BUSINESS

The lack of resolution in relation to the Cypriot bailout remained the main influence on regional markets on Wednesday. The Cypriot parliament has voted against levy on bank deposits by a margin of 36 to 0 with 19 members abstaining. Eurozone officials remain defiant that Cyprus must contribute to its rescue.

A study released by the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases (ASID) on Wednesday has urged Australians, particularly those from West Australia, to take extra precautionary measures when travelling overseas, especially if it is to Bali, Indonesia.

Galaxy Grand Duos is getting an upgrade called Group Play that will allow for the smooth file sharing with compatible handsets using Wi-Fi channels.

Side by side, Samsung’s Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S3 look identical and users will only notice the difference once they get the chance to explore what’s inside the guts.

When Samsung unwrapped the Galaxy S4 last week many experts greeted its body-make with disappointment. The plastic material was totally unsuitable for a high-end device looking to finally dethrone Apple’s iPhone 5, they bemoaned.

Taiwanese tech company HTC Corporation is delaying again the release of its flagship smartphone, the HTC One, due to parts shortage.

To meet Indonesia's target to become self sufficient in its beef meat requirement by 2014, Jakarta said it is considering running a cattle breeding farm in Australia. The Indonesian government pointed to lower production cost as the reason behind the plan.

Samsung intends to selectively deploy the upcoming Key Lime Pie from Google, a new report said, and only a few select high-end Galaxy models will eventually chew in the Android 5.0 once it hits the update channel.

The Australian sharemarket is falling for the third straight day, taking the losses for the week to almost 3 per cent. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 0.74 per cent and has slipped below the key 5000.0 point level for the first time this month.

With the Samsung Galaxy S4 commercial release already looming, another indicator emerged and declared that the iPhone 5S is almost upon us – sweet price cutbacks for currently the top-selling Apple smartphone, the iPhone 5.

By Greg PeelLast night Goldman Sachs global stock analysts in London downgraded iron ore producers BHP Billiton ((BHP)) to Neutral from Buy and Rio Tinto ((RIO)) to Conviction Sell from Neutral.

BBC Worldwide announced on Tuesday the sale of Lonely Planet, its travel guide business, for $75 million. The American company, NC2 Media, is the buyer.

Microsoft is offering a $100 fee to U.S. developers for every app they would write for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. There is a limit of 10 apps per Store, and the Keep the Cash offer promo runs only from March 8 to June 30, 2013.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 3 points, while the S&P lost 0.2% to 1548 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.3%.The Cypriote parliament last night voted to reject the eurozone proposal for a bail-out involving a levy on deposits, large and small.

Local shares were up by as much as 0.84 per cent after a few hours of trade, however steadily declined from midday onwards. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) slipped by 0.46 per cent and has slumped by 2.5 per cent in just two sessions due to concerns relating to the Eurozone's third smallest economy, Cyprus.

After the historical launch of the Galaxy S4 in New York, Samsung's future appears no longer tied up with Android but with Tizen OS. The combined forces of Samsung and Intel has led to the development of Tizen with one of its high-end device to be released in August 2013, made by Samsung as well.

The Australian share market is making an impressive rebound in early trade, following yesterday's 2% drop which was sparked by Eurozone worries.

Australia's sharemarket shed 2 per cent on Monday over investor worries on the Cyprus bailout problem. The All Ordinaries index declined 101.9 points or 1.99 per cent at 5,027.4, while the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index dipped 104.8 points or 2.05 per cent at 5,015.4.

BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins is optimistic about reaching the 100,000 app milestone come the US debut, as well as the Z10’s edge over iPhone 5.

By Andrew NelsonUranium prices have been fighting an uphill battle ever since the Fukushima disaster shut down all but two of Japan's fifty nuclear reactors.

Australians could by the cheaper-priced Chromebook for as low as $299 from retail outlets and the Google Play Store beginning March 19.

By Prof. Charles WyploszThe Cyprus bailout package contains a tax on bank deposits. This column argues that the tax is a deeply dangerous policy that creates a new situation, more perilous than ever.

Despite the 1989 ban on uranium by the then Queensland government, the current state administration is not ruling out the possibility that they may give uranium mining the green light.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 62 points, or 0.4%, while the S&P dropped 0.6% to 1552 and the Nasdaq lost 0.

FNArena is surveying investor sentiment in Australia in an effort to generate, over time, a guage similar to the AAII Investor Sentiment Survey in the US.

Canadian tech firm BlackBerry rolled out the Z10 model in Sydney on Monday a month after the global launch of the device and four days after Samsung unboxed the Galaxy S4 in New York.

A controversial levy imposed on financial institutions in the European island of Cyprus sent shockwaves through local markets today, as investors bet the Eurozone debt crisis is far from over.

The Australian sharemarket has wiped out most of last Friday's impressive gains, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 1.3 per cent or 66.2 pts to 5063.1. Cyprus, the Eurozone's third smallest economy has received a €10 billion assistance package, backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). A one-off tax of as much as 10 per cent on Cypriot deposit accounts has created some concerns of bank runs.

While it is likely that Retina on iPad Mini 2 will come out this year, Google will beat out Apple in the tablet high resolution race with the Nexus 7 possibly flashing denser screen pixels a bit earlier, a new report said.