BUSINESS

'When will America's economy finally stop limping along?' asks Steve Hargreaves for CNN Money. Next year, 2014, he says with a degree of confidence we find puzzling at best.

As the fires devouring the forests in Sumatra island continued to burn, the number of visits to medical institutions in both smog-embattled Singapore and Malaysia, Indonesia's next door neighbors, have likewise escalated.

Acer is gearing up for the release of Apple’s iPad Mini 2. To compete against Apple’s latest tablet offering, Acer just revealed their Iconia W3. It is an 8.1-inch tablet that will go head to head not just with the iPad Mini 2 but with other 8-inch tablets soon to hit stores in the third quarter.

Lenovo is boosting its line of products especially their touch series with the new Lenovo Miix. Apart from their group of touch-enabled laptops running on Windows 8, Lenovo introduces a slimmer and more portable version through the Miix.

- Echo counters Crown's Barangaroo proposal- Brokers impressed with scope- Return potential under questionBy Greg PeelEcho Entertainment ((EGP)) has found itself caught between a rock and a hard place.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 100 points, or 0.7%, while the S&P jumped 1.0% to 1588 and the Nasdaq added 0.

iPad Mini was successful in its own turf. The small display but similar capacities to the standard tablet or laptop make it a runaway success for most face offs. It is also the main driving factor behind tech companies shifting their attention to 8-inch tablets. With the pending release of the iPad Mini 2, companies like Asus, Acer and Samsung are gearing up to boost their 8-inch lineups and compete.

Regional markets remained under pressure on Tuesday as participants remain ill at ease with the conversation between Chinese lenders and the PBoC. The central bank is maintaining its hard line approach by being slow to add liquidity to its system, which in turn has seen short term interest rates remain at elevated levels. The main thrust of the PBoC stance is curtailing lending activity as a way of taking the heat out of the housing market. This initiative however is put the stability of the fin...

Microsoft is planning to bring a number Xbox and Windows games to the iPhone and Android OS later this year. Through the partnership with Klab Inc., Microsoft can both over its games to the two largest mobile platform.

Ford Motor Company has conducted experimental tests for new communicative technology, named 'Electronic Brake Light', aimed at mitigating or preventing rear-end collisions in heavy traffic or around blind corners.

The 2014 Mercedes-Benz C-Class continues to gradually reveal itself with spy photographers this time getting good shots of the new sedan's grille and front end.

Seventy Holden vehicles were cut and crushed in Canberra this weekend at a road rescue training event hosted by the Australasian Road Rescue Organisation (ARRO).

That frustrating search for a free space in your local shopping centre car park could become a thing of the past after Volvo revealed a concept vehicle that will perform the task without a driver.

As a road car, the Mini Cooper JCW GP makes a great track weapon.

The Australian share market is clawing back ground after a day of selling across the Asian region, and weakness in European and US share markets overnight.

The weakening value of the Australian dollar would mean that motorists would pay more than $1.50 per litre of petrol within two weeks after the local currency declined 0.7 per cent to its lowest level since September 2010.

The average pay of top bankers in the United States and Europe fell by 10 percent in 2012, according to a report by the Financial Times, after a series of high-profile revolts and legal scandals forced banks to place caps on executive remuneration.

When you're younger, your limited life experiences tend to cloud your judgement. At eighteen you know everything (at least if you're male).

Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 is famous for delivering vastly improved graphics, voice commands ability without hurting battery life, faster than its predecessors and use of LTE Advance technology. Both Samsung Galaxy S4 and Sony Xperia Z are rumoured to be working on running Snapdragon 800 to new variants.

Followed by the recent release of iOS 7 beta version, Apple released the second beta version of the new iOS for testing and current available for developers from Apple's over-the-air updating system on iOS devices. It features new welcome screen, updated Siri voices, iCloud fixes and voice memos app.

By Peter Switzer, Switzer Super ReportThe other week I suggested it was getting close to the time when we get back in, which, not surprisingly, led some subscribers to ask the question: "When did Peter get out and why didn't he tell us?".

By Andrew NelsonLast week was another slow one on the uranium spot market. There were just three transactions concluded, reports industry analyst TradeTech, who noted 350, 000 pounds of stock changed hands.

After beating Apple in sales and recently in a destruction test conducted by CNET, Samsung's Galaxy S4 won more trounced the competition by winning over the iPhone 5 in a speed test made by Which?, a consumer watchdog.

Intel has been making waves since it released the 4th generation processor Haswell. Nearly every ultrabook and portable computer out on the market is running on Haswell. As the chip giant continues to emphasize its dominance over processors and computing devices, Intel is not stopping. The company intends to release more upgrades and new products throughout the coming period. This September, two new processors will hit the market.

News of Apple cutting its iPhone order for the third and fourth quarters of 2013 sent the shares of the Cupertino-based tech giant plummeting to below $400. Business Insider quoted NASDAQ's real time price as of 11:20 a.m. that Apple (AAPL) share prices had gone down to $398.44 from the Friday closing price of $413.50.

Samsung is trying their luck outside their Galaxy Tablet line. With the release of the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity, the pressure is on the tech giant to come up with a Windows-Android hybrid. An ultrabook that runs on both Windows and Android operating systems caters to more users and joins the new generation of laptops transforming computing.

By Greg PeelYesterday the People's Bank of China issued a statement suggesting "that overall banking conditions are at a reasonable level," and that "banks should prudently manage liquidity risks that have resulted from rapid credit expansion".

Sellers returned from the weekend energised and keen to add to their work of recent weeks. Any sense that a new week might bring with it some consolidation after the falls of recent weeks was quickly dismissed. The fall for the market on Monday was its worst in 2 months taking the index back to levels seen at the start of the year.

Apple's infamous assistant went through an upgrade and it’s an update that may mean the life and death for a person. Siri can now respond to suicidal statements providing preventive statements and measures that can just save a person’s life.