BUSINESS

The HTC M7 is definitely hitting store shelves by Q1 2013 with no less than HTC chief executive Peter Chou reportedly brandishing the quad-core 1080p smartphone in a recent company gathering.

New Samsung tablets are set to be unveiled at the 2013 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and among them is the entry-level Galaxy Tab 3 7.0, said to carry a starting price of $US149.

U.S. oil giant Chevron's expenses to build the Gorgon natural gas project in Australia has gone up by $15 billion. The company blamed the rise to $52 billion from $37 billion to the high Australian currency and extra logistics.

The upcoming Galaxy S4 is rumoured to sport wireless charging capability but those who can hardly wait for the next Samsung flagship smartphone launch and happen to own the million-selling Galaxy S3 can actually enjoy this feature in advance.

The Australian sharemarket has kicked off the week a touch higher, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up just 0.1 per cent or 3.1 pts to 4945. Global markets rose impressively on Friday, partly thanks to a healthy jobs report out of North America. There were 157,000 jobs created in January, while previous monthly reports were upgraded which was also seen as a positive.

The United States Embassy in Manila said the U.S. government has vowed to extend the 'appropriate compensation' to the Tubbataha Reef that was damaged when its mine countermeasure ship USS Guardian ran aground on the precious World Heritage site on January 17.

Nokia Lumia 710 users in the United States will not be getting further support from carrier T-Mobile, specifically in accessing the Windows Phone 7.8 update, a new report said.

Shibani Bhujle, a New York marketing manager, complained of an incident unexpected by other iPhone users. She said that her one-year-old iPhone 4s spontaneously combusted which burnt her fingers and then oozes a liquid out of the device.

Experts forecast over the weekend that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will retain the record-low 3 per cent overnight cash rate when it meets on Tuesday for its monetary policy decision.

Even if mining magnate Gina Rinehart lost $965 million in 2012 and is no longer the world's richest woman, with $17 billion in her treasure chest, she is still Australia's richest person.

After optimistic results noted in 2012, the beginning of 2013 is also comforting for automakers as new car sales in the US increased sharply in January.

After all, there are happy endings... Chinese car manufacturer Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. informed that it acquired legendary cab maker Manganese Bronze for approximately £11 million. The producer of London's black taxis run into financial difficulties and entered administration in 2012. It seems that Manganese Bronze's legend will be restored at last.

- Independence Group increases production & grades- Reduces costs- Exploration potential- Two brokers upgrade to BuyBy Greg PeelIf commodities analysts had to pick one metal/mineral offering little in the way of enthusiastic price upside in 2013 it would likely be nickel.

-Advertising spending to improve-But mostly in new media-Publishers face strong headwinds-TV advertising to reboundBy Eva BrocklehurstTraditional media is on a downhill road, advertising spending is choppy, debt levels are high.

The positive atmosphere around the local stock market has continued to build at the end of the week. In the last 2 days there have been a number of setbacks, yet the upward momentum of the index has prevailed.

Come March 2013, Apple intends to refresh its 9.7-inch iPad, this time around thinner and lighter from the version we have seen in the last quarter of 2012 thanks to a new touchscreen technology, a new report said.

A new research of Australia's data usage habits has found that Aussies have been venturing more towards wi-fi hotspots in increasing numbers, which is not surprising since the same study likewise revealed that half of all Australian adults now already own a smartphone. That Aussies will clamor for more free wi-fi hotspots to support their rapid mobile requirements is just a matter of time, so to speak.

Nexus 4 is gone again in Australia after only days of being available. Both the 8GB and 16GB variants of the Google flagship smartphone has just returned to Google Play site, but now buyers are doused with cold water again.

It seems that comparing the price of a US minesweeper and a marine sanctuary is never a good way to earn public appeal as Filipino netizens take on Twitter in response to Donald Trump Jr., reports Inquirer.net.

Sony sent out invites for a New York City event labelled ‘PlayStation Meeting 2013’ which the ailing Japanese consumer electronic firm will stage on Feb. 20. Is this the much-awaited PlayStation 4 unveiling?

Following on from a quick pullback yesterday, the local market is improving for the 11th time in 12 trading sessions. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 0.7 per cent or 36.6 pts to 4937.6. The market is anticipating economic news out of China between 12pm (AEDT) and 12.45pm (AEDT) which could drive markets this afternoon.

Samsung’s Galaxy S4 starts rolling out by the second week of April 2013, the projection based on two new reports coming from the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

Nokia is reportedly testing a new Lumia smartphone, triggering fresh speculations that the Finnish firm is pulling off a surprise following its announcement of a Feb 25 news briefing at the 2013 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

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.

On the 30th of January, Imperial Tobacco Group Plc. informed that the first-half profit would decline because of black market sales and the deepening crisis in Europe. Along with the announcement on the half-year profit outlook, the Europe's second-biggest tobacco company revealed that Robert Dyrbus had resigned from his position.

On the 31st of January, Royal Dutch Shell PLC informed that it saw a 13 percent jump in profit for the fourth quarter. As it was underlined by the Europe's biggest energy company, increased costs in both exploration and output were balanced by high refining margins. However the profit for the final fiscal quarter did not meet with analysts' estimates due to weaker prices in North America.

On the 29th of January, Anglo American PLC informed that it would write down $4 billion on its Minas-Rio iron project in Brazil after conducting a review of the scheme.

By Peter Switzer, Switzer Super ReportThere's no more appropriate time for a market review and outlook statement for the month ahead.

Images of the white Nexus 4 have leaked out, supporting earlier reports that the Google-LG smartphone will be released apart from the original shining black.