BUSINESS

China will try to do what's right for her, not for Australia. But sometimes we're not sure China even knows what's 'right'. There are so many competing forces in a centrally planned economy that no one knows what's going on.

Vast amount of clean energy can be generated via wind turbines and supply more than enough of what the entire planet needs, reports said.

Royal Dutch Shell started oil drilling in the Chukchi Sea, just 70 miles off the coast of northwest Alaska. The company, however, has begun just preparatory oil drilling for the well in the Arctic after waiting 4 long years since it paid roughly $2.8 billion to the federal government for petroleum leases in the Chukchi Sea.

That day-old Starbucks croissant may not need to go into the garbage after all. A new technique developed by Carol S. K. Lin, a biochemical engineer at the City University of Hong Kong, could turn uneaten pastries and coffee grounds into useful chemicals which could be used to formulate bioplastics and other substances.

More job losses will hit ailing PC maker Hewlett-Packard (HP) in the immediate years ahead, purportedly to realise more savings amid the prevailing soft environment in the global personal computer market.

Only 14 per cent of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in Australia are using cloud computing, a study commissioned by MYOB, a business software provider, found.

Local stocks are giving back yesterday's gains in the early session, with investors choosing to stay out of the market ahead of several key international events this week. Profit takers moved in on US and European markets overnight, as uncertainty surrounds the outcome of the Dutch election being held tomorrow and the German constitutional ruling on the Eurozone bailout plan. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 11.5pts or 0.3pct to 4346.5.

Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett said on Tuesday that the city of Perth is shedding its blue collar reputation and is even attracting fresh professional talents. Among those who moved to the WA capital city are scientists, engineers and academics.

To convince regulators to approve its newly signed agreement with Emirates, Qantas in a submission filed on Monday with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), said it would quits its European trips if the regulators reject the deal.

By Andrew NelsonNo matter where you look, or what you read, or whom you talk to; analysts, commentators and investors alike remain guardedly optimistic about the prospects for a rise in uranium prices in the not too distant future.

By Rudi Filapek-VandyckUS equities closed lower on Monday (US time), with the DJIA losing 52.35 points to close at 13,254.

By Richard Krivo, Trading Instructor, FXCMFirst and foremost a trader should determine the direction that the market has been taking the pair over time.

Local stocks closed slightly higher today, rebounding from a mid-session slump in response to disappointing Chinese import figures. US and European markets posted modest gains on Friday in response to the bond buying program announced by the European Central Bank late last week and hopes the US Federal Reserve would provide more economic stimulus in the wake of a disappointing jobs report released on Friday. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) closed up 9.2pts or 0.2pct to 4358 after hitting an intra...

Everyone’s waiting for the next iPhone version but Aussie telcos may not be overly excited that Apple’s new smartphone will be rolled out this week, a new report said.

Majority of Xstrata investors would vote against the revised merger term with commodities trader Glencore International, which raised its offer by nine per cent to $36 billion Friday last week.

The Australian market closed stronger on Friday helped by the news out just before the close that China has approved 60 new infrastructure projects valued at $157 billion. In response to this new project news iron ore price jumped 2.2% back to US$89/a dry tonne, gold surged over US$34 an ounce and metal prices rallied on the London metals exchange (LME). European market moved higher still excited by the new European Central Bank (ECB) bond buying program, designed to restrain borrowing costs for...

The gold production of Australia improved by 4 per cent in the second quarter of 2012 to 65 metric tonnes from 62.5 tonnes in the first quarter. However, total first half production went down 4 per cent to 261 tonnes partly due to wet weather.

Several years ago, drug giant Pfizer Inc. tried to pull a fast one in Jamaica where several local companies were legally distributing generic versions of Pfizer's formerly-patented blood pressure drug Norvasc (Amlodipine). Though the drug was already off-patent elsewhere, Pfizer still tried to sue the distributors in Jamaica for patent infringement, and is now being summoned to fork over about $1 billion.

It's a bit shocking that until the last year or so, Australia managed to run a trade deficit during a resource boom. The tables below from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade show that from May 2004 to June 2008 - a period during which the All Ordinaries went up 98%, from 3,401 to a high of 6,760 - Australia recorded a trade deficit in 51 consecutive months. We even wrote about a longer streak of 75 consecutive months of trade deficits at the time.

Christian Louboutin, the world-known French shoemaker, won a trademark protection for its women's shoes with red soles and different colored tops.

It is not only Australia that has been negatively affected by the slowdown in the Chinese economy which resulted in a drop in iron ore prices in the world market.

Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said on Sunday that he is expecting the Australian air carrier would break even on its international operations by 2015 with help from the agreement it signed last week with Middle East carrier Emirates.

Unidentified bandits have snatched millions of dollars' worth of maple syrup from the global strategic maple reserve near Montreal, Quebec, according to new reports.

What happened since we left you, Fellow Reckoner? Ah, yes. The Fed concluded its back-slapping fête in Jackson Hole on Friday, with The Bernank going way out on a thin limb:

It is estimated that 85 percent of buying decisions are influenced by visual perception, specifically color. As a merchant, you can use color to increase sales and improve your customers' levels of satisfaction.

Home prices in China are seen stabilising amidst the beginning of traditional peak season which begins this month pushing forward the month of October.

Target Australia Pty Ltd, an Australian department store chain owned by Wesfarmers, is now the target of a legal action after a US cosmetics and fragrance giant found the retailer has been selling fake M·A·C Cosmetics at its stores.

The Australian sharemarket improved for the third time this week, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rising by 0.4 pct or 17.2 pts to 4348.8. The gains over the last few days have helped the local market break a two week losing streak.

The next iPhone version, set to be unwrapped on Sept 12, will have less Samsung imprints compared to the previous editions, with reports indicating that Apple has rolled out a program that would slowly wean away its products from components manufactured by its South Korean rival.