Something a little different from Share Trading... Here is an article from ForexTradingLog.com containing some information about the Australian dollar, its short history as well as how the Aussie behaves in the forex markets...

The Australian dollar is the official currency of the Commonwealth of Australia since 1966. The currency is commonly abbreviated with the dollar sign "$". Other notations used to distinguish the Australian dollar from other currencies are $A or A$, $AU or AU$ and its official ISO currency code is AUD. To locals and currency traders the currency is commonly referred to as simply "the Aussie" or "the Aussie Dollar". The denomination is divided into 100 cents. The currency itself is the sixth most traded currency in the world foreign exchange markets (aka "forex markets") behind the US dollar, Euro, Yen, Pound Sterling and the Swiss franc. According to Wikipedia, the Aussie is popular with forex traders because of "the relative lack of government intervention in the foreign exchange market, the general stability of the economy and government as well as the prevailing view that it offers diversification benefits in a portfolio containing the major world currencies (especially because of its greater exposure to Asian economies and the commodities cycle)."

Read more about the Australian dollar...