BUSINESS

Reform of Riot Act could see government compensation pot restricted to SMEs with turnover under £2m.

FNArena Editor Rudi Filapek-Vandyck participated in Sky Business' Your Money, Your Call - Bonds versus Equities on Friday two weeks ago.

The Australian share market closed lower on Friday, after Wall Street recorded its worst session since August a day after the US Dow Jones Index closed at record highs. Despite the successful debut of social media site Twitter, which soared 73% from its listing price, Wall Street closed lower.

Underneath Canada is a very large reserve of natural gas, estimated at 449 trillion cubic feet, that could provide the energy needs of the country for 145 years, according to a report by the National Energy Board. The bulk of the reserves are in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia.

The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down by 0.4 per cent at lunch; however is only down mostly this week thanks to a 0.75 per cent surge on Tuesday. The miners are the biggest losers, with heavy losses from Westpac (WBC) also a big contributor to the weakness.

China has lifted its regulations concerning air fare pricing, effectively allowing its airline players to sell cheap tickets to passengers.

NBA Legend Michael Jordan is selling his 56,000 square foot mansion.

Avalon Rare Metals has been granted by the Canadian federal government the green light to push through with its Nechalacho rare earth elements project.

By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck, Editor FNArenaI joined Twitter. Not because I am curious what this celebrity has to say about her kids, or to read that another one is waiting for a connecting flight, impatiently.

It was a volatile night for global markets with some key releases resulting in some sharp moves in equities and currencies.

In US economic news, the advance reading of economic growth in the September quarter was 2.8pct, above forecasts for 2.0pct annualised growth. New claims for unemployment insurance (jobless claims) fell in the latest week by 9,000 to 336,000, close to forecasts.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 152 points or 1.0% while the S&P lost 1.3% to 1747 and the Nasdaq dropped 1.9%.

New Zealand broadcasting station RadioLive is feeling the backlash of an advertising pullout over an interview made by station hosts Willie Jackson and John Tamihere with a friend of an alleged rape victim of the notorious Roast Buster gang.

We went to our first house auction on the weekend. We wanted to see just how 'hot' this market is. It was a beautiful sunny day in Melbourne, and there was a small crowd gathered around the 'cosy' (read small) two bedroom weatherboard St Kilda home.

On Monday and Tuesday, we visited our youngest son, Edward, a sophomore at the University of Vermont. His roommate joined us for dinner.

It really pays to set up shop in close proximity to a central bank. Australian banks, who have surrounded the Reserve Bank of Australia (the bank in the centre), are raking it in. Yesterday the Commonwealth Bank announced a first quarter profit of $2.1 billion, up 14% on the same quarter last year.

Will the next tablet from Apple sport a large display as big as laptops or about 12 inches? Reports from Foxconn, Apple's Taiwanese manufacturing plant, indicated the next iPad being tested now could have a screen between 11.4 inches and 12.9 inches in length, said Apple Insider.

The Australian share market closed in negative territory today, although off its earlier lows, weighed down by a number of big name financial stocks which traded without rights to their dividends. It was a different story on Wall Street, where solid buying in blue chip stocks lifted the Dow Jones Index to a record high.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd targets to topple Apple Inc. in the mobile devices marketshare.

Apple Inc. remains the World’s Most Valuable Brand according to Forbes

The two female premiers of western Canadian provinces agreed on Wednesday to a framework that would push through with major oil pipeline projects worth $12 billion being proposed by Enbridge and Kinder Morgan.

The Australian share market is modestly weaker at lunchtime in the East, despite US blue chip stocks recording solid performances overnight. The US Dow Jones Index closed at record highs, although weaker than expected earnings from electric car maker Tesla weighed on the NASDAQ.

Based on a new survey citing the world's most polluted places, the lives of at least 200 million people are at risk. These areas are believed severely hazardous to man's health spanning Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

Analysts forecast that Australia's mining boom is approaching its end would likely be questioned again as the country's iron ore sector just added $65 billion to the current financial year due to higher commodity prices.

Oprah Winfrey has unveiled her favorite things in 2013. Each year, the Queen of Talk Shows makes a list of her favorite things and shares it with her viewers, even giving away some of these amazing products to lucky fans. Are you wondering what made her fabulous list this time around? Listed below are 10 of Oprah Winfrey's favorite things in 2013.

About 13 million Filipinos stand to get affected by the possible ill effects of Typhoon Haiyan (local name Yolanda), which has morphed into a Category 5 super typhoon, the world's strongest so far in 2013.

By Jonathan BarrattGold looks to be suffering, as we mentioned last week. The move have not been aggressive, regardless of ongoing stimulus.

Global equities managed to push higher despite some key event risk approaching. Some positive data prints from Europe and more taper talk were at the forefront of the equity price moves. Fed member Williams said he wants to see a fairly convincing case that the economy can grow faster than recent trend before reducing asset purchases. Meanwhile Pianalto hopes the recovery will accelerate to allow the Fed to taper. This is probably the most dovish we've heard Fed members since the meeting and ...

In US economic news, the leading index rose by 0.7pct in September, just above forecasts. Planned layoffs by companies lifted by 40,289 to 45,730 in October according to Challenger. And the mortgage market index fell by 7pct in the latest week with purchases down 5.2pct and refinancing down 7.9pct.