points at 4555 points, with 18,451 contracts traded.

The local bourse opened about 0.9 per cent higher, but eased back during the morning in keeping with trading patterns of recent times amid sluggish volume and turnover on the last day of the 2010/11 financial year.

Bell Potter senior adviser Stuart Smith said the market had for the past several months gone through "a bit of a spell" between 11.30am and 12pm.

"I'm don't know if it's waiting for overseas markets to open or what, but it sounds like it," Mr Smith said.

"We are in bear phase, but we are trying to climb out of the bear pit," Mr Smith said.

"We are just heading into a positive direction for end of the year and I think everybody is happy with that."

The best-performing sector at 12.06pm was healthcare, up 1.75 per cent according to IRESS data.

Industrials (up 1.59 per cent) and utility stocks (up 1.33 per cent), also were strong during the morning.

Overnight, Wall Street extended gains to a third straight day, while futures contract prices for gold, oil and copper also settled firmer.

Meanwhile, a positive vote in the Greek parliament on austerity measures designed to avoid the nation defaulting on its debts also buoyed market sentiment.

Making news today, Insurance Insurance Australia Group (IAG) maintained guidance of an insurance margin of 8-10 per cent for 2010/11, after saying the Christchurch earthquake earlier in June would cost up to $65 million in net insurance claims.

IAG was steady $3.38, while the insurer's industry peers were flat to higher. QBE was steady $17.04, Suncorp was up one cent at $8.02, and Bank of Queensland was up nine cents, or about 1.2 per cent, at $8.14.

The biggest mover was CSL, which advanced 2.4 per cent, or 77 cents, to $33.07.

National turnover in Australia was 1.15 billion securities worth $1.63 billion.

There were 647 stocks up and 352 down, while 376 were unchanged.

View the original article here

Aussie market higher at noon

THE Australian stock market was firmer at noon, on track to post a third straight day of gains, with the healthcare and industrials sector leading the broader market higher.

At 12.06pm (AEST), the All Ordinaries index had risen 38.4 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 4618.2 points.

On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract was up 36 points at 4555 points, with 18,451 contracts traded.

The local bourse opened about 0.9 per cent higher, but eased back during the morning in keeping with trading patterns of recent times amid sluggish volume and turnover on the last day of the 2010/11 financial year.

Bell Potter senior adviser Stuart Smith said the market had for the past several months gone through "a bit of a spell" between 11.30am and 12pm.

"I'm don't know if it's waiting for overseas markets to open or what, but it sounds like it," Mr Smith said.

"We are in bear phase, but we are trying to climb out of the bear pit," Mr Smith said.

"We are just heading into a positive direction for end of the year and I think everybody is happy with that."

The best-performing sector at 12.06pm was healthcare, up 1.75 per cent according to IRESS data.

Industrials (up 1.59 per cent) and utility stocks (up 1.33 per cent), also were strong during the morning.

Overnight, Wall Street extended gains to a third straight day, while futures contract prices for gold, oil and copper also settled firmer.

Meanwhile, a positive vote in the Greek parliament on austerity measures designed to avoid the nation defaulting on its debts also buoyed market sentiment.

Making news today, Insurance Insurance Australia Group (IAG) maintained guidance of an insurance margin of 8-10 per cent for 2010/11, after saying the Christchurch earthquake earlier in June would cost up to $65 million in net insurance claims.

IAG was steady $3.38, while the insurer's industry peers were flat to higher. QBE was steady $17.04, Suncorp was up one cent at $8.02, and Bank of Queensland was up nine cents, or about 1.2 per cent, at $8.14.

The biggest mover was CSL, which advanced 2.4 per cent, or 77 cents, to $33.07.

National turnover in Australia was 1.15 billion securities worth $1.63 billion.

There were 647 stocks up and 352 down, while 376 were unchanged.

View the original article here

Aussie market higher at noon

THE Australian stock market was firmer at noon, on track to post a third straight day of gains, with the healthcare and industrials sector leading the broader market higher.

At 12.06pm (AEST), the All Ordinaries index had risen 38.4 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 4618.2 points.

On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract was up 36 points at 4555 points, with 18,451 contracts traded.

The local bourse opened about 0.9 per cent higher, but eased back during the morning in keeping with trading patterns of recent times amid sluggish volume and turnover on the last day of the 2010/11 financial year.

Bell Potter senior adviser Stuart Smith said the market had for the past several months gone through "a bit of a spell" between 11.30am and 12pm.

