Donald Trump told the audience he thought Australia was "doing OK". Picture: Adam Ward
DONALD Trump has advised Australia to "screw" China by raising its commodity prices.
"I say raise your prices," the flamboyant American billionaire told a Sydney audience tonight.
"You really screw them on the sale of raw materials.
"They need you badly. You have all the cards."
Criticising America's lack of tough negotiators in business dealings with China, Trump said: "One of the reasons I love Australia is because you're selling them all sorts of s***."
Trump also praised "your financial genius", referring to Treasurer Wayne Swan's selection as world finance minister of the year.
"I don't know who gives him that award, maybe he does," Trump said.
"I do that all the time, give myself awards.
"But I think you are doing OK."
Trump also continued to pitch his prospects of running for US president as an independent after deciding not to contest the Republican candidacy.
"If the economy continues to be bad - and I think it will because we have incompetent people running the country - and if the Republicans pick the wrong candidate, I will very strongly consider running as an independent," he said.
Trump was giving a motivational talk at a business seminar on a one-day visit to Sydney in which he also fitted in a round of golf and a cameo appearance on TV's Celebrity Apprentice.
He arrived on a commercial flight this morning, leaving his own $100 million Boeing 757 back at home.
The single-handicap golfer, who owns four courses in the US, headed straight to the exclusive Australian course for 18 holes.
"After flying for 22 hours I honestly didn't even know where I was," he said.
He taped a segment for the Nine Network's Australian version of Celebrity Apprentice, the ratings hit he hosts in the US.
Then he headed to Sydney's Entertainment Centre, where he was one of the headline acts at a so-called National Achievers Congress.
Thousands of people paid between $195 and $3000 to attend the three-day Sydney congress, which featured 14 speakers.
Trump flies to Melbourne this morning for another National Achievers Congress speaking engagement.
http://www.perthnow.com.au/business/screw-china-says-donald-trump/story-e6frg2qc-1226143278653
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THE party's over for online shoppers and overseas travellers as the Aussie dollar dropped below parity with the US dollar, before bouncing back to slightly over $US1.00.
The meteoric rise of the Aussie dollar over the past few months took a sharp turn downwards, dipping below the value of the US dollar at noon today for only the second time since March.
The dollar sank sank to 99.98 US cents in early afternoon trade before climbing back up to $US1.0017 at 3.30pm today.
Today's slide comes amidst a day of big losses on the local sharemarket after the US Federal Reserve announced Operation Twist - the $US400 billion plan to kickstart the US economy.
More than $26 billion was wiped off the ASX200 after Wall Street backed away from US Federal Reserve Bank's stimulus plan.
Further poor data from Chinese manufacturing activity deepened already significant concerns about the world's economic growth outlook.
Retailers will be keeping a close eye on the weakening dollar which has made it cheaper to import goods from overseas, the savings of which could be passed on to shoppers.
It also encouraged people to book overseas holidays with the knock-on effects of cheaper airfares as demand for flights increased.
Overnight, US stocks dived after the Federal Reserve announced a $400 billion stimulus plan to support the US economy - painting a grim economic picture and citing slow growth and risk to recovery.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/business/dollar-slumps-online-shoppers-press-the-pause-button/story-e6frfm1i-1226143599346#ixzz1YfivVHhR
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$26 billion wiped of the ASX 200
From: AAP September 22, 2011 11:33AM
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ALMOST $26 billion was wiped off the Australian sharemarket today after Wall Street backed away from US Federal Reserve Bank's stimulus plan.
At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 106.9 points at 3,964.9.
US stocks dived after the Federal Reserve announced a $400 billion stimulus plan to support the US economy - painting a grim economic picture and citing slow growth and risk to recovery.
In a plan dubbed "Operation Twist," the US Fed said it would switch bonds in its huge portfolio with a maturity of less than three years to bonds with a maturity of six to 30 years.
The move would not involve printing any more money, but supporters say it could lower rates and prod cash-rich banks to put their idle reserves to work
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 2.49 per cent in closing trade, while the S&P 500 dropped 2.94 per cent and the Nasdaq slid 2.01 per cent.
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The US Federal Reserve Bank's plan was a revival of 1961 "Operation Twist" bond-buying program.
Aside from the Fed's measures, Moody's downgraded three top US banks - Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup - as it sees the US government less willing than before to rescue them if they become unstable.
Locally, all sectors opened weaker, said CMC Markets chief strategist Michael McCarthy.
"Rather than anybody taking a negative view on any particular company they are just taking a negative view on the broad market and the current economic situation," he said.
Trading activity was low, however, as investors await further developments on global economic woes.
"That's not surprising given what we are waiting on is news out of Europe on the Greek debt situation and the US on congress passing fiscal stimulus measures," he said.
RBS Morgans client adviser Bill Bishop said the market did not like the Fed's measures, despite anticipating a move towards cheaper long-term money.
"All of that volatility in America has translated, unfortunately, into quite a strongly down day for us, and the Europeans were down strongly before that," he said.
"The lack of a cohesive policy in either Europe or America is driving this. Markets don't like uncertainty."
Among major companies, BHP fell 4.04 percent to Aus$35.63 while Rio Tinto plunged 6.45 percent to Aus$65.10.
Beer giant Foster's bucked the trend, gaining 7.57 percent to Aus$5.26 after the board approved a Aus$9.9 billion takeover offer from Anglo-South African brewer SABMiller.
