BUSINESS

Hong Kong may not be directly affected by severe tropical storm Trami, which is currently battering China, but it surely still made its presence felt in the country. Trami's coverage was so wide that it trapped pollutants in Hong Kong's air to reach "very high" levels, prompting the government to issue health warnings.

Gold Fields agreed to buy three high-cost gold mines in Australia from Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold producer, for $300 million.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 66 points or 0.4% while the S&P gained 0.9% to 1656 and the Nasdaq added 1.0%.

Despite preparing for a launch of another version of the iPhone, it has been difficult for Cupertino-California based Apple to make its entry into China. The move to bring iPhone 5 to China was an arduous task. However, by teaming up with the nation's biggest telecom, China Mobile, Apple will be able to test its results by December 31, 2013.

A better than expected reading on the health of China's manufacturing sector wasn't quite enough to push local shares into positive territory today. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) slipped by 0.5 per cent, with the mining sector the biggest drag.

Thinking of investing in a serviced apartment? Here's a quick synopsis of why it's a good idea.

'CBA's record result delivers Narev $7.8m pay cheque' said a headline in the Business section of The Australian yesterday. According to the article, the CEO's salary package rose to $2.1m compared to last year. Nice work.

Gold, stocks, bonds - all the major markets seem to have turned around in the last six months. Bond investors have been the worst hit. Many have losses of 20% or more. Surely, there are some major financial problems hidden beneath these figures. Sooner or later, they will show up in the headlines...with the announcement of bankruptcies and defaults.

We expected the summer trading to drag on...and then the markets to set off on their new trends after 1 September: Stocks down. Bonds down. Gold up.

The death of a 21-year old Bank of America intern who worked non-stop for 72 hours straight has opened a floodgate of silent allegations and has put the world's banking industry in a hot seat.

The death of a 21-year-old Bank of America intern who worked non-stop for 72 hours straight has opened a floodgate of silent allegations and has put the world's banking industry in a hot seat.

Apple Inc’s once “sought-after” status is no more, at least in China. What used to be a 49 per cent dominance in China’s market for tablets in the second quarter of 2012 has slipped to 28 per cent in the same quarter this 2013. The culprit? The growing domestic tablet makers. After all, the Chinese being stingy aren’t known for nothing.China’s technology savvy consumers have resorted to buying cheaper tablets that uses the Android operating system of Google, a trend first seen among smartp...

The Australian share market is under selling pressure in the early session, following weakness on US markets overnight and as investors awaited a reading on Chinese manufacturing.

Occurrences of worldwide flooding has cornered the bulk of global insurance claims for the first half or six months of the year 2013, according to preliminary data released by Switzerland-based reinsurance giant Swiss Re on Wednesday.

Facebook joins hands with Nokia, Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm among others in order to make the Internet accessible for all. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, announced the same Tuesday on his FB page.

The predominantly Islam country of Iran has arrested and convicted one of its nationals for allegedly handing out copies of the Bible to friends and family, according to the Vatican missionary news agency Fides on Wednesday. His behaviour was considered a threat to national security. He was slapped with a 10-year jail time.

By Jonathan BarrattNote: This article was written on Wednesday, August 21Tonight sees the release of the minutes from the last FOMC meeting, and the market expects the minutes to reveal a committee ready to start tapering the Fed's US85 billion per month of bond and mortgage securities buy-back...

All eyes are on Samsung as the South Korean tech giant releases on Sept 4 its Galaxy Gear smartwatch. In its review of the upcoming device, Computerworld pointed out that more than a timepiece, the gadget would offer a wide range of sensors and enough horsepower to put to shame midrange smartphones.

A 30-second advertisement for the Lenovo Yoga tablet has gone viral in YouTube. In just one day since the video was posted, it has been viewed almost 170,000 times.

The Taiwan-made HTC One has been topping the list of tech reviewers since it was released in the market because of its game-changer features, although it has also been criticised for its irreplaceable battery and being difficult to fix.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 105 points or 0.7% to 14,897 while the S&P lost 0.6% to 1642 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.

Samsung is set to uncloak its second 2013 flagship on Sept 4 but it appears that the South Korean juggernaut is far from relaxing after the third-generation phablet’s release date.

Proof of iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S September release emerges as Apple Inc. suppliers confirmed shipment dates

Kiwi company GoogleDirectory is under investigation by the Auckland Police. The Internet directory service, which is not connected with the Web heavyweight Google, is the subject of several fraud complaints from businesses.

Aussies found Ashton Kutcher’s joke in Channel Seven’s Sunrise program insulting.

The Australian sharemarket is a little higher after a 0.6 per cent slump yesterday. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 0.2 per cent. Most sectors are higher; however significant weakness in the mining and energy sectors is holding the market back.

Sony launches PlayStation 4 in Australia and New Zealand

At least 19 areas in the Philippines' Luzon region have been put in a state of calamity following the onslaught of rains and floods brought by a Storm Trami-intensified southwest monsoon.

Mining giant BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) has committed $2.6 billion for the development of the Jansen potash project in Canada. The commitment comes at a time that BHP logged a 30 per cent drop in prices due to lower commodity prices and uncertainty over the market for this fertiliser ingredient.