Fortescue Metals Group Ltd

Dow index hit a fresh 2009 high on Friday after the earnings season kicked off. Upbeat forecasts on IT giants IBM and Intel fueled the market's growing expectations over a profit recovery. S&P's 500 and Nasdaq both gained more than 4.5 per cent for the week.

Wall Street closed lower overnight after American consumer confidence reading in September dropped unexpectedly. The weakness in US technology stocks, which had been a leader for much of Wall Street's six-month rally, yesterday led a fall in the market. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index dipped in September to 53.1 from 54.5 in August as people worries about job market.

Wall Street posted a fourth day on Friday rise as the US existing home sales data gave investors more confidence that it is the end of the recession. For the week The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained almost 2 per cent, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index added 2.2%.

Emergent Resources Limited (ASX:EMG) has appointed former Gindalbie Metals senior geologist Dan Podger to the position of Technical Services Geologist at the Beyondie Magnetite Iron Project.

Rio Tinto Ltd. (ASX:RIO) says the company does not see the pricing agreement by Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (ASX:FMG) and Chinese steelmakers as relevant to its pricing for fiscal 2009 as the miner conducts its own negotiations with customers worldwide.

Wall Street ended lower in light trading on Friday as reports showed weak consumer sentiment in August and an unexpected decline in July retail sales. The weak reports prompted investors to lock in gains from the recent rally.

Wall Street finished slightly lower overnight after the US stocks hit a fresh high on Friday. Investors locked in profits ahead of economic data due to release this week, including monthly retail sales figures and the Federal Reserve's statement on interest rates and the economy.

Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (ASX:FMG) today announced a maiden resource estimate of 1.23 billion tonnes of magnetite iron ore for its Glacier Valley tenement area. Glacier Valley is held by Fortescue but is subject to a joint venture arrangement with an Australian subsidiary of China's Baosteel Group Corporation.

On Friday, the Australian market closed higher led by banking and mining stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 30.8 points, or 0.8 per cent, at 3794.1 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 29.2 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 3790.6 points. For the week, both benchmarks lost about 0.9 per cent.

The Australian market closed higher yesterday driven by the news of Xstrata's proposed merger with Anglo-American and NAB's buying Aviva Australia. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 0.5 per cent, or 18.6 points, at 3918.2, while the broader All Ordinaries index advanced 0.4 per cents, or 16.4 points, at 3910.8.