BUSINESS

The Australian Dollar has dipped back below 1.0500 against the Greenback as a lack of development in US budget negotiations drives markets. The US Dollar firmed as risk sentiment turned negative on what appears to be a stalemate between US President Obama and the House of Representatives.

After having had a strong run in recent sessions, risk assets finally retreated in US trade as cracks appeared in the fiscal cliff negotiations. Equities were firmer in European trade as markets continued to ride on fiscal cliff optimism and on the back of a better-than-expected German Ifo business climate reading.

US homebuilding permits increased by 3.6pct in November to a seasonally adjusted rate of 899,000 units - the highest level in nearly 4½-years. In contrast housing starts fell 3pct in November but followed three straight months of solid gains.

The gender asymmetry in British boardrooms has scaled down substantially since 2007, according to the findings of a survey conducted by Experian.

There's some considerable carnage in DR headquarters this week. A Christmas flu has not only taken out your regular editor Dan Denning but a good chunk of the staff as well.

As the chart below displays, the Federal Reserve has, since 1913, destroyed roughly 97% of the [US] dollar's value. And that, despite (or perhaps because of) a mandate to maintain the same currency's integrity and stability.

- Chinese economy on the turn- Exports finally improving- Property market risks contained- Intra-Asia trade a big growth driverBy Greg PeelSigns have emerged that the Chinese economy has finally bottomed out begun a recovery after a long slow-down.

The battle for supremacy in Australian skies continues as Singapore Airlines joins the frenzy to get a larger slice of the aviation market by announcing on Wednesday a fourth daily service to Melbourne and the scaling up of services to Adelaide.

Cash registers will be ringing ka-ching, ka-ching from Friday as different parties will be held all over the world to celebrate - not the Mayan New Year - but the failure of the Mayan Long Count Calendar prediction that the world would end on Dec 21, 2012.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 98 points or 0.7% while the S&P lost 0.8% to 1435 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.3%.

The local share market rallied again today, with both the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) and S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) reaching 2012 and 17 month highs.

If you are a Nexus 10 owner or considering a purchase of this Samsung-manufactured big-sized tablet for Google, take pleasure in knowing that charging this Android device would be more convenient over the next few weeks or even days.

Rumours are spreading about the upcoming Mobile World Congress in February 2013. Speculations are that the Samsung Galaxy S4 will not make it to the Consumer Electronic Show or Mobile World Congress in January and February, respectively.

Before, Samsung Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note users had to wait for a long time to obtain updates of Android Ice Cream Sandwich because both devices were released with Android Gingerbread, which dates back as the first very stable firmware version.

IGB Electronica, a Brazilian company, announced a new smartphone called Gradient Smartphone Line G iPhone, Neo One model. The device is identical to Apple iPhone and its running an Android OS.

CM10, according to Android Authority, will work smoothly on these following Tab 8.9 variants: Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 Wi-Fi + 3G variant (GT-P7300) and Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 Wi-Fi-only variant (GT-P7310).

Investing in the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) is so yesteryear. Myanmar and Laos are, like, so yesterday. No, the real investment opportunity for your financial future lies in North Korea.

The question has haunted savants, wives and bartenders throughout the ages. But at least we have a hypothesis.

How much of the world's woe is the fault of people who claim to know things they don't really know...and to be able to do things they can't really do?

On the 17th of December, the National Association for Business Economics released its forecast, indicating that the U.S. economy would probably see a moderate growth in 2013. Analysts underline that the modest growth will be pushed mainly by a recovery in housing sector which will balance visible weaknesses in business investment though. Also the U.S. job market will pick up slightly in the coming year, according to the survey.

The Australian sharemarket continues its stellar run, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) improving modestly once again. Of the last 23 sessions, the Aussie market has ended higher on 17 occasions and has only finished in the red once in 9 trading days. The XAO is up by 0.5 per cent or 22.6 pts to 4633.1.

U.S. firearms makers see their stock slump as a result of Newtown shooting. Investors are in rush to sell of their shares in firearms makers as speculation is circling around possible new gun restrictions.

Been toying with your Galaxy S3 for quite some time? Chances are it has had its fair amount of ‘hard work’ since you first unboxed this flagship smartphone from Samsung. All the intensive surfing and game playing on any device, according to Android experts, fill up its cache.

- Chinese growth to expand in 2013- US growth to be modest- Europe to remain a risk- Australia to lose its lustreBy Greg PeelIt all hinges on the fiscal cliff.

The Uranium Council has warned in a high-level advisory report to Australian energy and resources ministers that the country's position as top supplier of the mineral is at risk. The council blamed the development on domestic restrictions in shipping uranium.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 115 points or 0.9% while the S&P gained 1.1% to 1446 and the Nasdaq added 1.5% (Apple up 2.

In just three days after it was launched on December 14, Apple's iPhone 5 had swept China by storm, with over 2 million units already sold, and still counting.

Clothing retailer Cotton On has been slapped on Tuesday with a $1 million fine for selling highly combustible fire hazard children's nightwear.

After briefly losing its footing yesterday, the Australian sharemarket rose for the seventh time in eight sessions. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) edged higher by 0.5 per cent or 22.5 pts to 4610.5. The energy sector and property trusts were the only losers today.