BUSINESS

A new meme is spreading in financial markets: The US Federal Reserve is about to turn off the monetary spigot. US Printmaster General Ben Bernanke announced that he might start reducing the monthly debt monetisation program called 'quantitative easing' (QE) as early as autumn 2013, and maybe stop it entirely by the middle of next year.

In his speech on May 22nd, Chairman Bernanke did the equivalent of playing an ace, standing up and turning around. He gave you a massive hint at one of his rules. But what does that hint mean?

Gold dropped another -$18 an ounce... Mr. Market is working his devious magic... scaring away the Johnny-come-latelies... putting the fear of God into the rest of us.

The 2013 Financial Year could best be summarised by Charles Dickens' immortal opening line in A Tale of Two Cities: 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.'

Australians are in for a treat when it's time to open superannuation statements by the end of the year. Average returns are reported to be at their highest in six years due to a strong market leap in the previous year.

By Peter Switzer, Switzer Super ReportTuesday afternoon I bit the bullet and bought bank shares and gave myself a pat on the back across Wednesday and Thursday when the stock market went up 3.

Google’s lips remained sealed about the next generation Nexus also rumored to be Nexus 7.2 or Nexus 7 2. Speculations are high that Google will be releasing their next best tablet this month or sometime soon. The latest rumor on this tablet comes from an Asus customer representative. Reports indicate the rep dished out some interesting specs about the new Nexus 7.

Samsung Electronics lost a market capitalization value of $25.3 billion in May which is more than the value of Sony Corporation due to the failure of Galaxy S4 to meet expectations. Will this delay the Android 4.2.2 update for the Galaxy S3?

- Spot price down US20c on last week- Down US85c in June- Life emerging in term market- TD securities cuts price forecastsBy Andrew NelsonJune was another difficult month on the uranium spot market, with spot prices falling and staying below US$40/lb.

- Australian Jobs continue to fade- Lower sales higher costs to blame- Businesses expect weak 2014- Jobs losses could mean more rate cuts By Andrew NelsonWhen the rest of the world had a GFC, they also had to endure the GFC jobs market and it wasn't a good one.

From the time Samsung Galaxy Note hit stores, it has set the standards for smartphones and phablets alike. But the market is always full of surprises and some contenders are rising up to the challenge. With the pending release of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, tech giants like Sony are stepping up. The Sony Xperia Z Ultra can put the Note 2 to shame according to announced specs.

Apple’s iPad 4 and the Google Nexus 10 have been leading the pack for tablets in the market. Despite the strong competition, these two managed to carve a niche on their one. But which tablet better suits a consumer? Looking at the pros and cons of both should help decide which tablet is apt for whom.

After the economic repercussions brought by the Fukushima and Miyagi earthquakes, the Japanese economy had its first positive outlook in two years.

Fuel prices in New Zealand increased 4 cents per litre in June due to weakening of the New Zealand dollar and rising prices of commodities. Today, fuel prices rose again by another 3 cents along with the scheduled annual rise of petrol tax.

Intel's chief technology officer Justin Rattner has stepped down from his post because of his age. The company forbids any employer to be beyond 65 working still. Rattner will be on extended leave. Intel did not provide details about his return and to what his return will account for.

Nokia has raised up its stake at the mobile broadband industry as it purchased the remaining stake of Siemens in their joint partnership for 1.7 billion euros.

Due to consumers' perception that the Galaxy S4 is not much different from previous smartphones released by the South Korean tech giant, Samsung sales are on a downward trend.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 65 points or 0.4% while the S&P gained 0.5% to 1614 and the Nasdaq added 0.

Sellers returned from the weekend a little bolder. The result was that the market was in steady decline for much of the day. The main catalyst for the selling was the weaker manufacturing data out of China. This data point served to remind investors of the weight of economic news which will be released both locally and elsewhere over coming days, culminating with the US Jobs report on Friday evening local time. Investors will continue to calibrate their expectations of the Fed's retreat from ...

Google (GOOG) decided to turn off their Google Reader for good. The product previously helped people go through feeds from multiple sites in a snap. Reader compiles RSS feeds and delivers them according to the preferences of the users. Apparently, Google thought their Reader “was not good enough” and decided to kill the application once and for all.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 gets a $100 off from eBay with free shipment. The device cost $299.99 only with manufacturer's refurbished model and 16GB internal storage.

Several Myanmar nationals, particularly the religious and its supporters, express their criticism regarding their country's national mobile phone deal with a Qatar-based firm.

Saudi Arabia, determined to control the possible spread of the fatal Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) to the other global nations, has imposed a 15-day limit observance of the Umrah pilgrimage.

A new report indicates that Samsung is working on IPS LCD screen panel besides the traditional OLED display for the upcoming Galaxy Note 3. The Korean tech giant is being linked to two Japanese companies to implement new display panels for the phablet device and one of them is Sharp.

Imagine a kid driving a Corvette around neighborhood – it will definitely make heads turn. The 2014 Corvette Replica can make any kid the envy of the entire neighborhood and all for a friendly price of $275.

Investors seem to be kicking off the financial year with a sour taste in their mouths. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down by 1.6 per cent at lunch. The banks are the biggest culprits when it comes to the losses, with the big four down by as much as 2.9 per cent.

Off The Forex Desk from PhillipCapitalEconomic News & ReleasesUS markets closed the Financial year on a negative tone with the Dow falling 115 points or 0.

'U.S. stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (SPX) higher for a second day, as China's cash crunch eased and slower-than-forecast economic growth fueled speculation the Federal Reserve will maintain stimulus.' - Bloomberg News

How quickly it all turns from gloom and doom to rainbows and bunny-rabbits. Well it's not quite that rosy, but the last couple of days have been a little more positive in markets. That makes us happy, and if you're a politician, you'll likely attribute it to something you think you've done well.