BUSINESS

Is the Australian Economy in Recession?

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 14 points, or .1%, while the S&P was flat at 1418 and the Nasdaq added 0.

Much have been said about the next Galaxy S smartphone from Samsung, which according to blog sites will be deployed with a more powerful quad-core processor, higher image density of 441 ppi and will take the name Galaxy S4.

Whilst several regional indices ended the session in the red, the general market atmosphere at the start of the week was constructive. The Dow and S&P 500 concluded last week on positive note following an upbeat government jobs report. US Non-farm payrolls gained by 146k in November (60K better than expected), although October job gains were revised lower.The unemployment rate dropped from 7.9% to 7.7%, the lowest since December 2008.

Australian businesses, either small or large corporations, really ought to ensure they have a good and solid IT system in place, or otherwise always end in the mercy of hackers.

What actually are you getting by snapping up Google’s Nexus 7, which recently has been named by UK-based tech site T3 as 2012’s ‘Gadget of the Year’?

So you are a tourist who has an iPhone that is most probably equipped with Apple Maps. And then you got lost somewhere in Australia. Of course your first recourse would be to locate your whereabouts in the resource-rich nation through Apple Maps. But Australian police warned better notdepend on Apple's new iPhone mapping system or risk experiencing the same fate of motorists who got lost after relying on the glitch-filled app.

HTC would like to call this a different smartphone from the Droid DNA and J-Butterfly but the Butterfly looks and acts like its siblings, though this is another flagship phone from the Taiwan-based firm that is geared for the international market.

During Christmas one gets sick due to stress and anxiety that the harried season sometimes give. And if you get sick right smack on Christmas Day, and it so happened you're miles away from home coz you're celebrating Christmas at some other town, the more you feel you'll get sick because you don't know of any available doctor nearby.

The Australian sharemarket is improving for the fourth time in six sessions, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 0.4 per cent or 17.6 pts to 4573.5. The defensive healthcare sector is the lone loser at lunch, with all other regions of the market edging higher. Better than expected job numbers in the U.S on Friday and strong economic news out of China yesterday is helping keep our market positive. There were around 50,000 more jobs created in November than expected in North America, while reta...

Christine Duran, Christina Huerta and Isabel Robles revealed to ABC News that they could not believe the insult they received after dining at the Chilly D Restaurant in California which is part of the Cameo Club Casino restaurant in Stockton.

As the famous cliché goes, all good things come to an end. Or something to that effect. In today's era ruled by smartphones, tablets, and other more convenient portable options, Sony announced over the weekend it is finally giving its Walkman and other handheld cassette players lineup the rest it deserves. Sony said that the current batch of TCM-400, TCM-410 and TCM-450 devices will be the last that it will produce, effectively easing out the product item from the IT and gadget market early n...

Google’s JellyBean has commenced its deployment for the Asus PadFone 2, initially hitting Taiwanese owners of the two-in-one gadget, with other regions likely to follow shortly.

Smartphones are getting more attractive for the holidays and HTC has pushed out another unit to get you thinking for a serious buy. The HTC One VX is not exactly a fresh issue, its market debut only fraught by delays but on Dec 7 AT&T started offering the handset for only $US49.99.

Tech giant Apple Inc will invest nearly $100 million next year in order to shift a small proportion of its production capabilities back from China to the United States, announced its chief executive Tim Cook on Thursday, in a move widely seen as a high-profile test of American manufacturing competitiveness.

Droid RAZR M and Sony Xperia 10 users may now use an unofficial CM 10 custom rom.

Crisis-hit EU nations are considered among the most corrupt in the European Union, according to the 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, a global anti-corruption watchdog.

Despite the emergence of several JailBreaking methods, there is no perfect one they will surely last forever without the iPhone suffering from lagging or bugs. Phone owners who are experiencing such technical glitches could try reversing the process.

The update is out for several Android mobile devices such as the ASUS Padfone 2, many Motorola units, and finally the LG Optimus 2x. The long wait among these devices is over and the standardisation of Android OS version is finally scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2013.

Every day counts a lot for both borrowers and Australian banks for each day that the latter fails to pass, whether in full or partially, the 25-basis points overnight cash rate reduction made by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Tuesday, Dec. 4.

What Apple has been up to lately? Tim Cook, the tech giant’s CEO, has allowed a short glimpse of his recent concerns and that of the high-profile company he inherited from its co-founder Steve Jobs.

Local stocks enjoyed a solid end to the trading week, following positive offshore moves and strong gains from blue chip stocks. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) finished the session firmer by 40.2pts or 0.9pct to 4555.9, its highest close since the 19th October.

The well-received Nexus 7 now comes with 3G connectivity, expanding the network capability of the tablet previously released by Google (and Asus) with only Wi-Fi access.

Australia has launched its first hybrid engine plant facility in Altona, Melbourne, operated and managed by Toyota.

Australians would most likely patronage or buy items sold locally, such as gadgets, if only they were priced cheaper than counterparts sold overseas, a study by MasterCard released on Friday showed.

Published price tag of the ‘full’ Asus PadFone 2 starts at over $1000 in Australia. Seems pricey on first look but the package actually delivers two devices – the standalone smartphone which then becomes a tablet when docked with a companion shell.

The Australian sharemarket is improving for the third time this week, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) gaining by 0.8 per cent or 36.5 pts to 4552.2. All sectors bar the utilities are higher, with the miners and financials leading the rise.

Nokia’s chief designer Ahtisaari has a new Lumia baby and we’ll get to see it January 2013. Touted as the most affordable Windows Phone 8 handset that is set to hit global markets, the Lumia 620 will retail at $US249.

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.