BUSINESS

In US economic data, the weekly Economic Cycle Research Institute index eased from 133.8 to 132.9 but was up 2.3% over the year compared with a 2.1% annual gain in the previous week.

Mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) finds the current climate change policy debate too idealistic and over focused on renewable energy. Rio Energy Division Chief Harry Kenyon-Slaney is pushing instead for the Australian government to place more investment in clean technologies such as carbon capture and storage.

Apple App Store has a Starbucks mobile app with virtual tipping option. Starbucks 3.0 brings in a visual re-design which follows Apple's flat iOS 7 visual aspect with a clean user interface. The app uses a "Helvetica Neue" font and there is no skeuomorphic graphics to make the app look cluttered and overdone, reports Apple Insider.

Samsung introduced a series of exclusive curved TVs with 4K (a.k.a Ultra HD or UHD) resolution. The company also furnished the official pricing (well in advance) for some of its 2014 TV models. Notably, most of them were premised at CES 2014 in January.

Apple Inc. has been making slight modifications to its current iPhone and iPad product lines with new and cheaper alternatives for emerging markets.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is still at number one in UBS Quality Growth at a Reasonable Price List (Q-GARP) of stocks to buy

The Australian share market recovered somewhat from yesterday's sell-off during Friday's trade following a rebound on Wall Street and strong gains from mining and energy players.

Australia's richest woman Gina Rinehart has secured a $7.2 billion debt deal for the Roy Hill iron ore mine project in West Australia's Pilbara region.

The Australian sharemarket is edging higher at lunch, following a hefty 1.12 per cent slump recorded on Thursday. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 0.34 per cent, with mining stocks the biggest contributors to today's strength. U.S. stocks improved by 0.7 per cent overnight.

As commentators continue to debate the fall-out from Yellen's first run as chair after quantifying 'a considerable amount of time' as around six months. The markets have moved on from the press conference by completely erasing all losses from her speech.

In US economic data, new claims for unemployment insurance rose by 5,000 to 320,000 in the latest week. Existing home sales fell by 0.4% to 4.60 million in February, as expected. The leading index rose by 0.5% in February, above forecasts for a 0.2% gain. And the Philadelphia Federal Reserve index rose from minus 6.3 points to +9.0 in March, above forecasts for a result near +3.8 points.

In yet another example of the continuous widening gap between executive pay and rank-and-file compensation, Sears Canada almost doubled the salaries of their top executives in 2013 while laying off about 2,000 employees.

Telecom giant Vodafone will cut the roaming charges for its pre- and post-paid subscribers to $1 per megabyte for a one-minute call. The new rate, which takes effect on March 23, would cut the 20 different call rates of Vodafone covering 200 different countries.

The fallout of the global financial crisis is far from over as the latest report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development revealed high unemployment rates and low income have led to the worsening socioeconomic conditions in several countries, including Australia.

Local stocks fell for the second time this week, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 1.1 per cent. No sectors escaped the selling by the close of trade, with losses between 0.2 per cent and 2 per cent recorded across the market. The mining sector was the biggest drag, slumping by 2.03 per cent. Australia's four largest miners - BHP Billiton (BHP), Rio Tinto (RIO), Newcrest Mining (NCM) and Fortescue Metals (FMG) wiped out 11.8 pts from the All Ordinaries Index (which fell by 60 pts today...

New Zealand's economy grew 0.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2013 which indicates the programs of the government are working, according to Finance Minister Bill English. New figures released on March 19 showed that the country's GDP had increased to 0.9 per cent in December which total growth in a year to 3.1 per cent. Compared to the same quarter in 2012 which had an annual average growth of 2.7 per cent, New Zealand's GDP was 3.1per cent higher in the recent December quarter in 20...

A defect in the water filtering system at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant had forced operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) to suspend yet again its decontamination process at the facility.

A recent report from ISS claims that CEOs of Australia’s top companies are misleading shareholders

The Australian sharemarket is losing ground for the second day this week and is trading at a one-month low. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 0.9 per cent, with only the defensive utilities managing to rise modestly.

Janet Yellen's first address as chair seems to be going smoothly. As expected, the Fed continued to taper its asset purchases program by moving the monthly rate by any other $10 billion to $55 billion from $65 billion a month, split evenly between treasuries and mortgage-backed securities.

The US FOMC meeting resulted in the Fed reducing monthly asset purchases from $65 billion to $55 billion. The minutes suggested a shift in forward guidance. The Fed dropped its promise to hold rates steady ´´well past the time´´ the US unemployment rate falls below 6.5% and will look to use a wide range of measures in deciding when to raise rates. The Fed´s assessment of the recent US economic weakness was chalked up to adverse weather conditions. The US Current account deficit narrowed from $96....

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) is taking part in a global international investigation into foreign exchange rate riggings said to be as serious as the 2012 Libor rate scandal.

A report claiming iPhones will have bigger screen could add over $3 in EPS in the second half of the year. This was published by Brian Marshall, an ISI Apple analyst.

Russian billionaire sold shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL:US) as Apple tops Billion Dollar Brands list

The Australian share market has closed slightly firmer today, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) adding 12.8 points or 0.2 per cent by close to 5373 points. The market had a volatile session, with the All Ords being down to 5351 points at one time, despite positive offshore gains.

New Zealand has signed a currency exchange deal with China on the first day of Prime Minister John Key's arrival in the world's second largest economy. Together with China's Premier Li Kequiang, Mr Key announced the launch of direct trading between New Zealand's dollar and China's renminbi in the Chinese onshore market.

Australian dairy milk company, Oz Dairy, was accused of tampering expiry dates on cans of baby formulas

The Australian sharemarket is modestly higher at lunch, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up by 0.1 per cent. Investors are remaining on the sidelines as the U.S. central bank is halfway through its two-day monthly meeting. Global sharemarkets surged overnight as Russian President Vladimir Putin said he has no plans to seize other areas of Ukraine.

Residents of Kuda Huvadhoo in Dhaalu Atoll, a remote island in Maldives, have claimed seeing a "low flying jumbo jet" white aircraft with "red stripes" fly across the island on the morning the Malaysia Airlines MH370 was first reported missing.