"I'm don't know if it's waiting for overseas markets to open or what, but it sounds like it," Mr Smith said.

"We are in bear phase, but we are trying to climb out of the bear pit," Mr Smith said.

"We are just heading into a positive direction for end of the year and I think everybody is happy with that."

The best-performing sector at 12.06pm was healthcare, up 1.75 per cent according to IRESS data.

Industrials (up 1.59 per cent) and utility stocks (up 1.33 per cent), also were strong during the morning.

Overnight, Wall Street extended gains to a third straight day, while futures contract prices for gold, oil and copper also settled firmer.

Meanwhile, a positive vote in the Greek parliament on austerity measures designed to avoid the nation defaulting on its debts also buoyed market sentiment.

Making news today, Insurance Insurance Australia Group (IAG) maintained guidance of an insurance margin of 8-10 per cent for 2010/11, after saying the Christchurch earthquake earlier in June would cost up to $65 million in net insurance claims.

IAG was steady $3.38, while the insurer's industry peers were flat to higher. QBE was steady $17.04, Suncorp was up one cent at $8.02, and Bank of Queensland was up nine cents, or about 1.2 per cent, at $8.14.

The biggest mover was CSL, which advanced 2.4 per cent, or 77 cents, to $33.07.

National turnover in Australia was 1.15 billion securities worth $1.63 billion.

There were 647 stocks up and 352 down, while 376 were unchanged.

View the original article here

Aussie market higher at noon

THE Australian stock market was firmer at noon, on track to post a third straight day of gains, with the healthcare and industrials sector leading the broader market higher.

At 12.06pm (AEST), the All Ordinaries index had risen 38.4 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 4618.2 points.

On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract was up 36 points at 4555 points, with 18,451 contracts traded.

The local bourse opened about 0.9 per cent higher, but eased back during the morning in keeping with trading patterns of recent times amid sluggish volume and turnover on the last day of the 2010/11 financial year.

Bell Potter senior adviser Stuart Smith said the market had for the past several months gone through "a bit of a spell" between 11.30am and 12pm.

"I'm don't know if it's waiting for overseas markets to open or what, but it sounds like it," Mr Smith said.

"We are in bear phase, but we are trying to climb out of the bear pit," Mr Smith said.

"We are just heading into a positive direction for end of the year and I think everybody is happy with that."

The best-performing sector at 12.06pm was healthcare, up 1.75 per cent according to IRESS data.

Industrials (up 1.59 per cent) and utility stocks (up 1.33 per cent), also were strong during the morning.

Overnight, Wall Street extended gains to a third straight day, while futures contract prices for gold, oil and copper also settled firmer.

Meanwhile, a positive vote in the Greek parliament on austerity measures designed to avoid the nation defaulting on its debts also buoyed market sentiment.

Making news today, Insurance Insurance Australia Group (IAG) maintained guidance of an insurance margin of 8-10 per cent for 2010/11, after saying the Christchurch earthquake earlier in June would cost up to $65 million in net insurance claims.

IAG was steady $3.38, while the insurer's industry peers were flat to higher. QBE was steady $17.04, Suncorp was up one cent at $8.02, and Bank of Queensland was up nine cents, or about 1.2 per cent, at $8.14.

The biggest mover was CSL, which advanced 2.4 per cent, or 77 cents, to $33.07.

National turnover in Australia was 1.15 billion securities worth $1.63 billion.

There were 647 stocks up and 352 down, while 376 were unchanged.

View the original article here

Aussie market higher at noon

THE Australian stock market was firmer at noon, on track to post a third straight day of gains, with the healthcare and industrials sector leading the broader market higher.

At 12.06pm (AEST), the All Ordinaries index had risen 38.4 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 4618.2 points.

On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract was up 36 points at 4555 points, with 18,451 contracts traded.

The local bourse opened about 0.9 per cent higher, but eased back during the morning in keeping with trading patterns of recent times amid sluggish volume and turnover on the last day of the 2010/11 financial year.

Bell Potter senior adviser Stuart Smith said the market had for the past several months gone through "a bit of a spell" between 11.30am and 12pm.

"I'm don't know if it's waiting for overseas markets to open or what, but it sounds like it," Mr Smith said.

"We are in bear phase, but we are trying to climb out of the bear pit," Mr Smith said.

"We are just heading into a positive direction for end of the year and I think everybody is happy with that."

The best-performing sector at 12.06pm was healthcare, up 1.75 per cent according to IRESS data.

