BUSINESS

By Kathleen Brooks, Research Director UK EMEA, FOREX.comThe markets are trading with a risk off tone at the start of the week.

The automotive industry changes constantly. In Australia, the cost of raw materials and fuel is volatile, regulations are tighter and competition is greater. As a result, innovation is encouraged.

A study by the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) released on Tuesday identified the top 10 high-paid chief executives in the country. Number one on the list is BHP Billiton Chief Executive Marius Kloppers who earned $11.8 million in 2011 in wages alone.

FNArena has added another video to its Investors Education section on the website. This week ATW's Jerry Simmons looks at US stock indices, currencies, gold, oil and gas.

Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu is on an aggressive campaign to court foreign investments, particularly Chinese, through an ongoing week-long trade mission to the Asian economic giant.

The Pakistani government ordered on Monday the culling of 21,000 sheep from Australia after the animals were tested positive for salmonella bacteria and actinomyces, and declared unfit for human consumption.

A modeling released Monday by the Minerals Council of Australia warned of a 5 per cent contraction in the country's economy due to the cost crisis that threatens to halt mining mega projects. To counter the threat, the council pushed the federal government to commit to controversial policies to bring back its competitiveness.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 40 points, or 0.3%, while the S&P lost 0.3% to 1461 and the Nasdaq slipped 0.

The euphoria surrounding the US Federal Reserve's latest efforts to stimulate the global economy continued to impress local investors today. US and European markets rallied on Friday, with the Dow Jones Index and S&P 500 both hitting highs not seen since December 2007. Japanese markets were closed today for a public holiday, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell into the red. By close, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) edged higher by 11.6pts or 0.3pct to 4421.8, its highest level since...

While Australians prefer home-grown food over imported ones, the case is not true for furniture, health and beauty items, clothes, hardware and household appliances which Aussies prefer to buy imported ones due to lower cost and better value.

The infamous Winklevoss twins, Tyler and Cameron, are now engaged into the social networking business following their legal battles with Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, leaving the two $US65 million richer.

he Australian market opened a little weaker than expected today The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose by 10 points but by lunchtime it had lost a bit of ground and was only up 8 points to 4,418 points.

PepsiCo Inc. informed on Tuesday that its president, John Compton, resigned from the post to run a large privately held company in the state of Tennessee, Pilot Flying J Oil Corp. John Compton's resignation comes as a surprise after less than a year on the job. Zein Abdalla has been appointed John Compton's successor.

Microsoft’s upcoming Surface tablets will directly challenge iPad’s dominance, according to company chief executive Steve Ballmer, stressing too that the device and Windows 8 will lead to “epic year for Microsoft.”

One of the longest-running myths in financial markets is going to damage a lot of portfolios: the myth that central bank money printing - in the context of a modern banking system - hikes the value of stocks.

There's a movie about a zombie apocalypse where fireworks are used to distract the zombies. While their yellow eyes are peeled to the sky, scroungers go looking for food outside the safety of the walls. The violent zombies are so absorbed by the fireworks they let people walk right past them. Think of it as stimulus.

Australia's leading residential builders and developers have jumped on board a new web-based house and land matching service houseandland.com.au

In a bid to boost the state economy, New South Wales Resources Minister Chris Hartcher said on Saturday that NSW is open to uranium exploration. Besides announcing the state policy, Mr Hartcher moved one step ahead by seeking expressions of interest in licences.

Do university graduates have an advantage during an economic downturn?

How QE Favours the Rich

If you need any further evidence that the bulk commodity bubble has burst all over the place, look no further than the actions of the Queensland government. These bozos announced their budget on Tuesday, ratcheting up the royalties on coal production.

We're back in the City of Lights, Fellow Reckoner, La Ville-Lumière. The hot and dusty Medina of Marrakech is behind us. So too the coastline of Portugal and the cities of Seville and Madrid. But what is ahead...for Europe...for the world?

The Australian sharemarket improved strongly today following the U.S central bank's decision to stimulate the American economy. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose by 1.2 pct or 50.4 pts to 4410.2. Thanks to today's improvements, the XAO is around 1.4 pct stronger today than this time last week and has had its best single day of trade since 27 July.

Spanish house prices continue to slide, as the economy slumps deeper into recession mainly due to weak demand and stringent austerity measures.

Ford Motor Company, in a bid to lessen its dependency on the precious rare earths metals, has moved to come up with a new line of automobiles that run on new lithium-ion batteries instead of the nickel-metal-hydride batteries.

Weight Watchers, the international diet programme, has endorsed a new line of diet wines from Australian producer McWilliams Wines.

Nintendo is gearing to morph itself as the premier fun-provider of households the world over as the Japanese firm unveiled on Thursday the new Wii U, touted as “the entertainment hub in the centre of the house.”

Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) announced on Thursday that it awarded to NRW Holdings the contract to build the miner's Cape Lambert iron ore plant. The scope of construction work includes conveyor link earthworks, relocation of water pipelines and rail formation earthworks.

China’s Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp, currently two of the leading global telecommunication firms, have informed the U.S. Congress on Thursday that they were not willing tools at the disposal of Beijing to spy on other nations.