BUSINESS

The Australian sharemarket is flat after a 1.1 per cent surge yesterday. Global markets overnight ended mixed while a firmer ore price is helping the miners. Despite an uninspiring finish to the week, local stocks have still improved by 0.8 per cent over the past five days.

Equities were relatively sidelined in a quiet US trade. Most of the releases from the US were in-line with estimates and this resulted in an overall lack of direction. There was also some Fedspeak with Lacker and Bullard on the wires. Lacker commented on inflation, suggesting it was rising faster than expected with the move not being entirely noise.

Despite losing $2 billion in the last 12 months due to plummeting iron ore prices, mining magnate Gina Rinehart is still Australia's richest person and topped the 2014 BRW Rich 200 list released on Thursday.

St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard warned that the Fed could fall behind the curve if the US unemployment rate drops faster than expected. In response to questions after his speech Bullard commented that at the current 6.3% unemployment rate, the US is ´´way ahead of schedule´´ on its trajectory toward a normal labour market. Bullard does not have a vote on the Fed´s policy-setting committee this year.

The tallest skyscraper in the Southern Hemisphere would soon rise in Victoria, Australia. The 100-storey tower will stand 319 metres tall upon completion.

The Australian share market had a solid session on Thursday, clawing back some ground following losses on Tuesday and Wednesday. Window dressing ahead of the end of the financial year, coupled with a strong lead from Wall Street, saw the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rise 1.1 per cent today to 5446.8 points. That's been enough to turn around the week's fortunes so far, with the market now higher by 0.8 per cent on the week.

A 2013 Experian Marketing Services survey found that consumers in the UK, U.S. and Australia spent an average of 16 minutes for every hour on the Internet on social media sites. After social media are entertainment Web sites where consumers spend an average of 9 minutes for every hour.

Before the still missing ill-fated Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, there was Asiana Airlines Flight 214 on July 2013. On Tuesday, authorities from the National Transportation Safety Board said the jetliner crashed and killed three people at San Francisco International Airport in 2013 because of human error on the part of its pilots.

The Australian Privacy Commissioner has found Cupid guilty of breaching the privacy of its thousands of members

“The Block” is reportedly set to film next season at the infamous Hotel Saville, where self-proclaimed vampire prostitute Shane Chartres-Abbott allegedly raped and murdered his victim in 2002.

Australian owners of light vehicles are now mandated to adhere to new emissions standards that could help the country achieve a year's worth cut of carbon pollution of 59 tonnes by 2030, the Climate Change Authority said on Thursday.

Analysts are increasing their price targets of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) on iPhone and iWatch release dates nearing.

The Australian sharemarket is improving for the second time this week, with a positive lead from Wall Street helping lift local stocks. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 0.8 per cent, creeping back above the key 5400 point mark. The property trusts are the lone losers at lunch, with all other sectors recording at least modest gains.

After buying Beats Electronics, Apple Inc may be eyeing Disney as its next big target acquisition. In an article by Washington Post, one analyst at North River Ventures thinks this possibility is "frighteningly obvious."

Jordan Kimmel, chief executive officer at investment education firm InvestView (OTCQB: INVU) said 2014 remains a bull market and described this year as the most unloved bull market since he joined the financial industry more than 25 years ago.

U.S. President Barack Obama may have the most number of followers on online social networking and microblogging service Twitter, but he is not the portal's most influential world leader. Pope Francis is.

While regular employment in a corporate environment has its perks such as social security, fixed regular income and medical coverage - being a freelancer - also has its advantages.

Once again we saw a sharp contrast in sentiment from European to US trade as a different set of forces dictated sentiment. European trade remained fairly risk-off as investors focused on rising geopolitical tension on the Iraq and Ukraine front. Latest reports suggest the US is considering further sanctions against Russia, while militants in Iraq continue to expand their territory.

In US economic data, durable goods orders fell by 1.0% in May, below forecasts tipping a flat result. Excluding defence equipment, orders rose by 0.6%. The final reading of economic growth (GDP) in the March quarter showed a decline of 2.9%, bigger than the 1.7% decline that was forecast.

In February 2014, Australia's joblessness rate hit 6 per cent, the highest rate since 1997. Employment experts believe that by identifying the hot jobs over the next five years, Aussies could help prevent their becoming unemployed since they could initiate steps this early to shift careers or learn a new trade.

After the announced Siri enhancements at the Worldwide Development Conference (WWDC), Cupertino tech giant Apple post job ads that will teach the digital assistant Siri to expand her existing lexicon and at the same time understand and speak 13 more new languages.

The ASX 200 remained under pressure over the course of the afternoon, although there were some signs of resilience. The index recovered from session lows when it was down by about 64 points. At that level the index was at 5378, marking an area of support that has been a feature of recent week. Buyers defended the level successfully and the market traded higher although buyers were reluctant to take the bourse substantially beyond the 5400 mark. Investor interest was respectable with healthy leve...

Besides the recent school shootings, one of the biggest news to hit the US was the 2013 bombing of the Boston Marathon. The tragedy, which took the lives of three people and injured more than 260 others on April 15, 2013, was newspaper headlines for days.

A dentist from Maryland is fuming mad and will sue British Airways after the airline made an erroneous entry into its airline booking system that flew the passenger and his companion to the southern Caribbean island of Grenada, instead of the ancient city of Granada, Spain.

The Advertising Standards Board (ASB) has dismissed complaints that the campaign for razor brand Schick objectifies women.

Residents of Canada have been advised to brace for a warm and humid weather, possibly with thunderstorms, as the country celebrates its four-day long weekend, Canada Day from June 28 to July 1.

The Australian sharemarket is losing ground for the second straight day, with weakness across U.S markets and continued conflicts in Iraq and Ukraine keeping investors edgy. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is back below 5400pts, falling by 0.5 per cent at lunch.

A joint study by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoAML) and Age Wave found that a big majority or 72 per cent American pre-retirees over the age of 50 say they intend to continue working after retirement, albeit in a more flexible and fulfilling way.

Investors are piling in as the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney joins the capital markets.