Industrials (up 1.59 per cent) and utility stocks (up 1.33 per cent), also were strong during the morning.

Overnight, Wall Street extended gains to a third straight day, while futures contract prices for gold, oil and copper also settled firmer.

Meanwhile, a positive vote in the Greek parliament on austerity measures designed to avoid the nation defaulting on its debts also buoyed market sentiment.

Making news today, Insurance Insurance Australia Group (IAG) maintained guidance of an insurance margin of 8-10 per cent for 2010/11, after saying the Christchurch earthquake earlier in June would cost up to $65 million in net insurance claims.

IAG was steady $3.38, while the insurer's industry peers were flat to higher. QBE was steady $17.04, Suncorp was up one cent at $8.02, and Bank of Queensland was up nine cents, or about 1.2 per cent, at $8.14.

The biggest mover was CSL, which advanced 2.4 per cent, or 77 cents, to $33.07.

National turnover in Australia was 1.15 billion securities worth $1.63 billion.

There were 647 stocks up and 352 down, while 376 were unchanged.

View the original article here

Aussie market higher at noon

THE Australian stock market was firmer at noon, on track to post a third straight day of gains, with the healthcare and industrials sector leading the broader market higher.

At 12.06pm (AEST), the All Ordinaries index had risen 38.4 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 4618.2 points.

On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract was up 36 points at 4555 points, with 18,451 contracts traded.

The local bourse opened about 0.9 per cent higher, but eased back during the morning in keeping with trading patterns of recent times amid sluggish volume and turnover on the last day of the 2010/11 financial year.

Bell Potter senior adviser Stuart Smith said the market had for the past several months gone through "a bit of a spell" between 11.30am and 12pm.

"I'm don't know if it's waiting for overseas markets to open or what, but it sounds like it," Mr Smith said.

"We are in bear phase, but we are trying to climb out of the bear pit," Mr Smith said.

"We are just heading into a positive direction for end of the year and I think everybody is happy with that."

The best-performing sector at 12.06pm was healthcare, up 1.75 per cent according to IRESS data.

Industrials (up 1.59 per cent) and utility stocks (up 1.33 per cent), also were strong during the morning.

Overnight, Wall Street extended gains to a third straight day, while futures contract prices for gold, oil and copper also settled firmer.

Meanwhile, a positive vote in the Greek parliament on austerity measures designed to avoid the nation defaulting on its debts also buoyed market sentiment.

Making news today, Insurance Insurance Australia Group (IAG) maintained guidance of an insurance margin of 8-10 per cent for 2010/11, after saying the Christchurch earthquake earlier in June would cost up to $65 million in net insurance claims.

IAG was steady $3.38, while the insurer's industry peers were flat to higher. QBE was steady $17.04, Suncorp was up one cent at $8.02, and Bank of Queensland was up nine cents, or about 1.2 per cent, at $8.14.

The biggest mover was CSL, which advanced 2.4 per cent, or 77 cents, to $33.07.

National turnover in Australia was 1.15 billion securities worth $1.63 billion.

There were 647 stocks up and 352 down, while 376 were unchanged.

View the original article here

Aussie market higher at noon

THE Australian stock market was firmer at noon, on track to post a third straight day of gains, with the healthcare and industrials sector leading the broader market higher.

At 12.06pm (AEST), the All Ordinaries index had risen 38.4 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 4618.2 points.

On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract was up 36 points at 4555 points, with 18,451 contracts traded.

The local bourse opened about 0.9 per cent higher, but eased back during the morning in keeping with trading patterns of recent times amid sluggish volume and turnover on the last day of the 2010/11 financial year.

Bell Potter senior adviser Stuart Smith said the market had for the past several months gone through "a bit of a spell" between 11.30am and 12pm.

"I'm don't know if it's waiting for overseas markets to open or what, but it sounds like it," Mr Smith said.

"We are in bear phase, but we are trying to climb out of the bear pit," Mr Smith said.

"We are just heading into a positive direction for end of the year and I think everybody is happy with that."

The best-performing sector at 12.06pm was healthcare, up 1.75 per cent according to IRESS data.

Industrials (up 1.59 per cent) and utility stocks (up 1.33 per cent), also were strong during the morning.

Overnight, Wall Street extended gains to a third straight day, while futures contract prices for gold, oil and copper also settled firmer.

Meanwhile, a positive vote in the Greek parliament on austerity measures designed to avoid the nation defaulting on its debts also buoyed market sentiment.

