BUSINESS

Whisky Is For Drinking...

By Richard (Rick) MillsAhead of the HerdAs a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best informationThe number of people living in areas affected by severe water stress is expected to increase to almost four billion people.

Australian Stock Market Report – Afternoon 10/22/2012

The Australian share market eased from 14 month highs today, following a weak lead from offshore markets and lower commodity prices. US stocks fell on Friday night on disappointing earnings results and with investors spooked on the 25th anniversary of the 1987 stock market crash. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) closed down 28.9pts or 0.6pct to 4565.6pts.
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Tights, Timing and Stop Losses

The first thing to know about them is that they always use a net. In fact, trapeze artists will practice a trick by repeatedly landing in the net, until they get it right. Only then will the catcher bother to make a trip up the rope ladder to hang in the catch trapeze and pluck the swinging flyer out of the air.

Sony to Close Japan Factory and Cut 2000 Jobs in Restructuring

Sony Corp. informed on the 19th of October it would cut approximately 2,000 jobs in Japan in the year to March 2013 as a part of the restructuring plan. The company also announced the closure of a camera lens factory in Japan as well. The job cuts in Japan are a part of Sony Corp.'s global plan to downsize the global headcount by about 10,000 by March 2013.

Petronas Bid for Progress Energy Rejected by Canada

Canada has blocked Petroliam Nasional Berhad's takeover of Progress Energy Resources Corp. The $5.23 billion bid was rejected as it would not advance national interests of Canada, according to the government.

Chromebook vs Netbook: Which Is Better?

Google just announced the release of the Samsung Chromebook along with new ambitions to spread its browser-based, cloud-focused Chrome OS laptop. Google envisions it to be as an extra machine in the house or as a laptop for students.

Australian Stock Market Report – Midday 10/19/2012

The Australian share market is modestly lower at lunchtime in the East, following Wall Street's lead. The US Dow Jones Index closed down 0.1pct while technology shares saw the NASDAQ fall by 1pct. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 7.8pts or 0.2pct to 4573.1.

Nokia to Post Loss Prior to its Make or Break Launches

Speculations are rising in the market that Nokia will report yet another quarterly loss and diminishing cash reserves prior to Nokia's upcoming smartphone launches next month. Nokia is struggling hard to regain grounds that it has lost to its arch rivals in the smartphone sector Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc.

Stock Market Capitulation

Just as there is capitulation selling to the downside, there is capitulation buying to the upside. That is, people just give in to their emotions and sell or buy, depending on the prevailing mood. There's no real rational analysis involved, just a tremendous urge to join the herd. Humans have an innate desire to 'herd'.

Electric Cars and Platinum Mines

Just kidding. The world's financial system is still on track for a reckoning. We just don't know if it will be another 10 years of Japan-like zombie land...or something more sinister and sudden.

Get Out of France

Investors are betting on the Fed... they're betting on the 'central bank put', the idea that central banks have their backs, and will make sure the downside is protected. How? With as much cash as it takes.

An Australian Property Boom and Bust all at Once

It just goes to show how confused things are on the ground when property developers and recent homebuyers are struggling while the economic talking heads babble about a renewed Australian property boom. Welcome to a world full of monetary distortions.

The Overnight Report: Googling A Loss

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 8 points, while the S&P fell 0.2% and the Nasdaq plunged 1.0%.Google, like Apple, is one of the America's largest stocks by market cap and should thus be in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, but isn't given a per share face value that exceeds Dow criteria.

Australian Stock Market Report – Afternoon 10/18/2012

Local stocks closed at their highest levels since July 2011 today, with investor sentiment boosted by the fact today's Chinese economic data contained no nasty surprises. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) added 30pts by close or 0.7pct to 4580.9, after hitting an intra-day high of 4602.5.

New Zealand's Property Market Buoyant

Residential property prices in New Zealand have continued to rise in the third quarter of 2012. The national housing median price rose by 6% to NZ$371,000 (US$304,168) during the year to September 2012, according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ).

Sony Xperia VL vs HTC J Butterfly: An Upcoming Duel

HTC recently announced the upcoming release of the HTC J Butterfly, with the first stop in Japan and then to the entire global market. Sony will also release a version of another Xperia in Japan and then to rest of the world. While both are still coming soon to retail outlets, these upcoming devices are already set to face off each other.

ASUS Padfone 2 vs LG Optimus G

ASUS surprised techies by launching the successor of the Padfone, only this time much bigger and better in many ways. And this bigger and better unit has powerful technologies inside it, from the processor and memory to camera and resolution shots. The new challenger in the Android smartphone war meets up with another powerful device, the LG Optimus G.

Australian Stock Market Report – Midday 10/18/2012

Overnight the US market closed slightly higher and the European markets were also stronger. Better than expected home start numbers, for the month of September, out of the states helped reduce the pain from weaker than expected results from key technology forms IBM and Intel.

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