Bank of New England returns to the Merrimack Valley

Inflation is tipped to be the main topic of discussion when Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Treasurer Wayne Swan meet Reserve Bank officials today.

Mr Rudd and his Government have put tackling inflation as one of the key priorities of the new year.

Federal efforts to cut spending are likely to be one of the main topics of today's talks.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is slashing its budget by $57 million, with a number of overseas diplomats to be recalled and programs to promote Australian culture overseas being cut to fund the savings.

The Federal Government says it does not believe the changes will affect its foreign policy priorities.

Mr Rudd says the talks will look at the challenges posed by higher inflation and will help shape the Federal Government's future economic policy. read more

More Than Momentum: Stocks Rising for a Reason

NEW YORK (AP) - Wall Street advanced sharply Monday, with solid preliminary results from IBM encouraging investors to go back into the stock market after last week's rout.International Business Machines Corp., one of the 30 Dow Jones industrials, released preliminary earnings estimates for the fourth quarter that were 24 percent above year-earlier levels. The results also beat the forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.After falling nearly 250 points on Friday, the Dow rose more than 170 points Monday.``The market was pretty oversold,'' said Richard E. Cripps, chief market strategist for Stifel Nicolaus. ``We were due to bounce back, and the IBM news didn't hurt.''IBM's news, coming before as earnings season is about the get under way in earnest, did raise some hopes that fourth-quarter results might not be as bad as feared.Investors also moved back into financial services stocks ahead of Citigroup Inc. read more

Who should get the stimulus checks?

We're at our best when we're playing the role of the matronly old lady in the detergent commercial, pointing out the blotches and stains on the blanket that is society, our faces sour and desperate as we scream for Mrs. Clean to sprinkle her magical red and blue detergent crystals for results whiter than white.

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