BUSINESS

The Australian sharemarket started session largely flat for much of the morning following mixed economic news over the past three days. The All Ords is a touch higher though, adding to last week's 0.75 per cent improvement. On Friday, a report showed that there were around 70,000 more jobs created in North America over February than expected, while the jobless rate improved to 7.7 per cent. This was the first time since March 2012 that more than 200,000 jobs were added in one month.

End of this week the wait for Samsung’s Galaxy S4 is over but as we get to know the specs and features from the new Android handset, another dilemma sets in. Should we take the plunge now or wait a few more months?

One explanation why Samsung is getting a larger cut of the smartphone pie is that the South Korean tech giant has affordable units that offer the same technology and similar specs to high-end units of competitors.Reports said that Samsung will again roll out another easy-on-the-pocket smartphone in May - the Galaxy Pocket Neo.

As Canberra turns 100 on Monday, Australia's capital turns 100 on Monday, there are some interesting facts that one ought to know about this city girded with parliament halls.

The beauty about concept phones is they push the limits of imagination, which is exactly how the new Samsung Galaxy Note 3 render came out – packed with specs that exceed the supposed muscles that the Galaxy S4 will flash this week.

Mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) forecast over the weekend another slump in iron ore prices in the next 18 months. Viviel Tulpule, chief economist of Rio Tinto, estimated the price of the key steelmaking ingredient would decline to just above $100 per tonne by September 2014.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley warned that the price of iron ore in the global market has reached a peak and will average $133 per tonne for the rest of 2013.

Using Android phones means you are on the popular zone as the Google mobile platforms remains the king of smartphone. But there is a downside and a huge one at that – the threat of suffering security attacks.

Australia's competition regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), has postponed to release a decision on Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd's planned takeover of Tiger Airways Australia, stating it wants more time to review the alliance.

More signs are emerging that Apple has indeed spawned a killer device in the iPad Mini, eating away sales and market turfs that previously were enjoyed by the gadget that started the global tablet phenomenon.

It's been a week since the resignation of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, citing declining health, took effect on Feb. 28. And it seems the cardinal electors now huddled in Vatican could take another week to choose and elect the new 266th pope, dousing earlier expectations of a March 11 start of a papal conclave.

A new case intended for use on Samsung’s Galaxy S4 emerged anew, pointing to a new high-end Android phone that is smaller but boxier.

The Gorilla Glass is famous and common to most premium smartphones today, used by branded devices such as HTC, Motorola, Samsung, and Sony. The glass is also used to protect laptops, tablets, computers, and windows. But how much punishment can it take before getting destroyed?

Roman vendors selling their different wares in and around Vatican City are praying for divine intervention not only for a new pope but for their respective businesses to likewise pick up in the days leading to the start and conclusion of this year's papal conclave.

Samsung’s 10-inch Galaxy Tab 3 is reportedly making its way to global markets soon following the leak of a listing from Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) that pointed to the underway development of the tablet.

Reports have emerged that Samsung is planning a September preview for the Galaxy Note 3 following its mysterious non-appearance at the recently concluded 2013 MWC in Barcelona. This time, the phablet will be unpacked via the annual IFA in Berlin, Germany.

It was the second consecutive loss for South Korean tech giant Samsung in its epic legal battles with American tech giant Apple across different continents. On Thursday, Apple won again when London Judge Christopher Floyd invalidated Samsung’s patents.

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.

The Australian Dollar has strengthened slightly since yesterday on comments from ECB President Draghi.

Risk sentiment remained resilient through European and US trade in an active night on the macroeconomic front. Equities extended their gains yet again and with investors continuing to believe in the ability of central banks to support markets. There was also another set of encouraging US economic data with unemployment claims coming in well ahead of expectations (340,000 versus 354,000 anticipated). The more interesting moves were in the forex space as market participants reacted to different po...

New claims for unemployment insurance in the US (jobless claims) fell by 7,000 to 340,000 in the latest week. Planned job cuts by US companies lifted to 55,356 workers in February, up 7pct on a year ago according to the Challenger survey. The trade deficit widened from $38.14 billion to $44.45bn in January, above forecasts centred on a result near $42.6bn.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 33 points, or 0.2%, while the S&P gained 0.2% to 1544 and the Nasdaq added 0.

Fortescue Metals's lawyer told the Australian High Court on Wednesday that the minerals resources rent tax is unconstitutional. He cited the tax causing disadvantage to different resource projects in different states as his main argument.

Thursday was a day of consolidation for regional indices. Whilst political issues remain fluid in Europe the focus is tending towards the other side of the Atlantic. Better economic news is empowering investors who continue to push the Dow Jones Industrial Average further into record territory. The gains on Wall St failed to translate to local trade today although a case could be made for investors holding their fire until the release of key economic figures in the US at the end of the week. Not...

Pit the Galaxy Note 2 against the Xperia Z and you’ll get a good match. The Samsung device is an unabashed phablet while Sony has obviously configured its new 5-inch flagship to test the waters that the Note series has been familiar with.

True to its tradition, it actually is just a matter of time before the Vatican steps in to tell the College of Cardinals to zip their mouths in sharing bits and pieces of information from the pre-conclave talks on account of their oath to secrecy.

A 63-year-old Australian anaesthetist from the state of Victoria has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for infecting 55 women patients with Hepatitis C between June 2008 and November 2009.

The fundamental error behind central planning is being repeated in China. Wen Jiabao leaves office telling his colleagues that, 'Unbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable development remains a prominent problem.' China's planners are past caring, though. And as our colleague Greg Canavan has said all along, China's real estate bubble could be the biggest and most damaging yet.

The local share market is virtually unchanged at lunchtime in the East, after rising to highs not seen since September 2008 yesterday.