BUSINESS

Two more people have died from the dreaded SARS-like Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the oil-rich nation Saudi Arabia, according to the country's health ministry on Wednesday. The latest deaths now bring to 36 so far the casualties from the fatal disease in the kingdom.

Apple, Microsoft, Samsung and Blackberry are battling it out for M2M supremacy. Handling business and personal data has become important for people, and increasing mobility and convenience of computing device are helping individuals do so. Analysts predict that the era of personal computers is almost over and more compact devices like ultrabooks and tablets will take centre stage.

Markets regained some ground in US trade with event risk ramping up as we approach the business end of the week. Sentiment had remained subdued in European trade with the key issues being Portugal's political issues, Greece's bailout drama and a level of cautiousness ahead of the ECB. In US trade, sentiment picked up on the back of a much better than expected ADP non-farm employment change print. The reading showed 188,000 jobs were created versus estimates of around 161,000. Unemployment ...

Following the trail of a recent immigration bill backed by U.S. President Barack Obama and the Senate, Australia has passed a similar bill that enforces a provision for foreign firms to advertise and prove a need for skilled workers before a visa issued.

By Michael Lombardi, MBA for Profit ConfidentialGold bullion prices are taking a hard hit. Headlines are blaring with negativity, and bears continue to say the precious metal is useless.

FPT is taking advantage of the smartphone development trend. FPT just released the Lenovo S920 – a smartphone featuring a 5.3-inch HD display, quad-core microprocessors, including 1GB of RAM. With the race on smartphone supremacy, can the new Lenovo mobile device beat the likes of Apple’s iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S4?

Oil prices rose to a nine-month high as Asian stocks took a beating and social unrest in Egypt led to uncertain global economic outlook. The sell-off in Asia and Australia ensued after President Mohammed Morsi of Egypt held on to his position despite calls for a resignation. The army had also threatened the President that it would consider the constitution null and void.

In US economic news, ISM non-manufacturing survey eased from 53.7 to 52.2 in June- the lowest level since Feb 2009 and does suggest that momentum in the US economy is slowing. Interestingly the employment sub-index recorded a healthy improvement. The labour market remains the key.

By Jonathan BarrattAs we mentioned at the beginning of the Bulletin, oil prices have taken out significant levels of resistance on the back of concerns in Egypt.

Although some of Australia's numbers are down, such as its currency now trading at U.S. 90 cents, others are improving, particularly its trade data. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Wednesday that the country's balance of trade registered a surplus of $670 million in May, up from $171 million in April. The fourth straight monthly surplus was because exports went up 4 per cent while imports rose only by 2 per cent.

On the eve of Independence Day celebrations in the U.S., Motorola attempted to appeal to the patriotic spirit of Americans by coming out with ads in major dailies hyping the fact that the smartphones made by the tech firm are made in the U.S.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 56 points, or 0.4%, but the S&P closed flat at 1615 and the Nasdaq added 0.

Local stocks saw their best gains in 19 months on Tuesday. That improvement was a distant memory on Wednesday with the index handing back the lion's share of yesterday's gains. It would be convenient to invoke weaker economic news locally and selling for regional markets as some of the factors informing todays selling, although the case would struggle to hold water on that basis alone. What is clear is that the neck wrenching volatility that has characterised recent days has left investors...

Intel's (INTC) Haswell chips have changed the standards for portable computing. They offered incredible improvements, especially in speed and battery efficiency of laptops. The processors doubled their peak floating point throughout but Intel has a knack for bringing for surprising the industry. Their latest Skylake offering is a monster than will blow up standards once more.

Sony is getting serious with its mobile offerings giving the likes of Samsung and Apple a run for their money. Consumer reports from the UK indicate the Sony’s position in the market is improving, and Samsung is paying for that cost.

Retail Shares were down in early trading on Wednesday after reports confirmed a lacklustre 0.1 per cent growth in the sector. In another report indicating the strength of the economy, sales of new homes were up 1.6 percent in May adding to a cumulative increase in the last four months.

The Australian dollar weakens further despite rallying slightly after the nation has posted a fourth consecutive month of trade surplus. On Wednesday, the Australian dollar traded at 91.62 U.S. cents, lower than Tuesday's exchange rate of 91.83 cents. Official data indicates Australia's trade balance last May maintained its positive streak for four months in a row with a surplus worth $670 million.

In early Wednesday trading, Australian shares have suffered losses after the decline of Aussie currency. That combined with a decline in commodity prices has had a negative impact on shares linked to resources. Other global indexes also point to the red.

Japan has rejected Australia's position on whaling, calling it "mistaken." The Asian country told the International Court of Justice in The Hague that "alarmist" Australia is blinded by its "no-compromise, zero-tolerance" anti-whaling views, which it wants to impose on other nations.

Tiger Airways was renamed to Tigerair, signaling a beginning of new era for the budget carrier

The Australian market continues on its bumpy ride this week, with investors not keen to back up yesterday's stellar rise. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 1.8 per cent, with all sectors trading in the red. Despite the big falls, keep in mind that Tuesday was the best day for local shares since October 2011. The miners were the standout performers yesterday, but are slumping most at lunch. Last night, most markets eased despite FOMC President Dudley reaffirming his previous comments that...

The Housing Industry Association (HIA) is disappointed with Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to keep interest rates steady for at least another month. The RBA has recently announced on Tuesday that it can possibly keep cash rates for another month as a weak Australian dollar reduces the need to cut rates.

Emerging news reports say that Chinese authorities have begun an investigation into price fixing deals by manufacturers of imported baby formula.

Microsoft is working on a revolutionary smartphone that is not about speed and better HD display rather; it is focusing on a mobile device that can tell a person’s mood. The smartphone technology not only senses individual moods, but it can also automatically share it over different social networking sites.

Apple Inc has been accused of tax avoidance in the U.S. and other countries and this time, alleged reports have surfaced regarding the company's non-payment of UK taxes during the 2012 fiscal year. According to reports, Apple even had tax credit which can be used in the coming years.

Smartphones running on the Firefox OS are now on sale. Here's a quick assessment of what these phones can do.

The Australian Dollar has remained reasonably steady overnight following some more US Dollar strength for a variety of reasons.

Once more choppy trade is defining the start of the new financial year.The US and Europe both suffered from low volume trading and sporadic price action last night, as both sides of the Atlantic slip into the red for the first time this week.

In US economic news, factory orders rose by 2.1pct in May following a 1.3pct gain in April. The US economic news flow remains pretty decent.