BUSINESS

Had he researched much better and prepared enough, self-proclaimed Bishop Ralph Napierski may have been able to penetrate, witness and even mingle in this year's highly guarded and secluded papal conclave up to the very end. But the black fedora hat, when it should have been a red skullcap, and the glaring purple or magenta scarf, when it should have been a red sash, gave him away.

The local share market is performing very strongly at lunchtime in the East, clawing back from yesterday's heavy losses which were exacerbated by concerns out of China and the fact 22 listed companies traded without rights to their dividends.

HTC One has been drawing a lot of attention since it was announced last month and unveiled last week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. It is frequently being compared to iPhone 5 in many tech sites. The new flagship smartphone of the Taiwanese tech player even won "Best Device in Show" at the MWC. Considering very good mobile specs, those who have been holding out for the iPhone 5s or iPhone 6 are being pulled in by the "One."

A new security hole is discovered on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, allowing hackers to briefly access the handset’s home screen and do as they please in that short window time.

By Andrew NelsonFebruary might not have been a busy month as far as uranium volumes go, but it sure was an eventful month.

Australian dollar makes a tepid recovery ahead of the RBA board meeting this afternoon.

Samsung’s unpacking event on March 14 will unleash a Galaxy S4 that flashes the most advanced camera features to date plus a host of other specs that we mostly heard about, new reports said.

- Dun & Bradstreet report negative jobs growth- High operating costs keeping Oz Business at bay- Capital spending lowest level since September 2011- Cash flow seen as a major issue By Andrew NelsonAustralian businesses are increasingly putting off investments as the cost of doing business continues ...

China's official purchasing manager's index expanded in February. It read 50.1, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Planning, and anything over 50 indicates an expansion. It's also a fact that the February reading was lower than the January reading. Cue the nerves about the strength of China's expansion.

The Dow Jones Industrials are again trading at over 14000. The S&P 500 is prepared to make an attack run on 1600. Weary cash, tired of sitting on the sidelines waiting for something of value to come along, is off the bench and into the game. And the game itself is at an interesting turning point.

No major data was released in the US overnight, with most investors were watching Vice Chairman Yellen's speech to the National Association for Business Economics (NABE). She reiterated Chairman Bernanke's view that a hasty end to easing could backfire. This added additional weight to the earlier comments and alleviated 'liquidly dependant' fears sparked on February 21. Professor Yellen's speech helped all three major US indices finish in the green as they did on Friday after Bern...

More details about the release date of the Samsung Galaxy S4's release date and specs have come out. In a specs video leak, AnTuTu benchmark said the device will be announced in New York on March 14.

It seems that the UK government is in need of working out an alternative energy "plan B" provided that new nuclear power plants are not constructed by 2013, according to the Energy and Climate Change Committee. It was underlined in a statement that a failure to build them in 10 years would make it undeniably hard to meet goals, including reduction of carbon emissions.

China´s Shanghai Composite share index slumped by 3.7pct on Monday in response to Friday´s decision by state authorities to tighten restrictions on housing finance. China´s CSI300 index lost 4.6pct, the biggest drop since November 2010. Hong Kong´s Hang Seng index fell by 1.5pct.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 38 points, or 0.3% (37 points shy of the high), while the S&P gained 0.5% to 1525 (first up-Monday in 2013) and the Nasdaq added 0.

On the 28th of February, International Airlines Group informed that it reported a net loss worth €943 million after battling through restructuring charges from its Spanish division Iberia. In addition, the company is planning to downsize its workforce by 3,800 people at its Iberia division in order to reduce costs.

There's a bit of friendly biffo going on in the office over China's economy. We think the country has deep structural problems, is horribly unbalanced and is about to suffer an almighty credit-induced hangover. For Australia, the fallout won't be pretty.

The stock market fell 27% in a single day. Bank of America suspended ATM payouts and JP Morgan applied for bankruptcy protection. Citigroup defaulted on its bonds and Deutsche Bank shares weren't allowed to trade on Europe's stock markets after its shares fell 86% on America's stock market.

In response to reader's request asking for advice on what is the best high-end Windows 8 tablets in the market, tech experts from CNET pointed to the Surface Pro as the top tablet device they would recommend.

Well, if we focus on the economy for a moment (a quaint notion) then the story for Australia in 2013 is what will replace the mining boom.

Stocks are on the rise. Gold is on the rise. Bitcoin is on the rise. Everything is up...up...and, away!

In October 2012, Windows 8 made a grand entrance during its release, and gadgets running the operating system popped up everywhere from notebook computer, tablets, and packed All-in-One computing devices. But there is a successor already under development in the labs of Microsoft - the Windows 9

As suspected, Samsung’s Galaxy S4 is equipped with monster features that allowed the upcoming Android smartphone to top the list of handsets recently tested for browsing brawns.

Sony reportedly plans another smartphone release this year that will serve as its 2013 flagship handset, belying earlier suggestions that the water-proofed and iPhone look-alike Xperia Z is the Japanese firm’s best bet against the current gadget giants.

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8.0 was a sight to behold in immaculate white but another looker is on its way – a charcoal black of the latest mini tablet, which also doubles as a big-sized smartphone, from the Asian tech giant.

First Monday of March and the 115 Catholic cardinals responsible to elect the new pope are getting ready to work in a series of meetings in Vatican City.

HTC One release date will fall on March 15, according to reports anticipating the arrival of the latest HTC flagship smartphone. 'One' is expected to go on sale at AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile customers in the U.S. by mid-March. Reports suggest a one-calendar-date international release in several other countries.

Although Chinese tech giant Huawei has been making some noise in the global smartphone market with the unboxing of the Ascend 2 smartphone at last week's World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, the company's CEO has the ambitious dream of becoming the world's number one in smartphone sales across the world.

More embarrassing leaks of Hope Welker's broken personal life came out on Monday amid reports that financial hardship caused the second youngest daughter of Australia's richest person, Gina Rinehart, to drop the lawsuit she filed against her mother in 2012.