BUSINESS

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.

Starbucks Corp. returns to its expansion plan as it has announced that it is going to open as many as 2,400 outlets in just two years. Two major markets, which will see the Starbucks Corp.'s expansion, are China and the United States. If the company's expansion plans is achieved, Starbucks Corp. will have over 20,000 stores worldwide.

In November, an agreement between Apple and HTC about patent forbade the Taiwanese company to make and sell mobile devices that copies what is described as Distinctive Apple User Experience. With the deal, the two tech companies settled their most outstanding patent disputes in a settlement that includes a 10-year agreement with current and future licenses and patents between each other.

When investors are fearful, they look to hedge their portfolios by buying 'insurance' that will protect them if the market falls.

It doesn't take a techie Nostradamus to predict that the evolution of the mobile industry will be unstoppable with streaming technological innovations and influence of the growing consumers adapting to the tech age.

Google's Nexus 4 is now sold out at the Google Play Store. U.S. buyers who want to purchase the device could instead order the item from T-Mobile online stores which sells the 16GB model of Nexus 4 with a two-year service contract for $399.

Sir Philip Green is said to be in advanced talks with a US private equity firm, Leonard Green & Partners LP, over the sale of a significant part of his fashion brand Topshop. According to a source familiar with the matter, billionaire retailer is to sell as much as 25 percent stake in his high street brand as he attempts to raise money to expand Topshop and Topman in China and the US.

On the 6th of November, British luxury fashion group Mulberry informed that the results from the beginning of the second half of the year were promising as retail sales grew significantly after the first half profit had been affected by operating costs. Mulberry Group Plc saw an 11 percent increase in like-for-like sales in the nine weeks ended on the 1st of December.

By Peter Thornhill, Switzer Super ReportWell, as investors, what are we to do? With all the recently self-appointed investment guru's wagging their fingers at us, we have every right to be confused.

After creating controversy a few weeks ago for suggesting that Australians should stay away from pubs so they would be financially better off, Gina Rinehart's latest advice to young Aussies will likely be a trending topic again in news programmes and social media.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 39 points, or 0.3%, while the S&P gained 0.3% to 1413. With a partial bounce in Apple, the Nasdaq is up 0.

The same theme that has marked the last fortnight continued to hold sway over sentiment in global markets in the last day. The impact of economic reports has been fleeting, as investors continue to school themselves in the nuances of US politics as a way gauging chances of success in resolving the fiscal cliff. Reasonable economic news from the US was balanced by some more aggressive posturing on resolve budgetary issues.

Samsung is widely believed to unleash the Galaxy S4 on Q1 2013 but at around the same time, Taiwan’s HTC is rumored to wow the tech world anew with a new high-end smartphone known for now as M7.

The Australian Bankers' Association (ABA) said the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has again confirmed that Australian households and borrowers are not paying more for their mortgages and business loans even though banks do not pass on RBA cash rate cuts in full.

The Android JellyBean 4.1 update is officially available for owners of Motorola’s Droid RAZR HD and MAXX HD and getting it is served in two ways – server initiated and manual update procedures.

Australia is one of only 13 countries where cars are designed and manufactured. The three large car manufacturers are Ford, Toyota and General Motors, while the three large truck manufacturers are Volvo, Kenworth and IVECO.

With Christmas Day only two weeks away, all the hype that goes with the season, including retailer selling and shopping, are expected to go all the more excitedly grueling in the coming days. And as Australians try to find that perfect gift either for one's self or for friends and loved ones, they may be too busy to notice purchased items void of receipts.

Blacks Ops 2, the latest in the blockbuster Call of Duty shooting game franchise, has registered more than $1 billion of global sales, a feat that Activision said was accomplished on the game title’s first 15 days of commercial availability.

The Ice Cream Sandwich on Motorola’s latest Android handsets, the Droid RAZR HD and the Droid MAXX HD, is gradually being bumped off in favour of the more flavourful JellyBean, Motorola Mobility has announced via Twitter this week.

Despite positive moves from blue chip stocks on Wall Street overnight, the Australian share market is trading in the red at lunchtime in the East. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 3.2pts or 0.1pct to 4524pts.

By Greg PeelMortgage broker Mortgage Choice has today released the results of its annual Consumer Sentiment Survey.

At the yearly HITB Security Conference in Malaysia in October, familiar and new faces participated in the iOs jailbreak discussion. The appearance of known experts such as iPhone Dev-Team members @MuscleNerd and @planetbeing and Chronic Dev-Team member @pod 2g as well as unknowns such as Azimuth founder Mark Dows aka @mdowd, are indicators of how popular jailbreaking has become.

By Greg PeelIt is clearly Beijing's intention for China to become the world's major trading hub, specifically through Shanghai, challenging the incumbent global trading centres of London and New York.

Besides bringing back the Sony Xperia S to the store shelves, the Japanese technology giant is also providing a JellyBean update for the model. Sony Mobile UK said an update for Android 4.1 will be open in mid-December. The news was actually announced in October. With the confirmation, Sony Xperia S may be the first to receive a golden update of Android 4.1 and owners of Sony Xperias T, TX, and V could expect updates soon. For overall Sony Xperia devices, a possible development for updates will ...

Both Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and major Australian banks' moves have been easy to predict in terms of overnight cash rate reductions and the response of the local lenders.

Readers of The Australian Traveller named on Tuesday night Sydney as the best Australian city in terms of travel experience, best restaurant, best bar and best guided tour.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 82 points, or 0.6%, while the S&P gained 0.2% to 1409 and the Nasdaq lost 0.

A group of developers have been very resourceful and found ways how to unlock root access for almost every Ice Cream Sandwich-operated smartphones, which they made available in a forum in XDA Developers.

Political machinations and the associated rhetorical bluster continued on either side of the Atlantic in the preceding 24 hours. Outcomes in the related markets were favourable, to wit there was a sizeable drop in long term Greek interest rates along with more modest decline in Spanish and Italian rates. Strong gains for US house prices were registered in October, providing more evidence of the nascent recovery in US Housing.