Goodman Fielder Limited.

Crescent Gold Limited (ASX:CRE) is pleased to advise that Don Taig, Chairman of Focus Minerals Limited (ASX:FML), has joined the Crescent Board, effective immediately.

Pike River Coal Limited (NZE:PRC) (PINK:PKRRF) has been named New Zealand's best on-line communicator of the country's top 50 listed companies.

The Australian sharemarket fell on Thursday as investors digested some mixed earnings results. Investors also managed to take profit for the market after two days gains. At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index lost 13 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 4654.9, while the broader All Ordinaries index gave up 12.9 points, or 0.28 per cent to 4673.9.

Wall Street broke its winning streak and closed lower overnight after a disappointing report showed US housing starts fell 10.6 per cent in October and permits fell 4.0 per cent. The tumble suggested that the real estate sector is still under pressure.

Overnight the Dow index and S&P's 500 index posted their biggest falls in three months as the worse-than-expected manufacturing activity data in September and new jobless claims led to a broad sell-off. These figures overshadowed improvements in pending home sales, personal spending and construction spending, and dampened investors confidence on the economy recovery.

Overnight Wall Street was up on economic data, positive earnings and the nomination of Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke to serve a second term. The Conference Board's August index of consumer confidence rose for a second month, exceeding economists' forecast.

The Australian shares Wednesday closed slightly higher ahead of the US Federal Reserve's monetary outlook meeting. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index gained 10.1 points, or 0.27 per cent, at 3807 points, while the broader-based All Ordinaries index rose 9.2 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 3802.2 points.

Yesterday Australian shares closed lower on concern about the health of US banks. The benchmark the S&P/ASX200 index fell 0.6%, or 23.3 points, at 3867.1, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 0.6%, or 22.1 points, at 3840.1.

Yesterday Australian shares closed 1% higher as most sectors surged. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose 33.9 points, at 3480.2 while the All Ordinaries index was up 0.9%, or 30.60 points, at 3416.8. The local mining and energy sectors could be buoyed by the rising gold and oil prices today despite the negative lead from the US.

Yesterday the Australia market stayed on the red for the third consecutive day. Both the Aussie dollar and the S&P 200 Index fell lower on the news of the latest GDP figures. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index ended down 1.6%, or 52.8 points, at 3166.4, while the All Ordinaries index loses 1.4%, or 45.5 points, at 3125.9.