BUSINESS

Images of purportedly the second-generation iPad Mini chassis in initial stage of production leaked out this week, showing off the small Apple tablet in a bare shell and minus all the fresh components that we would love to see.

BAE posted lower-than-expected full year profits for 2012 as sales reduced while pre-tax profits slumped by approximately 6 percent, blaming delay in the final terms of pricing of the Saudi Arabia-based contract.

By Andrew NelsonJapan is entering a new era, the era of Abeconomics. This refers to the new economic policy platform being rolled out by the new Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe.

While many women lie about their age when they reach 40, this 104-year-old granny from Michigan had to because of a Facebook technical glitch.

This article was first published exclusively for FNArena subscribers on February 15 and is now open for general readership.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 46 points, or 0.3%, while the S&P lost 0.6% to 1502 and the Nasdaq fell 1.

Local stocks suffered their biggest fall since May 2012 today, slumping by more than two percent as investors booked profits following the recent rally. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) fell 115.8pts or 2.3pct to 4998.6pts. The ASX/200 (XJO) also dropped below 5000pts, easing by 118.6pts or 2.3pct to 4980.1pts.

Apple snatched back its smartphone crown from Samsung and would want to remain on top this year by unleashing the iPhone Mini as early as April 2013 with starting price tag of $US330.

The March 14 market entry of Samsung Galaxy S4 is a heartbeat away and sellers are rushing to push out their stocks of the Galaxy S3 by offering it for one cent like in Amazon Wireless.

Japan taps young women to wear their brand, not on their sleeves, but on their legs, as the hype for this unique business advertising increases.

To get to salvation, though, you must take the road of repentance. We'll have a look at the major landmarks along the highway. But first, to more pedestrian matters.

Quick, somebody tell the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) about natural gas. It's the new investment boom the bank is looking for, only it's already happening in the energy sector, not the housing sector. Even central bankers can't always get what they want.

A dedicated Android camera is what the Samsung Galaxy Camera is all about and the snapper has become more attractive, that is affordable because the new version is doing away with the cellular signal.

Reports of Nexus 5 arriving this year gained more traction as one Google official hinted that indeed the company has lined up handsets bearing the brand with ‘insanely great’ camera features.

Australia has enjoyed strong consistent economic growth (over 20 years of expansion), low unemployment and increasing living standards. Its old economy avoided the implosion of the new economy. Its economic performance was underpinned by strong growth in emerging nations, especially China and India, and demand for commodities.

In what could be his last final stand before actual resignation day, outgoing Pope Benedict XVI is mulling to implement last-minute changes to the 99-yea- old procedures surrounding a papal conclave in a bid seen to hold this year's much anticipated assembly of cardinals at a much earlier date, or on Mar. 10.

The Australian share market opened lower this morning after a late trade selloff on US markets. US investors sold out of stocks and commodities after US Central Bank (Federal Reserve - FOMC) minutes from its January meeting showed policymaker´s held further discussions on slowing its bond buying program. The US Fed has been restimulating the US economy by buying bonds (basically printing money) and pushing it back into the economy, but if they reduce this program is could stall or slow growth. O...

The European Union will imposed retroactive duties on Made-in-China solar panels and Chinese firms that export the PVs if proven that the panels were sold below production cost because of subsidies.

Supermarket chains Aldi and Lidl topped the annual supermarket survey as they were voted second and third most favorite while rivals Morrisons and Sainsbury were left lagging behind. The survey, which was conducted among the UK's nine biggest supermarkets, named Tesco as the least favorite supermarket.

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, cracked on Wednesday a joke about the Philippine migration phenomenon, telling a Filipina nurse at the opening of a ￡5.5-million cardiac centre that "The Philippines must be half-empty - you're all here running the NHS."

Newest data showed that China's foreign direct investment slumped as much as 7.3 percent in January on a year-on-year basis.

Search engine giant Google is aggressively branching out into new markets. In 2014, the tech firm will make available to the public Google Glasses.

Some things do not change. One of them is continuous rivalry among cities when it comes to the title of the most expensive office space. The highest prices give not only the prestigious title, but show which destinations are popular. And, to cut a long story short, London was awarded with the prominent title of the most expensive office space in the world, regaining it after several years.

More clues are emerging that Apple is cooking up the next generation iPad Mini with Retina display as reports emerged that suppliers of the tech giant have commenced work on the small tablet’s second serving, this time with a brighter screen display.

Samsung has reportedly scrapped the use of Exynos 5 Octa CPU for its upcoming Galaxy S4 because the new chip proved ‘too hot’ to handle, literally.

The South Korean tech company LG keeps on teasing mobile phone enthusiasts about their new upcoming smartphones for the Mobile World Congress this February 2013 in Barcelona, Spain. LG released a video recently previewing what will the company show on MWC 2013 with several smartphone models named after letters – L for style, G for greatness, V for Vu, and F for freedom.

In a bid to rise from its financial quagmire, Australian flag carrier Qantas will issue in the third quarter of 2013 a pre-paid credit card which will load 9 different currencies.However, Qantas reported on Wednesday a bit of financial relief when it logged almost a triple first-half profit of $111 million.The credit card, which could also be used as a travel card in 35 million locations around the world that would earn holders points on eligible purchases, would be issued to 9 million ...

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 108 points, or 0.8%, while the S&P fell 1.2% to 1512 as the Nasdaq dropped 1.

HTC One lands in Australia this week and the question pops: Is it worth going for or you’ll hold off a bit more for Samsung’s next flagship, the Galaxy S4, which is set to hit store shelves by early April?