BUSINESS

Iron ore producers in Australia are under pressure following the drop to a six-month low of prices of the key steelmaking ingredient to $124.80 per tonne. The price decline was mainly due to Chinese iron ore buyers retreating.

Fundamental questions around strength of the US earnings remain; after having seen a 30% gain on the S&P in 2013, the current earning season is masking what really is a disappointing start.

European shares rallied to a fresh 5½-year high on Tuesday. Better than expected earnings from consumer goods maker Unilever (up 1.8%) supported investor sentiment. Sales rose 8.4% in emerging economies and accounts for more than half of earnings. In addition solid German sentiment data remained near 8 year highs. The monthly ZEW survey of economic sentiment slipped from 62.0 to 61.7 in December. Economists now expect Germany´s growth expansion of around 1.7% in 2014 after 0.4% in 2013. The FTSE...

The Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) decried on Tuesday the decision of national carrier Qantas to have two of it Boeing 747s flown to Hong Kong for heavy maintenance in the later part of 2014.

Apple Inc's market share in the U.S. has been the key driver of the company's success despite the growing competition led by Samsung Electronics. Although Samsung is gaining market share in the U.S., its gains are not the same with Apple Inc. While Apple Inc and its CEO Tim Cook are looking forward to "big plans" in 2014, analysts have speculated that the company's stock could reach $1000 after hitting the $705 mark in September 2012.

Over the period of recent weeks the local market has cultivated the appearance of resilience. Appearance, because these kind statements have to be seen through the lens of summer volumes, which can make for some rather flighty price action. In the support of the claim, last week saw the market recover from a 2% deficit to end the week flat. Today the market was down almost 20 points before a mid-session recovery saw the market end the day ahead by 30 points.

Andrew Grant steps down as CEO of CO2 Group Ltd, the largest carbon developer in Australia, as government draws on a new policy to adjust to climate change, thereby forcing the company to consider investing into new business areas.

China has developed its own mobile operating system called China Operating System (COS) that will rival Microsoft's Windows, Google's Android and ChromeOS, as well as Apple's iOS and MacOS platforms.

Papua New Guinea will no longer be issuing Australians visas on arrival, Peter O'Neill, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister, made the announcement on Monday.

The Australian sharemarket has crept into positive territory after a slightly weaker start. The All Ordinaries Index is up by less than 0.1 per cent; however is being held back by an underperforming mining sector. U.S. sharemarkets were closed last night due to the Martin Luther King Jr Day holiday; keeping trading volume lighter than usual. There is no major economic news scheduled for release in Australia or the region today; however yesterday's slightly better than expected Chinese GDP rea...

Best not to get sick at anytime in Canada. A new survey that looked into the waiting times of Canadian patients in setting urgent appointments just to be checked and treated by their family doctors within a day has been found to be the worst among the 11 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCED).

With the US shut for Martin Luther King Day, overnight leads are thin, meaning another day of digesting the China GDP data.

European shares edged lower in thin trade on Monday. A surprising quarterly loss by Deutsche Bank prompted investors to cash in recent gains on banking stocks. Deutsche Bank fell by 5.4% after a drop in fixed income trading revenues restructuring costs, and also warning about a challenging 2014. Credit Suisse fell 2.5% and Commerzbank lost 4.5%. The STOXX 600 Banking index lost 1% but was still up 5.5% so far this year. The FTSEurofirst 300 index fell by 0.1% with the UK FTSE up by 0.1% and the ...

A New York display along East Houston is generating buzz in the fashion industry because of three mannequins. It is not so much the white undergarments donned by the models that are the cause of the talk, but the fact that the mannequins have unshaved pubic hair sticking out of the undies.

While Australian consumer may not throw a fit when their clothes does not fit like what that Indian actress did, buyers deserve better treatment, said Ed Gribbin, president of Alvanon, a clothing size and fit consultancy.

Beijing will have a more cleaner-burning source of energy with the purchase by the China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) of the 25 per cent stage in one of Africa's largest uranium mines. CNNC bought the shares of the Langer Heinrich operations in Namibia for $190 million from Australian uranium producer Paladin Energy on Monday.

The Australian share market finished in the red today, but importantly closed well off earlier lows following better than expected Chinese economic growth figures. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) hit a low of 5237.7 points during trade before closing down just 8.8 points to 5307.6.

Three weeks before the opening of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin has pounced on critics, particularly American critics opposed to his country's anti-gay laws. He specifically told them to look at themselves in the mirror first before throwing tantrums and verbal shenanigans against Russia.

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), embattled operator of crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, has detected a new radiation contaminated water leak at the plant's No. 3 reactor building.

Large amounts of rainfall are expected to fall down on New Zealand and Australia early this week. Kiwi farmers at upper North Island however are excited over the development.

Bitcoin automated tellers machines may be proliferating all across Canada, but the country's finance department was quick to warn residents the digital currency has yet to be recognised as a legal tender.

The Australian sharemarket is losing ground following a mixed and uninspiring session from global markets on Friday. The main potential driver of local stocks this afternoon is likely to be a barrage of Chinese economic readings at 1pm (AEDT). Volume is expected to be on the light side globally, with the Martin Luther King Jr holiday keeping U.S. markets closed tonight.

The Rockstar Games' "Grand Theft Auto V" (GTA 5) videogame featuring Herr Kutz Barbers was reportedly copied from a real shop in Plymouth, Devon without permission from its owner Anthony Braddon.

Residents living in Canada's Toronto and the rest of the GTA are advised to take the necessary precautions in anticipation of blowing snow and frigid temperatures expected to blast the region on Sunday lasting through Monday.

Expectations are growing that 2014 will be the year that commodities will return to the winners' cycle, after having seen the likes of corn, silver, gold, nickel and platinum all falling into bear markets in 2013, with 23 commodities finishing last year in the red.

n US economic news, the University of Michigan US Consumer Sentiment Index eased from 82.5 to 80.4 in January. US industrial production rose by 0.3% in December, with manufacturing output up 0.4% in the month. For the quarter industrial production advanced at a 6.8% pace - the fastest quarterly growth rate in over three years. US housing starts fell by 9.8% in December - marking the biggest drop in nine months. US building permits fell by 3% in December. Weather may have played a part in the wea...

An Australian federal court fined two Aussie energy firms $125,000 for claiming the solar panels they were selling were made in Australia when it was really manufactured in China.

The Australian share market closed slightly lower today as the banks and miners fought it out. Some great gains from the likes of BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO) were offset by falls in the banking sector and from retail stocks. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) finished the day's session lower by 3 points or 0.1 per cent to 5316.4 points.

The New Zealand dollar broke records when it surpassed the Australian dollar due to weak jobs data in Australia and differences in interest rate outlooks between neighbour countries. The Kiwi dollar climbed as high as 94.80 Australian cents as it traded against the Aussie at 94.72 cents on Jan. 16. It is the highest climb of the Kiwi dollar in 8 years. The local currency soared to 83.44 U.S. cents from 83.29 cents as of the same day.