BUSINESS

Australian hotel industry enjoys a favourable year according to the recently published Hotel Price Index from Hotels.com

Paul Leroux at QNX confirmed that Apple Inc.’s CarPlay runs on BlackBerry’s QNX

The royal visit to New Zealand by the trio family of Prince William, Kate and baby Prince George will cost taxpayers a whopping $1 million per day, no less than Prime Minister John Key announced. He was quick to defend however the "tremendous international coverage" the Kiwi country will get in exchange.

The Australian sharemarket is up by 0.6 per cent, thanks to easing concerns (for now) relating to an Eastern European conflict. U.S markets surged by 1.5 per cent while major European stocks jumped by as much as 3.5 per cent overnight. President Putin ordered troops near the Ukrainian border to return to their bases. As expected, this resulted in an outflow of money from 'safe haven' assets such as gold, the greenback and U.S. treasuries. Around a quarter of Europe's oil and gas supplie...

Nepal is again bracing for an influx of visitors wanting to trek up the challenging Mount Everest this spring, with an equal amount of potential thrash going to be left behind by the so-called nature lovers and protectors. To counter this, Nepal authorities on Monday announced adventurous climbers will now be required to bring eight kilograms (18 pounds) of thrash when they come down.

The beginning of the annual National People Congress in Beijing today will be the first major forum since announcing some of the largest policy changes in three decades at the Third Plenum in late October last year.

In US economic data, the ISM New York index rose from 622.6 to 626.1 in February. The IBD economic optimism index rose from 44.9 to 45.1 in March. And chain store sales fell 1.3% in the latest week to stand 2.7% higher than a year ago.

Among the Canadian provinces and territories, Alberta is the most attractive jurisdiction for mining investment in the province, the annual global survey of mining executives said.

Most of the world's billionaires get only richer by the day. The only thing that changes is often their ranking on the rich list compiled by publications like Fortune and BRW.

Apple Inc shares are expected to be bullish following the latest IDC smartphone forecasts. In the recently concluded Apple annual shareholders meeting, CEO Tim Cook revealed that the company has sold more than $1 billion worth of Apple TV set-top boxes in 2013.

A recent research from Gartner showed that iPad fumbled in Worldwide Tablet Sales

Chinese state-owned company Beijing Capital Group has agreed to purchase Transpacific New Zealand waste management firm for $NZ950 million ($890 million), in a move seen to help fight off China's burgeoning chronic pollution as it gets to acquire new technology from the Kiwi company.

Apple Inc. is wasting untold amounts of shareholder’s money—Justin Danhof (NCPPR)

The Australian share market has started the new trading month in the red, dragged down by weakness in financial and mining players. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) closed lower by 18 points or 0.3 per cent today, after rising four per cent in February.

While Apple CEO Tim Cook may just be silently taking blows against the company and its profits, he apparently won't take it just seating down when critics pick on Apple's contributions to help save the environment and ease climate change and global warming.

The ASX 200 traded lower at the open thanks to the combination of stocks going ex-dividend and the defensive tone inspired by developments in the Ukraine. The market continued to trade lower over the course of the morning with few signs of consolidation. As lunchtime approached the index was still making new lows with a loss of 1.1% or 62 points.

Health authorities in New Zealand are warning Kiwis of a possible dengue outbreak following the spate of the disease in Fiji which has already killed three people in the island nation in the South Pacific Ocean. Fiji hospitals have been reported to be swamped with more than 2,000 cases.

Lucky drivers in Calgary, Alberta in Canada. An app informed them about a looming gas price adjustment, essentially empowering them at the right time on Thursday to manage the situation, their gas supplies as well as their expenses.

Markets have a lot to digest this morning; a geopolitical crisis in Ukraine, China's PMI index beating expectations (which was a surprise) and the start of central bank week. But the biggest talking point is the developments out of Crimea.

In US economic data, preliminary figures showed the US economy grew at a 2.4% annual rate in the December quarter, just short of forecasts but down from the 3.2% ´´flash´´ reading. Consumer sentiment rose from 81.2 to 81.6 in February. Pending home sales rose by 0.1% in January. And the Chicago purchasing managers index rose from 59.6 to 59.8 in February.

Qantas continues to suffer from turbulence, not only because of the $252 million first-half loss reported on Thursday and the looming job cuts of 5,000 spread over three years. The threat of being unemployed had angered the unions that are now threatening to strike which could further cripple the financially ailing air carrier. To add fuel to the raging labour fire, Qantas is shouldering the $4 million bill of flying the cast and crew of American TV show Modern Family which is shooting a one-off...

Australia is expecting higher export of live sheep and cattle after the Bahrain market reopened over the weekend, while major blocks to resuming live animal trade with Iran has been removed.

Apple Inc shares gained 1.4 per cent to close at $524.47, making its total gain based on month-to-date figures to 4.8 per cent. According to analysts, they are optimistic about Apple Inc shares before the closing bell on the last day of February which will also mark the day Apple is set to hold its annual shareholder meeting.

The Australian share market closed modestly lower today, and shed 0.6 per cent over the course of what was a very busy week on the corporate reporting calendar.

Fortune has once again listed Apple Inc. as number 1 World’s Most Admired Company

New Zealand's flag carrier is expecting higher earnings for the year ending June as its first quarter 2014 profits lifted 40 per cent to NZ$140 million from a year ago.

Having sagged in Thursday's session there was a little more vitality in the opening part of trade on Friday although that experience was short lived. The 30 point improvement seen at the outset was quashed rather quickly as the index quickly returned to the levels of the close last evening.

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is losing institutional investors, and it's the only company that is currently in a 5-year-low based on stock ownership figures by banks, mutual funds, hedge funds and other major financial institutions.

Equities edged higher with the S&P managing to close at a fresh record high as a better-than-expected core durable goods reading and comments by Fed chair Janet Yellen lifted sentiment. However, unemployment claims came in worse than expected and Yellen suggested the recent weakness in data could be largely weather related, but further assessment over the next few weeks will be needed to provide clarity on the matter. Until then, tapering is likely to remain on course at $10 billion a month. The...