BUSINESS

The Australian sharemarket was in the red for most of the day, only to surge in late trade. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose by 0.17 per cent, with only the mining, telco and utility sectors finishing lower.

On top of its heavy losses in its international operations, Australian flag carrier Qantas suffered turbulence on Thursday when Moody's downgraded the air carrier's rating to junk.

A new research from the University of Washington has revealed baby talking to infants can help them learn to talk faster and learn language skills earlier.

By end of 2014, China will no longer tolerate smoking in public places and the ban will be strictly imposed nationwide.

New Zealand's Fonterra Co-operative Group has lost its supply contract with French food company Danone over the milk powder contamination scare in late 2013. Danone will likewise slap appropriate legal action against the Kiwi company for NZ$492.9 million compensation.

Sellers remain in control of the ASX 200 on Thursday, finding traction as the US jobs report wheels into sharper focus following the developments in the last 24 hours.

At least one person has died in Canada from the fatal H5N1 avian influenza infection, the first ever also from the entire North America. The victim succumbed to the disease after recently travelling to Beijing, China in December 2013.

The FOMC minutes were the main event of the overnight session and really didn't bring too many surprises. With most Fed members supporting the decision to taper as the economic benefits of the program have diminished, the conversation has switched to whether we'll see a more deterministic path to winding back on asset purchases.

In US economic news, the ADP National Employment Report showed the private sector added 238,000 jobs in December - the fastest pace in 13 months. Analysts are looking for around 200,000 jobs to be added on Friday´s non-farm payrolls number.

The Australian live cattle export industry to Indonesia is expected to receive a boost in 2014, resulting in over 70 per cent increase of volume. It would reverse the large cuts made Jakarta the past few years in retaliation for the expose of mistreatment of the animal before slaughter and to reduce heavy reliance on imported Australian meat.

EyeLock, an advanced iris based identity management technology solutions company, recently introduced the new Myris iris scanners for security in consumer devices. It is a revolutionary technology that will elevate the current biometrics identification and security systems to a whole new level. And, what's great is that it will be made accessible to regular people, not just a chosen few.

BMW, the German automobile, engine and motorcycle manufacturer, has just unveiled a self-driving and drifting car at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Apple Inc continues to enjoy an increasing market share in the United States based on comScore's latest survey. The analytics firm reported that Apple has a 41.2 per cent market share as the leading Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) manufacturer in the U.S. from Sept. to Nov. 2013. The figure is a 0.5 per cent increase from its previous market share in the August quarter of 2013.

Intel Corp. has officially announced that it will drop the McAfee name from its products and change it to "Intel Security." The said announcement was made at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2014 on Monday, Jan. 6, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. John McAfee, the founder of McAfee, Inc., is reportedly glad about Intel's plans of taking out his name from the company's popular security software.

The local market failed at its attempt to recover this afternoon despite improving from the lows hit just before midday. The All Ords (XAO) finished largely flat after three days of losses, with the index slipping by a few points.

The deadly H1N1 strain of Influenza A has continued to spread to other parts in Canada, with the number of deaths likewise growing each day. The fatal strain has reached the province of Quebec. The threatening situation has prompted one Canadian regional hospital to revive its alert controls which it last used and implemented from the days of the SARS pandemic.

Wednesday's trading session is panning out in similar fashion to Tuesday, with the Australian market fading after a strong start. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down by close to 0.2 per cent, with the miners once again the worst performers.

Until recently, news from China about its environmental concerns and problems were highly censored. But because it can no longer literally put a lid to control its spreading and unmanageable air pollution, China has admitted the smog haze situation in the country has already claimed thousands of lives.

Europe and the US finally shook off the holiday hangover overnight as a risk rally took shape on strong German employment gains and stellar US trade balance.

In US economic news, the US trade deficit narrowed by 12.9% to $34.3 billion - the smallest deficit in four years. Exports lifted by 0.9% to a record high $194.9 billion, largely driven by a record lift in petroleum exports. Imports fell by 1.4%.

Will Shell exit the petrol retail business? That is the speculation circulating in business circles amid talks that the oil and gas giant plans to sell its 900 petrol stations in Australia as well as the Geelong refinery.

For decades, New Zealand had stood under the long shadow of Australia, the economic power of Oceania. However, economists said it is Wellington's turn to shine in 2014 and upstage not only Canberra but other developed markets in terms of economic expansion.

Apple Inc has vowed to hire more women as executives and consider people from minority groups as board candidates. Although the company has not made an official statement on the matter, Apple has decided to change its bylaws to allow more diversity in its board of directors.

The Australian sharemarket failed to hold onto gains of as much as 0.35 per cent today, only to fade in the final hour of trade. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) lost 0.2 per cent, slipping for the third day, with the mining sector bearing the brunt of the selling.

Normally, whenever popular tech Web site ZDNET draws its top 10 list of devices - whether it's smartphones or tablets - the same brands dominate the list such as Apple, Samsung, HTC, Google and Sony. However, for its review of the top 10 Android tablets for January 2014, there is a new kid on the block - the EVGA Tegra Note 7 - Nvidia forays into the tablet market.

The Australian share market is flat at lunchtime in the East, despite a positive start.

One of the most anticipated events of the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2014 will be the moment when Corning Inc., the leading specialty glass and ceramics company in the world, unveils the world's first antimicrobial Gorilla Glass in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to Corning, it is the first antimicrobial cover glass to be registered with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It infuses ionic silver into the surface of the glass for continuous antimicrobial protection.

The fatal Influenza A (H1N1) virus, which became pandemic in 2009-2010 with at least 18,138 global deaths, has staged a comeback in the U.S. Should the world worry?

24 hours of global weakness have many talking about what to expect in 2014 after fairly universal disappointments from the world's service PMI reads.