BUSINESS

Indifferent data overnight has done little to quell the divided talk from the Fed about the way it is likely to deal with monetary stimulus over the coming year.

In US economic news, the ISM non-manufacturing index rose by 1 point to 54.0 in January, slightly ahead of expectations. The employment sub-index lifted to 56.4 - a new high since November 2010, and suggested healthy jobs growth in the services sector.

Australian Federal Court judge Michelle Gordon favoured on Wednesday bank customers who lodged a class action lawsuit against ANZ over excessive charges on late payment fees for credit cards.

Apple Inc's iOS platform share continues to grow in the United States while Android is showing a slight decline. Based on comScore data, Apple gained 1.2 per cent in three months with a total platform market share of 41.8 per cent. Google's Android OS lost 0.3 per cent in the same period with a total market share of 51.5 per cent.

Satya Nadella, the 22-year Microsoft veteran, has been declared as the CEO of Microsoft.

Despite a firmer start this morning, the Australian sharemarket has finished 0.5 per cent lower; adding to yesterday's 1.7 per cent slump (worst day in seven months). Since the start of this week, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) has lost 2.3 per cent, the worst week for local stocks since the start of December.

Effective May 5, 2014, Virgin Atlantic will no longer be servicing the Sydney-Hong Kong daily service routes as part of cost-cutting plans to keep the company afloat.

Analysts from UBS looks at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) as not being ripe for growth but remains a good stock nonetheless.

Conditions for global markets have improved in the last day following steep declines in the preceding session. Markets were initially spooked by weaker economic news from the US. This outcome antagonised sensitivities around Q.E, driven by concerns that the Fed is acting too quickly in relation to its tapering policy.

Good news for Canadian jobseekers. At least 7,500 jobs will be made available as Walmart announced on Tuesday it plans to spend C$500 million over the next year to add 35 more supercenter stores.

Bill Gates quits Microsoft and takes new role as Microsoft names Satya Nadella new chief executive

The slide we've been seeing in equities finally came to a halt with a recovery in emerging market currencies helping sentiment along. Good gains for the TRY and ZAR helped sentiment with Merkel saying Turkey's talks to join the EU can proceed. There was also some Fed commentary with Lacker saying he expects tapering to continue at upcoming meetings, and Evans suggesting the Fed will not deviate from its tapering course.

In US economic news, factory orders fell by 1.5% in December after rising by 1.5% November. The weakness was largely driven by a 9.7% decline in new orders for transportation. In fact factory orders excluding transportation lifted by 0.2%.

The Fin Wearable Ring Transmitter is the latest wearable technology that enables palms to be used as a digital touch interface and numeric keypad. It is different from the other wearable gadgets that are mostly worn on the wrist as smartwatches. It is a gesture-based gadget that is best worn on the thumb. Read on to learn more about this amazing technology!

As Apple Inc commemorated 30 years of Macintosh in January, rumours had begun to spread that the company will release a Super Bowl ad which is reminiscent of the desktop computer's 1984 commercial. Apple might use the Super Bowl again to pay homage to its famous desktop computer. While Apple Inc did not show the ad in honor of Macintosh at the Super Bowl, the company chose to post a new commercial on its YouTube channel and called it "1.24.14."

The Australian sharemarket slumped by 1.7 per cent, having its worst day in seven months and closing at a 1.5 month low. All sectors finished in the red following a 2 per cent slump in U.S. equities fuelled by disappointing manufacturing data.

Telsytes survey finds that Australians are the quickest subscribers to switch from one provider to another.

U.S. researchers will be fishing California fish kelp off the waters of Malibu to test and determine the levels of radiation they have received from the radioactive material spewed into the ocean waters by the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The Australian share market has followed Wall Street's downbeat lead and is lower by 1.3 per cent at lunchtime in the East.

Prime Minister John Key has calendared the month of March to discuss with his top leaders the need to hold a referendum to change the country's flag. He wants a black flag with a silver fern on it. But Kiwis all over it seemed are divided over the topic.

Canada's Quebec have enough heavy rare earths minerals to spur the demand for electric cars in the future, a study made by the KPMG-SECOR commissioned by Matamec Explorations Inc. and Toyotsu Rare Earth Canada (TRECan) had revealed recently.

Barbie dolls often receive bad rap when it comes to positive body image influences for little girls. With its impossibly thin build, the buxom doll simply has unrealistic body proportions. According to Barbie makers, the iconic toy’s design isn’t meant to be a realistic one. Her controversial disproportionate measurements are apparently a practical choice.

The only word to describe the trading on the US market overnight is brutal.

In US economic news, the ISM manufacturing index fell from 56.5 to an 8-month low of 51.3 in January, short of forecasts for a result near 56.0. Construction spending rose by 0.1% in December, close to forecasts.

Kremlin officials said on Monday that Russia is working to have a free trade deal with New Zealand by the yearend. The agreement would include Belarus and Kazakhstan, the New Zealand Herald reported.

In the Land Down Under, Westpac, Australia New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and the National Bank of Australia (NAB) are collectively known as the Big 4 because they dominate the country's banking system. But side-by-side with global banks, the 4 lenders are just the Small 4.

Apple Inc shares declined 8.24 per cent after the opening bell on Feb 2 as investors continue to be disappointed of the company's smaller than expected iPhone sales last Q1 FY 2014. Apple's Q2 guidance also did not meet investor and analyst expectations.

Maleny Dairies has issued a recall of its three milk products due to a possible contamination with E.coli bacteria in Queensland, Australia. According to Queensland Health, Maleny Dairies will be pulling out three of its products from Coles, Woolworths, IGA and other stores.

Optus, a telecommunications company in Australia won a five-year satellite and broadband contract with NBN Co., a corporation owned by the Australian government who is assigned to design, build and operate the National Broadband Network (NBN) in Australia. The said deal between the two Australian companies was announced by NBN Co. on Monday, Feb. 3, 2014. Optus reportedly won the NBN Co. contract after a competitive tender process.