Consumers in the US gained confidence in November for the first time in three months according to a new report. Yes, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary sentiment index, it rose to 69.3.

 

And oil company Shell could establish the world's first floating liquefied natural gas processing plant off WA. The Federal Government's given the thumbs up to the Prelude project about 500 kilometres north of Broome.

 

And to the market numbers now, US stocks are down after five straight weekly gains as commodity and energy shares took a beating. The FT100 also lost ground with Ireland's debt problems weighing on investors.  Yesterday, Australian shares closed down as investors worried about the state of Ireland's public finances and the possibility of a rate rise in China. And in Asia, Japan's Nikkei fell 1.4 per cent.