BUSINESS

The winning streak continued with shares hitting fresh six-year highs, rising for a third day and remaining above the key 5600pt level. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) improved by a modest 0.1 per cent despite mixed performances from global markets overnight. The US economy expanded at a faster than expected 4 per cent annual pace in the June quarter, while comments by the US central bank relating to inflation has increased the market's expectations of an earlier rate rise. The default of Arge...

Brisbane Times columnist Marcus Padley identified on Monday some 26 stocks in the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) 200's industrial sector and listed shares that investors consider vulnerable because of their high price-to-earning (PE) ratios.

News of a possible takeover of beleaguered Malaysia Airline System (MAS) has prompted its shares to jump as much as 10.4 per cent on Monday.

Melbourne real estate technology professionals have launched a mobile application that could prevent realtors from undervaluing a property and could eventually lead to the creation of similar apps.

Russian smartphone maker Yota Devices denied it is transferring HQ to Canada.

Mazda MX-5s limited edition 40 cars are now open for sale in Australia.

The ASX 200 started the second session of the week on the front foot with the index happily building on the previous day's gains. The market was trading close to session highs at lunchtime with a gain of points 55 points after US stocks held their recently improved tone into the start of the week overnight.

Pope Francis will be embarking on his first ever trip to Asia this week, at the Republic of Korea from Aug 14-18. Included in his 5-day visit to the country are four masses, including one for the beatification of 124 Korean Catholic martyrs and another for a gathering of Catholic youths in Asia, as well as a visit to the 'Cemetery for Aborted Children.'

Russia has taken a further step back from the Ukrainian crisis, after having pulled back strike fighters from the border (however, Russian troops still remain).

The specter of higher rates putting pressure on corporate earnings spurred investors to redeem a record setting $11.38 billion from High Yield Bond Funds and pull over $19 billion - a 26-week high - from U.S. Equity Funds, according to the latest data from EPFR.

The smartphone market is being shaken up as the tech giants' dominant positions are challenged by Chinese phonemakers that offer lower-cost handsets. With cheaper units that offer similar features to the pricier iPhone of Apple and Galaxy Android units of Samsung, companies like Lenovo and Xiaomi are grabbing a bigger share of the smartphone market.

Entertainment website BuzzFeed got $50 million more for its future plan to become one of the major media companies.

In broad terms the ASX 200 was able to maintain the levels that had been established in the early part of the day, although sellers had gained an edge in mid-afternoon trade when the index retreated from 5470 back towards 5455. Buyers returned in the final half hour of trade seeing the market close at 5457.

Clinical tests for possible Ebola vaccine to start in September 2014.

Tests on a Canadian man believed to be showing symptoms of the deadly Ebola virus have yielded negative results.

Sellers regained control of the Australian share market for the first time in more than a week on Monday following a recovery for US markets at the weekend. US share markets rebounded sharply after Russia said it had concluded military exercises near the Ukrainian border. The Dow Jones index rose by 185 points or 1.1% with the S&P 500 index up by 1.2% . The ASX 200 started the session with a gain of 38 points and buyers were content for the index to maintain levels of that order for most of the ...

U.S. luxury retail mall chains Nordstrom Inc. and Saks Fifth Avenue are cornering a piece of Canada's prime real estate for expansion, according to a report on The Financial Post.

American investment bank Goldman Sachs added Barrick Gold, the biggest gold mining company in the world, to its Conviction Buy List. Goldman had previously recommended Barrick as a Buy stock.

A research study has suggested that Google trends tool can predict the changes in stock prices based on the search pattern of users.

Only a small proportion of fund managers active in infrastructure and real estate think that AIFMD regulations will have a positive impact on their firm and industry, following a recent survey of over 140 managers active in the asset classes.

The markets have just come off one there worst weeks in two years. The ASX has seen six consecutive days of losses, shedding 208 points from the high at the close of July. The Nikkei has lost 910 points in the last eight trading days, as geopolitical risk sees buyers ducking for cover.

In US economic data, labour costs rose at a 0.6% annual rate in the June quarter while productivity rose by 2.5%. Economists had tipped a 1.4% lift in labour costs and 1.5% rise in productivity. Wholesale inventories rose by 0.3% in June with sales up 0.2%, both short of forecasts.

Telecom giant Telstra opened a data centre at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) that would connect financial centres. The Australian Liquidity Centre (ALC) was built mainly to make available fast and reliable connectivity to other major financial centres.

British Gas's BG Group is bidding out its $3 billion pipeline assets in Queensland, Australia, triggering a renewed competition between Hong Kong's Cheung Kong and the APA Group.

A report has recently circulated that China has banned the use of Apple devices such as iPads and Macbooks in government. The Chinese government has allegedly excluded Apple from its list of authorised products for official use due to security concerns. In a Bloomberg report, government officials who requested not to be identified, said China has discontinued the procurement of ten Apple products. The items have been removed from a list distributed in July.

Amaysim, a budget mobile phone operator in Australia, is challenging Virgin, the fourth top carrier in Australia, by rolling out a new low-cost data plan that offers 5GB for $44.90 a month.

A U.S. portfolio manager claimed New York's property bubble could pop due to a rise in demand, a great deal of foreign transactions (led by the Chinese), and a loophole in the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA), which imposes tax obligations on foreign investors, according to a commentary published on CNBC.

Malaysia Airline System suspended on Friday the trading of the company's shares on the Malaysian Stock Exchange as part of the restructuring plan of the air carrier that was financially hit by two air tragedies in March and July 2014.

There is some link between a surge in Google searches for political and business topics to stock market crashes, according to a study by Warwick Business School.