Gold Prices Rise But Still Near 5-Year Low

Melbourne: Global gold prices revived on Thursday from their lowest in more than five years the previous session as the dollar fell back, releasing its stranglehold on commodities and making gold more affordable for buyers paying with other currencies.

Federal Reserve officials on Wednesday continued to flag December as a likely time for interest rates to rise after seven years near zero, with two expressing confidence they will be able to pull off a rate hike smoothly despite fears of an abrupt market reaction.

"I'm convinced that the start of the (rate hike) cycle will see relative dollar weakness as investor money flows into other regions and other types of investment, away from the U.S. where the cost of capital - and doing business will also grow," said Chief Investment Officer Jonathan Barratt of Ayers Alliance in Sydney. He added that a rate increase could also boost gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation.

Spot gold was up 0.6 per cent at $1,077.20 an ounce by 0216 GMT. Prices fell to 1,064.95 an ounce on Wednesday, the weakest since early 2010.

US gold had risen 0.8 per cent to $1,077 an ounce.

US housing starts in October dropped to a seven-month low, weighed down by a steep decline in the construction of multi-family homes, but a surge in building permits suggested the housing market remained on solid ground.

The dollar fell back from seven-month peaks against a basket of currencies early in Asia on Thursday.

© Thomson Reuters 2015

Story first published on: November 19, 2015 08:52 (IST)

Australian professor suspended over racist email

An Australian professor has been suspended by The University of Sydney for sending racist emails. According to the BBC, Prof Barry Spurr referred to Aboriginal people as "human rubbish tips" and used racist terms to refer to Muslims and Asians in Australia.

The professor of poetry, however, maintains that the emails sent were part of a "whimsical" game, but students are calling for termination of his services. The emails procured by Australian magazine New Matilda, were sent to a lot of people at the university, including officials and academics, between September 2012 and late 2014. Prof Spurr, in his emails, referred to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott an "Abo-lover" - an offensive term for Aborigines - and to Nelson Mandela as a "darky", the report says.

The university said in a statement "racist, sexist or offensive language is not tolerated at the University of Sydney." 

Australian naval base in lockdown, bomb squad called

SYDNEY: A naval base in the Australian state of Victoria is in lockdown and a resident of the base is in custody, with a police bomb squad heading to the scene to investigate unspecified "hazardous material", security officials said on Thursday.

An exclusion zone of 400 metres had been declared around a residential apartment at HMAS Cerberus, a naval training base on the Mornington Peninsula, 75 km (45 miles) southeast of Melbourne, Victorian police said.

Police took the security measures after a routine search of the apartment found a number of unspecified items on Thursday morning. A statement from the Australian Defence Force said "hazardous material" had been found, but gave no further details.

A bomb response unit and members from the arson and explosives squad were enroute, a Victorian police spokeswoman told Reuters.

The resident was understood to be in the custody of other naval officers, the spokeswoman added.
She declined to comment further on the items found in the apartment or the nature of the threat.