BUSINESS

With the brand new Fire TV, Amazon is entering the streaming video player market with Google Chromecast, Roku and Apple TV as prime competitors.

A viral video of Russian factory workers kneading cheese while shirtless with a dirty looking production area has logged more than 300,000 hits on YouTube, leading investigators to probe the unhygienic practices in the plant.

One thing that Android users are missing out to Apple users is the premium customer service experience that Apple provides to its customers via Genius Bar Support.

Australia is the top place to be a teenager, according to a study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the International Youth Foundation. The two organisations drew a Global Youth Wellbeing Index that it released this week.

WhatsApp, a mobile messaging platform, has recently experienced a service disruption.

Bloomberg compiled data showing Apple Inc (AAPL) options are the cheapest in more than two years

The Australian sharemarket rose modestly for the third time this week, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) edging 0.1 per cent higher by the close. The XAO finished above the 5400pt mark, helped by the fourth consecutive record close for U.S. markets last night.

Australians who want to fly directly to London have now an option with the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner that kicked off from Royal Brunei Airlines.

‘Plain Packaging’ debate went to ambiguity as Australia refuse to release government data.

A new survey released by the Pew Research Center has revealed that 69 per cent of Americans believe that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol to one's overall health, while 63 per cent believe alcohol was more harmful to society than marijuana.

Russia has implemented a ban against beef imported from Australia which will take effect from next week. Russia claimed the ban was instituted because of growth hormones. Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce belied the allegations.

The Australian sharemarket is treading water ahead of the all-important non-farm payrolls report out later this evening. This is the most important piece of insight into the state of North America's employment market.

In US economic data, the ADP Private Employment report showed job gains of 191,000 for the private sector in March mostly in line with forecasts. The February result was revised up from 139,000 to 178,000. US factory orders jumped 1.6% in February. Shipments of new orders lifted by 0.9% in February - the biggest gain in seven months. However the prior January result was revised to show a larger fall of 1%.

The EUR has crossed below its 50-day moving average for the first time since February, as Mario Draghi and the ECB board uses much grittier and direct language, giving the market a real sense that QE is coming.

A new innovation in medical practice is nearing the finish line in finding a treatment for AIDS and HIV. A small-cap biotechnoogy firm, CytoDyn, is advancing in finding a treatment and prevention of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

Microsoft has recently announced it will make Windows free of charge for phones and tablets with screen size smaller than 9 inches.

Apple Inc.'s stock is still a "Buy" for analysts as Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster remains optimistic in his latest note to the investors.

Microsoft has recently announced Cortana, its very own version of Windows Phone 8.1's personal assistant, touted as the "Siri Killer" in the Developer Conference held in San Francisco.

The Australian sharemarket rose modestly for the third time this week, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) edging 0.1 per cent higher by the close. The XAO finished above the 5400pt mark, helped by the fourth consecutive record close for U.S. markets last night.

The Shareholders Foundation announced a lawsuit against board of directors of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

16-year-old teen might face jail time for April Fool’s Day prank played on Metgasco

The Malaysia Airlines MH370, now a month still missing into oblivion somewhere, will be the focus of a global ministers meeting in Hawaii. The assembly was primarily called to bolster cooperation for humanitarian assistance efforts.

Thanks to hard-earned lessons in 2010, Chile was more than focused and prepared when it got hit again by a massive earthquake four years later in 2014. Commendable and worth emulating by other nations.

The early part of Thursday's trade on the ASX has been marked by a balancing act. On the one hand miners have been a positive influence, although sellers have focussed on the financials. As a result the market has been held to only modest improvements in the hours leading up to lunchtime on the east coast. The ASX 200 peaked with a gain of 15 points in the first hour of trade. Market participation was light with around $1 billion in turnover having changed hands. It could be argued that inves...

BlackBerry is apparently pretty miffed by T-Mobile's Apple iPhone 5S campaign as the Canadian smartphone company now decided to end its U.S. collaboration with the carrier.

Amazon is expected to showcase its band new TV - streaming device at a press conference in New York City this week.

Macro data is back on the table as we look to round out the first week of trading in April. Overnight the ADP non-farm payrolls data was released and showed payrolls in the US were boosted by 191,000 in the month of March, compared with 178,000 in February. This was below the market consensus of 195,000, but on the whole it does show that the US winter issues are melting.

In US economic data, the ADP Private Employment report showed job gains of 191,000 for the private sector in March mostly in line with forecasts. The February result was revised up from 139,000 to 178,000. US factory orders jumped 1.6% in February. Shipments of new orders lifted by 0.9% in February - the biggest gain in seven months. However the prior January result was revised to show a larger fall of 1%.

With the pending shutdown and downsizing of two large multinational employers with facilities in Australia, more Aussie workers would soon lose their jobs, worsening the country's high unemployment rate.