BUSINESS

As expected by nine out of 10 forecasters, the Reserve Bank (RBA) decided to cut interest rates by 25 bps to 2.5 per cent today. This makes it the very first rate cut by the central bank during an official election campaign period.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut interest rates to a record low of 2.5 per cent during its board meeting for the month of August. The latest interest rate cut is the first since the Reserve Bank has declared a 25-point cut in May 2013 when the Australian dollar was above parity with the U.S. dollar. This is also the second time interest rates have been cut in an ongoing election campaign.

IT outsourcing firm Infosys has been accused of discrimination against "stupid Americans" and is currently facing a class-action lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed by VMware specialist Brenda Koehler in the U.S. District Court in Eastern Wisconsin who claimed that Infosys has been abusing the visa system and actively discriminates against hiring American workers for staff positions.

The Australian share market is flat in the early session, following a mixed session on US and European markets and as investors tread water ahead of this afternoon's rate decision.

By Greg PeelPost the Fukushima fallout, it seemed for a while that US$50/lb was a line in the sand below which utilities were happy to pick up "cheap" supply.

A tech Web site, Slashgear, released on Monday a leaked photo of the HTC One Max. The device features a 2,3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor, the same processor found in the Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A.

Microsoft is cutting the price of its Surface Pro tablets by $100 for both the 128GB and 64GB versions. The price reduction will run only until Aug 29 and will be applicable only in the U.S., Canada, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Nutricia, the manufacturer of infant formula Karicare, widened its recall of two types of formula amid growing fear of contaminated whey from Fonterra's Waikato plant causing botulism.

The bitter family feud over money that has divided Australia's richest person, Gina Rinehart, and two of her estranged adult children could finally end soon.Ms Rinehart, through her lawyer David Russell, told the New South Wales Supreme Court that she has written to the two children and offered to appoint a co-trustee in the trust fund set up by her father Lang Hancock.

- Business confidence stabilising- Profit expectations stronger for Q4- Investment, hiring off agenda- More promising after electionBy Greg PeelHistory suggests that aside from perhaps some initial volatility, there is little correlation between stock market performance and which political party is ...

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 46 points or 0.3% while the S&P lost 0.2% to 1707 as the Nasdaq rose 0.1%.The RBA will meet today and as far as anyone is concerned will cut the cash rate to 2.

For some time market commentators have spoken about the importance of the upcoming federal election as a market catalyst. However, on Monday it was hard to distinguish the impact of the news at the weekend that the country will go to the polls in September.

“Bang with friends” is a casual sex app which allows users to connect with people on their friends list in facebook for casual sex. In a three step process the users are asked to get the bang with friends app and choose the friends they are interested in, if the friend is also interested, an email is sent to both parties indicating a positive interest and the rest is up to the users as to when and where to meet.

Fonterra Chief Executive Theo Spierings apologised on Monday to Chinese consumers in a media conference for the contaminated milk powder from its Waikato factory that reached China.

The Australian sharemarket is slipping by 0.3 per cent after 2.5 hours of trade, with the miners and consumer discretionaries the only improvers. Despite today's modest pullback, local stocks have risen by 8 per cent in just six weeks, while the ASX200 has had its longest winning streak since late January.

If the riches of the drug trade tempt you, leave them behind and do this: find a way to get quality milk powder to Chinese mothers. You'll find a hungry market of worried parents with cash in hand - wads of the stuff.

Another day of piddly trading, with piddly losses for both stocks and gold. So let's turn back to our thoughts.

The market has called Bernanke's bluff. The melt-up is on. After spending the past few months trying to convince the market that the US economy is improving, putting an end to QE and zero interest rates, the market isn't buying it.

NEW claims for US unemployment insurance benefits unexpectedly dropped to a five-year low. The number of applications dropped from 345,000 to 326,000 for the week ending July 27. The reading was the lowest since January 19, 2008, when claims stood at 321,000 amid the financial crisis. Analysts on average had expected a slight rise to 345,000 claims from the unrevised prior week's figure of 343,000.

Well, there's 10 minutes of our life we're not getting back. This morning, out of begrudging necessity rather than desire, we read the latest statement on monetary policy from the Federal Reserve.

Terrafugia the carplane or popularly known as the flying car finally takes flight leaving Industry Leaders in an Awe. The Flying Car's first public demonstration took place in the afternoon air show on the first day of EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

We presume the rich are always equally greedy - just like the poor. And we note that the total volume of regulation actually increased during the period under review. Just look at the tax code...or SEC rules. There are far more rules now than there were in 1950.

First came the denials, then - finally - the admission that, yes indeed, some of GlaxoSmithKline's senior Chinese executives broke the law in a $484.8 million cash and sexual favors scandal.

A recent article published in Health Magazine revealed some common restaurant mistakes that healthy people on a diet might make unconsciously, impeding their quest for weight loss. Listed here are 5 of the most common mistakes healthy people make.

Due to the botulism scare that rocked the New Zealand dairy industry, the Fonterra Shareholders' Fund units fell to its lowest level in 2013. Other dairy companies in New Zealand also saw a drop in units amid investor concerns that earnings will take a tumble due to the recent whey protein bacterial contamination. The New Zealand dollar also took a tumble as currency investors reacted to the ongoing uncertainty.

All eyes are on New Zealand's Fonterra, following the weekend recall of infant milk products and sports drink due to the discovery of contamination of whey used in the manufacture of these two items. The bacteria found could lead to botulism, which could be fatal.

As part of the cost-cutting measures initiated by the Bank of Cyprus, 1,370 employees volunteered to take part in its retirement programme. The number represents about 25 per cent of the bank's workforce.

By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck, Editor FNArenaWhile appearing on Sky Business this morning with hosts Brooke Corte and Carson Scott, the discussion made a sidestep into the threat of more capital raisings following the surprise announcement by Paladin Energy ((PDN)).

In a classic example of online duping, a 21-year-old woman from Brisbane was scammed of $1,200 when she ordered online for two iPhones, but got instead two edible Apple fruits.