The Australian dollar has regained most of the ground it lost against the greenback after the worst-than-expected employment figures were released yesterday. It's buying 89.89 U.S.cents.

 

Profits have tumbled for Newcrest Mining because of big tax bills and writedowns on its assets in west Africa. The gold miner made 40 million dollars in the six months to the end of December, but that't down 88 percent compared with the same time a year before. Newcrest says the lower gold price also dragged on the result despite higher sales in the period. As expected, shareholders won't get a divident.

 

Shares in Newcrest not surprisingly flipped on that result. They lost 1.8 percent by the close. Investors also took their first chance to react to Rio Tinto's profit turnaround. David Jones was down a third of a percent. ANZ the best of the big four banks. And Qantas continue to rise today.