BUSINESS

The Australian market is adding to Wednesday's losses, with a sharp drop in the unemployment rate, subdued Chinese inflation and a positive lead from Wall Street not enough to inspire local markets. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 0.2 per cent, adding to Tuesday's 0.6 per cent slide. After interrupted trade across the region due to holidays, all major markets are trading normally today which is likely to see volumes return to normal.

Various unions in British Columbia have offered assistance to the 41,000-striking public school teachers of the B.C. Teachers Federation (BCTF) province by offering them $8 million in interest-free loans.

There remains little in the way of meaningful data or macro news that would give markets a leg higher, or even lower in the case of the S&P.

Breaking news, the New Zealand Central Bank kept interest rates on hold at 3.50%. The statement following the no change decision suggested that policymakers were assesing conditions before looking to further rate hikes if necessary. The central bank talked down the NZ dollar saying "The exchange rate has yet to materially adjust to lower commodity prices. Its current levels remain unjustified and unsustainable. We expect a further significant depreciation".

A newly launched crowdfunding platform will be focusing on raising funds for non-bank lenders that provide short-term commercial property loans to small individuals and businesses looking at real estate investing, a report on Bloomberg said.

Because of the many perks enjoyed by Google employees, ranging from gourmet food to gym to laundry facilities, some wise workers manage to go around the giant tech firm's policy that no one should live in its office.

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) is open to the invitation by global business process outsourcing (BPO) giant Accenture to offshore IT work to the company's offices in the Philippines. However, ATO assured Australians that the deal, if it would push through, would exclude sending of personal tax information to Manila.

Sellers weren't discerning when it came to a choice off sectors on Wednesday, that largely chose them all , with the exception of the technology group. Apart from that most sectors experienced a solid decline. The economic news of the day only added weight to the selling cause.

The number of people killed by the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa has reached 2,296, the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday, with the tally expected to still increase in the coming days.

The US market's worst session in five weeks set local shares up for a tough start this morning. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 0.7 per cent, completely wiping out Tuesday's 0.5 per cent gains and pushing the index back below the key 5600pt level. US and European markets fell by around 0.5 per cent overnight; however the S&P500 is still outperforming the Australian market by 3.5 per cent this calendar year.

Telcos are riding on the expected consumer frenzy created by the Wednesday launch of Apple's iPhone 6. Telstra is enticing smartphone enthusiast to buy the flagship device from it and get extra credit and download data.

French telco giant Orange is considering a buy-out of Spanish telcos Jazztel and Yoigo if ever these two firms would be placed on the block, said Orange CEO Federico Colom.

Equities retreated further with Apple's much anticipated iPhone 6 failing to inspire investors. Apple unveiled a range of new products but the excitement swiftly waned as the stock was sold off after having enjoyed some good gains. This wouldn't have come as a big surprise as the stock tends to fall following new product launches. Some would probably feel the pullback we are seeing this week has been coming for a while with US equities looking a bit overcooked and as the US dollar rallies ...

In US economic data, weekly chain store sales were up 4.9% on a year ago according the Redbook survey, an unchanged annual growth result on the previous week.

When investing in real estate, it is easy to dismiss some portfolio as high-risk based on the category of property or investment vehicle they belong to, and the market forces that are expected to impact them in the near future. More often than not, what matters is that investors look at each real estate asset from a "local" perspective, a Canadian portfolio manager noted in a Financial Post report.

Local shares improved this afternoon to make up for all yesterday's 0.36% falls. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) closed up 0.4 per cent with the mining sector a standout after a tough three weeks. Traded volume was light for the second day with a number of holidays in the region and a busy tail-end of the week.Australian shares are only 1.2 per cent below the six-year highs hit in mid-August despite a tough week. Stocks in Japan, China and Taiwan managed to rise modestly today while shares in ...

Russia continued to adopt a strong stand against a definitive new round of economic sanctions to be imposed by the European Union. It has even warned that should the body push through with the new list, it will bar western airlines from its airspace effective immediately.

A popular Nigerian pastor and prophet has warned Catholics to pray for Pope Francis as he might get kidnapped soon.

There is tittle to report from overnight trade; the S&P fell from record all-time highs, which is not surprising considering the market is trading at 18.3 times last reported earnings.

The economy of Australia may be in the danger zone, according to a former chief economist of the federal government. China's property crisis has a direct link to Australia's economic performance.

The Australian sharemarket kicked off the trading week in the red, with a record close in US equities on Friday night not enough to boostlocal markets. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) fell by 0.4 per cent and remains below 5600pts. Volume was light with only $3.6bn worth of shares traded. Public holidays in China, South Korea and Taiwan kept markets in the region quiet, with shares in Japan up 0.25 per cent, while New Zealand's NZX50 rose by 0.15 per cent.

Luxury listings curator and real estate company The Corcoran Group, has hired distinguished photographer Annie Leibovitz to photograph its portfolio for a massive ad campaign. The campaign, Live Who You Are, puts emphasis on the joys of homeownership rather than merely investing, at a time when property consumers rely more on big data in their home search endeavors, and agents tout the use of the latest listings technology to make a sale, a new report on The Financial Times said.

The launch of Samsung's new products like the Galaxy Note 4 did not deter analysts from increasing their price target for Apple stock. Apple shares are expected to rise after the company's "Fab Fall" Sept. 9 event.

A few surprises in data and the political world over the weekend have seen futures and currencies falling out of bed this morning.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Holdings starts on Monday, Sept 8, its roadshow for the company's initial public offering (IPO) expected to raise as much as $24 billion, documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday showed. The roadshow kicks off in New York.

Duff beers are said to encourage children and adolescent to grab a bottle.

Until the Federal Aviation Authority releases its final rules on the use of drones, Michigan real estate photographers that use them to collect photos of listings can only marvel at the beauty of their shots and would have to hold out in publishing them online, according to a report on Michigan Live Web site.

Traders are calling the euro the gift that keeps on giving after yet another slide on the back of yesterday's meeting.

In US economic data, the Markit Services Sector PMI eased from 60.8 to 59.5 in July. The US ADP Employment survey showed an increase of 204,000 private sector jobs in August. The US trade deficit narrowed from $40.8 billion to $40.5 billion in July - a six month low. The result was driven by a 0.9% lift in exports to a record high of $198 billion in July.