Making news today, Insurance Insurance Australia Group (IAG) maintained guidance of an insurance margin of 8-10 per cent for 2010/11, after saying the Christchurch earthquake earlier in June would cost up to $65 million in net insurance claims.

IAG was steady $3.38, while the insurer's industry peers were flat to higher. QBE was steady $17.04, Suncorp was up one cent at $8.02, and Bank of Queensland was up nine cents, or about 1.2 per cent, at $8.14.

The biggest mover was CSL, which advanced 2.4 per cent, or 77 cents, to $33.07.

National turnover in Australia was 1.15 billion securities worth $1.63 billion.

There were 647 stocks up and 352 down, while 376 were unchanged.

View the original article here

Airless tyre to hit the market in 2014

The airliess tyre features a "honeycomb" web of hexagon-shaped partitioned rubber which prevents it from collapsing. Source: Supplied

• Airless tyres could make cars puncture proof
• Small US company outsmarts the world's biggest tyre makers
• Originally designed for the military, it's for the public from 2014

IT'S not quite reinventing the wheel but it's close. Flat tyres could soon be a thing of the past, the airless tyre is just around the corner.

The sci-fi solution hasn't come from one of the world's biggest tyre companies – which have been working on similar technology for almost a decade – but a company that makes off-road buggies.

French tyre maker Michelin first showed an airless tyre in 2005 and Japan’s Bridgestone followed in 2011, but a US maker of all-terrain vehicles, Polaris, appears to have pricked their hopes to be first to market.

Polaris says it will have airless tyres available for the public to buy in 2014, while Michelin and Bridgestone are yet to even confirm if the technology will make it into production.

Polaris recently bought a company - Resilient Technologies - which had originally developed the airless tyres for military and off-road buggy use. But Polaris has been so encouraged by validation testing of the technology it wants to make it available to the public.

A "honeycomb" web of hexagon-shaped partitioned rubber makes up the tyre's core and prevents it from collapsing. The key differences in the designs of the three tyre makers are the shapes of the webbing and the type of rubber used.

The airless tyre is also effectively bulletproof and road-spike proof, which could be a boon to security forces - and a headache for police if the tyres ever become widely used.

No price has been listed yet, but industry experts forecast the tyres will initially cost up to $1000 each - and the tread will still wear out at the same rate as a regular tyre.

There is no sidewall on the demonstration tyres but those made available for the public to buy will likely have sidewalls and look like normal tyres.

The company claims its airless tyres provide a smoother ride over bumps than conventional tyres, and they’re quieter.

"There is nowhere for the sound to pool, so there’s no humming or drumming like there is with a standard pneumatic tyre," Polaris business development representative Joaquin Salas told Fox News in the US.

According to the Star Tribune newspaper, Wisconsin inventor Ali Manesh sold the 12-man Resilient Technologies firm and the airless tyre technology to Polaris so they could sell them on the mass market.

"We developed the idea, had a design and proved that it worked. But we could not take it into full production," Manesh told the newspaper. "So Polaris took it from there. I am grateful because that is my baby. I am glad that somebody grew it."

Follow Joshua Dowling on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling

View the original article here

Aust share market finishes 1.5% lower

THE Australian market looks set to open slightly lower despite Wall Street reaching a five-year high as it shrugged off the risks to the world's largest economy of impending federal spending cuts and bid up equities

At 0630 AEDT on Monday, the March share price index futures contract was down five points at 5,069.

In economic news on Monday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases its business indicators for the December quarter and the building approvals for January data.

The TD Securities-Melbourne Institute inflation gauge for February is due out as is the ANZ job advertisements series for month just ended, the Dun and Bradstreet business expectations survey and the NAB quarterly online retail sales index.

No major equities news is expected.

In Australia, the market on Friday closed almost half a per cent lower as the major resources companies dragged the index down.

At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 18 points, or 0.35 per cent, lower at 5,086.1 while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 19.5 points, or 0.38 per cent, at 5,100.9.

View the original article here

Aussie market higher at noon

THE Australian stock market was firmer at noon, on track to post a third straight day of gains, with the healthcare and industrials sector leading the broader market higher.

At 12.06pm (AEST), the All Ordinaries index had risen 38.4 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 4618.2 points.

On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract was up 36 points at 4555 points, with 18,451 contracts traded.

The local bourse opened about 0.9 per cent higher, but eased back during the morning in keeping with trading patterns of recent times amid sluggish volume and turnover on the last day of the 2010/11 financial year.

Bell Potter senior adviser Stuart Smith said the market had for the past several months gone through "a bit of a spell" between 11.30am and 12pm.

