BUSINESS

To boost trade between the two nations and help reduce currency fluctuations, Australia and South Korea signed on Sunday a 3-year currency swap agreement worth $4.5 billion.

Australia is one of the favourite destinations of rich Asians who have an investment property overseas. A report by global bank HSBC said that over one-third of affluent Asians have purchased properties abroad.

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) remains a favourite stock among billionaires, according to Fortune which created a chart of top ten holdings by billionaire investors based on iBillionaire data. An iOS application, iBillionaire and Web site, iBilliionaire.me, has transformed into an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that offered investors a 30-stock portfolio chosen to mimic the investment strategies of 21 billionaires including George Soros, Warren Buffet and Carl Icahn.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock dips as analyst at Barclays gave downgraded rating on Apple stock

The Australian share market rose for a sixth straight session today, thanks to a strong lead from Wall Street and generally upbeat earnings results.

The Australian sharemarket is higher at lunch for the sixth consecutive trading day and for the 11th time in 12 sessions. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 0.6 per cent, with the miners the start performers. The last time the XAO improved from Monday through to Friday was 14 months ago. Largely positive economic news in the U.S. (relating to jobs and manufacturing) helped lift global markets overnight.

Risk sentiment picked up in US trade after having slumped in Asia yesterday following a disappointing China manufacturing PMI print. Sentiment was also subdued in European trade with a raft of PMIs mostly disappointing and weighing on the single currency.

In US economic data, consumer prices rose by 0.1% in January to be up 1.6% over the year. Analysts had expected prices to rise by 0.1%. US Markit Flash PMI rose from 53.7 to 56.7 in January - its fastest pace in nearly four years. The gains were largely due to a lift in the new orders component which was at its highest level since May 2010. US jobless claims fell by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 336,000 last week.

Origin Energy is waiting for the result of the federal government's review of Australia's 20 per cent renewable energy target launched on Monday. The anticipation is because of the potential impact of the policy on Origin's $900-million Stockyard Hill wind project.

Auckland, New Zealand's financial centre, is the third most liveable city in the world, according to the list released on Thursday by Mercier. Topping the 2014 Quality of Living list are Vienna and Zurich, 1st and 2nd placer, respectively.

The Australian share market ignored a weak finish on Wall Street and disappointing Chinese economic data to make it five wins in a row today.

China is gobbling up more and more of Australia's olive oil produce as the country gets more health-conscious.

Canada has announced on Wednesday the winning bidders of the 700 MHz wireless spectrum auction, which raked in a whopping total of C$5.27 billion ($4.76 billion).

For a second consecutive session local stocks have found the initiative locally in the absence of any offshore inspiration. U.S. stocks ended lower overnight influenced by disappointing housing data and the minutes from the last FOMC meeting.

Royal Dutch Shell is finally disposing its downstream assets in Australia with the reported sale of its Geelong refinery and petrol stations in the country for $2.4 billion. Newspapers identified the buyer as oil trader Vitol and Abu Dhabi Investment Commission.

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd jumped on Wednesday after the Oklahoma City-based oil and natural gas company Devon Energy Corp announced on the same day that the Canadian firm would acquire some of its assets.

Hampton Creek Foods Inc. raised $23 million in an effort to abolish eggs in food items.

Asian markets look set for a modestly weaker open, although if you look at a number of the momentum-focused indicators in Australia, dips should still present themselves as buying opportunities.

In US economic data, producer prices rose by 0.2% in January to be up 1.2% over the year. Analysts had expected prices to rise by 0.1%. US housing starts fell by 16% to an 880k annualised rate - significantly weaker than the 950k consensus, though the volatility was accounted for by the bad weather. Building permits also dropped by 5.4% to 937k.

Apple Inc's head of managers and acquisitions, Adrian Perica, has reportedly met with Tesla Motors founder and CEO Elon Musk at the company's headquarters in 2013. The meeting was rumoured to have taken place around the same time analysts suggested that the Cupertino tech giant should acquire Tesla, the maker of the Model S.

The rumoured Apple iOS 7.1 updates will come with a major overhaul to its Mobile Device Management; Google Translate with iOS 7 support will be free for 24 hours

The ASX 200 acquitted itself well on Wednesday in the face of a mixed picture for regional stocks the index was able to post a fourth consecutive day of gains.

Brand Finance listed Apple Inc as its no. 1 brand among world’s most valuable brands

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock downgraded to ‘Hold’ by Thomson Reuters; other analysts gave ratings

Chinese millionaires sought special investment visas, bringing their money with them to the country.

Local stocks continued to grind higher on Wednesday despite an indifferent lead from US markets overnight. Company results remain the overwhelming focus for local investors.

Chinese millionaires sought special investment visas, bringing their money with them to the country

Frequent Canadian air travelers may soon expect more direct flights between the country and Mexico following an expanded air travel agreement signed on Tuesday. Mexicans flying to Canada, however, still need to apply and secure visas.

US markets returned to trade on a fairly quiet note with the major bourses relatively mixed. Data out of the US was underwhelming to say the least, with the Empire State manufacturing index and the NAHB housing market index sharply disappointing. Weather continues to be blamed for some of the disappointing readings but at some point this could start to weigh on sentiment. The Nikkei had a big day yesterday, rising 3% on the back of the BoJ. USD/JPY spiked to ¥102.75 on the back of the BoJ but ha...