BUSINESS

The Philippines government may attempt to revive a hugely unpopular 2009 bill that aimed to levy a tax for all mobile phone text messages, claimed a report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Monday, with a new 'sin tax' on alcohol and tobacco also expected to be passed as early as next week.

Anti-virus specialist Symantec has unmasked a new malware that exploits a function of Google Docs to secretly communicate with its command and control (C&C) server, likely infecting even new machines running on Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.

Australia's major advertisers have declared that the self-regulatory system for food-related advertising is already working effectively, regardless of a recent report by the Obesity Policy Coalition (OPC).

Japan's economy is a clear example of what can happen when the zombies take over.

By Andrew NelsonOne of the things that uranium market watchers assumed would halt the metal's slide was news a few months back that China had shrugged off its post Fukushima ashes and decided to go ahead at full steam in expanding the nation's nuclear energy program.

E-commerce company eBay Inc. has been summoned on the 16th of November by the state of California and their Department of Justice as well. The case is a result of an illegal agreement of the e-commerce company eBay Inc. with Intuit Inc. that the former would not employ the workers of the latter.

HSBC Holdings Plc has confirmed that it is negotiating the sale of its 15.6 percent stake in China's Ping An Insurance Co., which is worth approximately $9 billion, as it tries to boost its profitability. On the 19th of November, shares of HSBC grew approximately 1.4 percent in Hong Kong after the biggest Europe's bank informed about its plans to sell stakes in the China's second-biggest insurer.

The last six weeks of the calendar year are usually a lot like the last two turns in a major downhill ski race. You get a couple of steep, sweeping bends and then the finish line. At this point in the race, you can only screw up. It's too late to make up for lost time.

Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd will be operating Heathrow routes to two Scottish cities, Edinburgh and Aberdeen after being offer take-off and landing slots at the Heathrow airport. British Airways was made to relinquish these slots after the successful acquisition of BMI by International Consolidated Airlines Group, S.A.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 207 points, or 1.7%, while the S&P gained 2.0% to 1386 and the Nasdaq jumped 2.

Android appears well on its way to global mobile device dominance, likely to complete its tablet rally much sooner than Apple had expected.

The Australian economy could lose more than A$1.5 trillion ($1.55 trillion) over the next 80 years if it fails to address the soonest time possible the loopholes in its education system, an analysis distributed on Monday by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said.

Rowing against the tide, Nintendo launched the Wii U Nov. 18, hopeful that gamers the world over will plunk down some cash for an upgrade of the experience that conquered the world six years ago.

Activision executives were in euphoric mood as of Friday last week, overwhelmed by the incessant cash register rings generated by the latest Call of Duty virtual mayhem. The new game title clocked $US500 million sales after its full-day of commercial debut, reports said.

The ongoing debt crisis in the eurozone dragged the bloc into what is being touted as the second eurozone recession since the year 2009 during the third quarter in spite of moderate growth in European nations France and Germany.

In Australia, we seem to have a cultural view that our 'material abundance will last forever'. What people don't seem to realise is that our material abundance, and our ability to take advantage of this material abundance, doesn't come close to covering the bills we're racking up in the pursuit of a high standard of living.

The Australian sharemarket slipped for the fourth time in five sessions today, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) easing by 0.2 per cent or 10.5 pts to 4360.1. The local market fell by 2.7 per cent this week, making it the biggest weekly slide in value since May. Interestingly, barely a month ago the Aussie market hit a 14-month high but has dropped in value by 5 per cent since.

If the first day sale of Nexus 4 were an indicator, it would be a Merry Christmas for Google since reports said that within hours, consumers snapped up units in Australia, United Kingdom and several other nations after the stores opened.

Microsoft is poised to pull off more surprises over the next few years but its chief executive, Steve Ballmer, is keeping all the details close to his chest for now, refusing to confirm talks of upcoming hardwares from the software giant.

Like Apple, Samsung thought it wise to have its own Mini but not a smaller tablet. Instead, the South Korean decided to serve a downsized version of its bestselling handset so far, the Galaxy S3, which recently outpaced the iPhone as the most sought-after smartphone brand in the world.

Local stocks have hit fresh seven week lows in the early session, following more weakness on European and US markets overnight. Data showed the European economy is officially in recession, and whilst this was no surprise, it did give investors reason to sell. US markets were also sold-off after the world's largest retailer Wal-Mart disappointed with profit results.

Due to the growing popularity and higher demand for its use, Instagram just launched a PC version called Instagrille. This free desktop app provides all Instagram experience from the mobile to the PC.

By Peter Switzer, Switzer Super ReportAnother month and another challenge for investors and I suspect it will get worse before it gets better.

Gartner's third quarter report for 2012 released on Thursday showed that South Korean tech firm LG remained in fifth place in overall global mobile phone sales by vendors.

To ensure growth and carving for Australia a bigger niche in the multibillion-dollar global industry, Australian Arts Minister Simon Crean announced on Thursday the creation of the Australian Interactive Games Fund.

Australia's woes with its farm animals raised for their meat appears to be unending. After 21,000 Australian sheep were culled in October in Pakistan over suspicions of bacterial contamination, another 50,000 chickens in New South Wales were quarantined this week by state authorities.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 28 points, or 0.2%, while the S&P lost 0.2% to 1353 and the Nasdaq fell 0.

The Australian sharemarket lost ground for the third time in four days, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) falling by 0.9 per cent or 40.1 pts to 4370.6. So far, this has been the worst performance by the local market in half a year while shares are also trading at around two-month lows.

Australia has been ranked as the top among global countries with the best cigarette package health warnings, according to an international report released by the Canadian Cancer Society.