BUSINESS

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 88 points, or 0.6%, while the S&P gained 0.5% to 1640 and the Nasdaq added 0.

Better than expected employment numbers in the US at week's end and gains for US stocks failed to translate to gains for the local market on Monday. There was a fillip at the outset of trade with some modest gains, although the gains were short lived and the index spent most of the day in the red.

The newest Macbook Air from Apple runs on Intel’s Haswell microprocessor. Despite the decade-long partnership between Intel and Apple, the newest ultrabook also signals the end of this marriage. Intel and Apple are set to part ways soon after iPad maker bypassed the chip giant.

The number of job advertisements has declined for the fourth consecutive month. Western Australia takes a toll as the mining industry slows down due to falling gold prices leading to job cuts.

The demand for easy money is a powerful one. Europe's austerity drive (also known as living within one's means) has hit a few road blocks - again. Portugal has had enough and the political situation there looks shaky. As a result, government bond yields shot up to 8% yesterday.

The Australian market seems to want to ignore looming risks, like China's credit-crunch induced slowdown. Yesterday, the Reserve Bank of Australia kept rates on hold but basically said they stand ready to cut further if the economy continues to weaken. The market liked the sound of that and had its strongest day in 18 months.

Today's market action is brought to you by - once again - central bankers. In what has apparently come as a shock to the market, overnight the European Central Bank (ECB) and The Bank of England (BOE) have come out and said they will keep rates on hold for a long time. Can you believe it?

Bookmaker Offers Odds on Volkswagen Australia Sales

Google is poised to release the Moto X phone sometime this week. There is much interest and hype building over the phone for two reasons: it is another Android phone and Google will be releasing it. With HTC and Samsung announcing their U.S. sales have come up short for the past quarter, the timing for Google’s phone is almost impeccable.

Australian shares kicked off the week in the red, only to rise by around 0.3 per cent in early trade, trade flat at one point and then shoot lower by lunch. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is now down by 0.8 per cent, after a 1 per cent improvement recorded over the previous week.

Acer just rolled out in the U.S. and other global markets the Acer Iconia W3, the first 8.1-inch Windows 8 tablet. This makes the gadget the smallest PC, bringing the full PC and entertainment features in a small device.

Samsung Electronics is currently the leading phone and TV maker. However, even with their leading position, the company posted weaker profits than forecasts. Samsung is not selling as expected for April to June quarter.

Traditional personal computers are starting to fade while laptops, ultrabooks and tablets are becoming more prevalent on the market. Along with these changes comes a new operating system from Microsoft. The company has run majority of the computers in the world and the operating system giant is looking into dominating the other side of the coin – running slimmer and portable devices.

Processors are one of the most complex tech products on the market. They are launched differently and production takes longer than computers. There are stringent quality controls and standards to follow before any chip powers up a computer. When Intel launched their Haswell processors, it seemed every company is featuring it but in reality, the percentage of systems or devices running on them is relatively small.

By Tim Price, PFP Wealth"Investment based on genuine long-term expectation is so difficult today as to be scarcely practicable.

The latest PS4 has been receiving much hype and attention. Following the release of its competitor, Xbox One, all eyes are on Sony to see what the company will bring on the table. Reports indicate that Sony is trying its hardest to deliver possibly the best gaming console on the market yet.

Sales for Dell’s computers are sliding and the company is looking into wearable devices to boost earnings. It was not a secret that Dell is struggling with their computer offerings. In order to save their sales and improve company position, the computer maker is refocusing their investments on wearable technology.

By Stephen Hogan, Senior Private Client Adviser, Equities/DerivativesAustralian MarketThe Australian market (XJO) closed down -32.

- Chinese PMIs weaker- Trend steady nevertheless- Asia still the growth driverBy Greg PeelIn last month's round of manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) data, China's result fell slightly to 50.

An eight-year-old Sydney boy was accidentally exposed to a hardcore porno image while viewing the Lions ticket promotion of flag carrier Qantas on its Facebook page on Friday.

Speculations said that the Nokia Lumia EOS will be in Microsoft Stores by July 22, which means it will be available on store shelves by the later part of the month. A screenshot of a Microsoft Store inventory showed a Nokia device called the 1020 said to be an AT&T exclusive.

The Australian share market managed to finish a volatile week on a high, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) adding 1.1pct over the course of the week.

Samsung issued its Q2 2013 earnings guidance this week, pointing to record Galaxy S4 sales three months afters its release date and likely quarterly profits that could soar beyond the $8 billion mark.

Marketers would think the last thing they need is another content management platform. There is already a multitude available but Intel thinks otherwise. The company is rolling out their CMS software offering marketers more control over their campaigns.

The New Zealand dollar soared against the euro and British pound after their respective central banks focused on easing bias which helped increase the demand for the higher yielding currency. The Kiwi also became stronger against the Aussie dollar.

Samsung competes with nearly every gadget put out on the market. So when other companies put out their 5-inch smartphones trust Samsung to come up with their own version. The tech giant went beyond the 5-inch trend and released two new phablets: one with 5.8-inch display and another 6.3.

One of the more volatile weeks in recent memory is coming to a close and investors are helping push the market higher. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 0.9 per cent. The dollar value of shares changing hands is remaining a little light though, due to the closure of US markets last night (Independence Day holiday).

China markets stabilised on Monday as policymakers offered reassurance that there is ample liquidity in the financial system, bringing to a close June's record credit squeeze which raised fears that China's years of relying on debt to finance massive projects are coming to an end.

Google has killed their Reader officially. The application previously provided people a way to access their RSS feeds. While RSS feeds has become an important part of people’s lives especially those demanding news and information from different portals, Google decided that Google Reader is no longer worth keeping. Here is a list of the ten reasons why the company has done a great job doing so.