"I'm don't know if it's waiting for overseas markets to open or what, but it sounds like it," Mr Smith said.

"We are in bear phase, but we are trying to climb out of the bear pit," Mr Smith said.

"We are just heading into a positive direction for end of the year and I think everybody is happy with that."

The best-performing sector at 12.06pm was healthcare, up 1.75 per cent according to IRESS data.

Industrials (up 1.59 per cent) and utility stocks (up 1.33 per cent), also were strong during the morning.

Overnight, Wall Street extended gains to a third straight day, while futures contract prices for gold, oil and copper also settled firmer.

Meanwhile, a positive vote in the Greek parliament on austerity measures designed to avoid the nation defaulting on its debts also buoyed market sentiment.

Making news today, Insurance Insurance Australia Group (IAG) maintained guidance of an insurance margin of 8-10 per cent for 2010/11, after saying the Christchurch earthquake earlier in June would cost up to $65 million in net insurance claims.

IAG was steady $3.38, while the insurer's industry peers were flat to higher. QBE was steady $17.04, Suncorp was up one cent at $8.02, and Bank of Queensland was up nine cents, or about 1.2 per cent, at $8.14.

The biggest mover was CSL, which advanced 2.4 per cent, or 77 cents, to $33.07.

National turnover in Australia was 1.15 billion securities worth $1.63 billion.

There were 647 stocks up and 352 down, while 376 were unchanged.

View the original article here

Blaze in illegal Indian market kills 13

A FIRE has swept through a six-storey building housing an illegal market in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, killing 13 people who were unable to escape the inferno, local officials say.

"The death toll in the Surya Sen market fire has jumped to 13," state fire services minister Javed Khan told AFP on Wednesday.

"The market has only one exit point and those who stayed in the market at night were trapped after the fire broke out."

Hundreds of firefighters were at the scene of the blaze near the railway station in the centre of the former colonial capital of India, where decrepit and poorly maintained buildings are vulnerable to fires.

The victims of Wednesday's blaze were thought to be men who were sleeping in the building when the fire broke out around 4am (0930 AEDT), director of fire services for West Bengal state Gopal Bhattacharya told AFP.

"The market housed in the two floors of the building has no legal sanction," he explained.

In late 2011, 90 people were killed when a fire engulfed a hospital in Kolkata while in March 2010 a huge blaze on one of the city's most exclusive streets left at least 43 dead.

View the original article here

Aussie market higher at noon

THE Australian stock market was firmer at noon, on track to post a third straight day of gains, with the healthcare and industrials sector leading the broader market higher.

At 12.06pm (AEST), the All Ordinaries index had risen 38.4 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 4618.2 points.

On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract was up 36 points at 4555 points, with 18,451 contracts traded.

The local bourse opened about 0.9 per cent higher, but eased back during the morning in keeping with trading patterns of recent times amid sluggish volume and turnover on the last day of the 2010/11 financial year.

Bell Potter senior adviser Stuart Smith said the market had for the past several months gone through "a bit of a spell" between 11.30am and 12pm.

"I'm don't know if it's waiting for overseas markets to open or what, but it sounds like it," Mr Smith said.

"We are in bear phase, but we are trying to climb out of the bear pit," Mr Smith said.

"We are just heading into a positive direction for end of the year and I think everybody is happy with that."

The best-performing sector at 12.06pm was healthcare, up 1.75 per cent according to IRESS data.

Industrials (up 1.59 per cent) and utility stocks (up 1.33 per cent), also were strong during the morning.

Overnight, Wall Street extended gains to a third straight day, while futures contract prices for gold, oil and copper also settled firmer.

Meanwhile, a positive vote in the Greek parliament on austerity measures designed to avoid the nation defaulting on its debts also buoyed market sentiment.

Making news today, Insurance Insurance Australia Group (IAG) maintained guidance of an insurance margin of 8-10 per cent for 2010/11, after saying the Christchurch earthquake earlier in June would cost up to $65 million in net insurance claims.

IAG was steady $3.38, while the insurer's industry peers were flat to higher. QBE was steady $17.04, Suncorp was up one cent at $8.02, and Bank of Queensland was up nine cents, or about 1.2 per cent, at $8.14.

The biggest mover was CSL, which advanced 2.4 per cent, or 77 cents, to $33.07.

National turnover in Australia was 1.15 billion securities worth $1.63 billion.

There were 647 stocks up and 352 down, while 376 were unchanged.

View the original article here