BUSINESS

Australia’s mining and metals sector enjoyed an impressive 2016 with the total number of deals increasing. According to a report from global accounting and consulting firm EY, an escalation of 31 percent was witnessed in the Australian mining M&A deal volume.

Apple stock jumped by more than 2 percent during trading hours on Wednesday. With this, and following price target increases and Warren Buffet’s investment, the tech giant reached a high of US$139.99 (AU$182.6).

Iron ore futures returned to a steady trend as markets did next to nothing. This comes amid reports that Chinese regulators were looking to probe into speculative or "non-conforming" trading activity in the nation’s commodity futures market.

Westpac was facing allegations for breaching responsible lending practices.

Optus Business and Pure Storage announced the launching of All-Flash storage platform on Tuesday.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Airtasker has teamed up to increase users' reputation as users handle their business.

Mining company Rio Tinto announced it will employ as many as 300 indigenous people on its Amrun bauxite project in Far North Queensland. During the course of the project, the company hopes to achieve the indigenous employment target of 20 percent.

Etsy has posted a loss of US$21.4 million (AU$27.9 million) in its fourth quarter. The crafts supplier said it sustained a loss of 19 US cents on a per-share basis. Earnings, when adjusted for non-recurring costs, stood at 3 US cents per share.

Apple received two price-target increases on Tuesday. This comes as the release of the much awaited iPhone 8 draws near.

NBN announced on Tuesday that its Fibre-to-the-Curb (FTTC) technology would roll out to 700,000 homes in the suburbs of Melbourne and Sydney.

Iron ore spot markets witnessed a downslide on Tuesday, according to reports. This comes at the heels of an investigation of speculative trading activity in China’s commodity futures market.

Apple could sell more of its highly anticipated iPhone 8s, according to estimates from Mizuho. The tech giant could end up selling more than 10 million more sets than previously forecast.

Australian shares witnessed an increase on Tuesday, helped largely by buying in financial stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 index increased 0.5 percent (or 26.5 points) to reach 5750.5 points. Meanwhile, the benchmark on Monday had seen a downslide of 0.3 percent.

CEO Andrew Thorburn announced on Tuesday that former NSW premier Mike Baird would join NAB to perform as the Chief Customer Officer of the Corporate and Institutional Banking.

If latest reports are to be believed, Tesla Model 3 will be further delayed. Goldman Sachs analyst David Tamberrino downgraded Tesla to “sell” from “neutral,” this led to panic as shares dropped on Monday after the downgrade.

Telstra and Ericsson have teamed up for Australia's LTE-Broadcast (LTE-B) to further enhance the mobile video customer experience.

Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC), majority-owned by Rio Tinto, will be working on the Wabush 3 project. The company announced its plans after securing a C$79 million (AU$78.04 million) investment approval.

Marriott International has planned to open a 128-room hotel in Hobart in 2018.

Apple Inc.’s shares enjoyed a 52-week high, as the stock upped by about 1.3 percent last Thursday to close the week at US$136.66. For the year to date, Apple stock has increased by about 18 percent. With this achievement, it maintains its position as the Dow Jones Industrial Average's best performing stock this year.

The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) has created a budget proposal that would require all high earners to pay a Medicare levy surcharge.

While Etsy introduced new and better seller tools on Valentines Day, some of the rolled out changes are being met with difficulty and criticism.

Chinese futures in terms of iron ore prices sustained a downfall on Friday. This comes on the heels of Australia’s central bank’s expectation that prices of commodities will go down again.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has revealed an aggressive production plan for its Model 3 sedan so that the electric vehicles hit the market by year end. In order to support the rollout, Tesla may need to raise more cash. Musk has stated that Tesla Model 3 production is very much on track and that the company is looking to ramp up production to 5,000 vehicles a week in the fourth quarter.

The Aussie dollar soared against the US currency on Friday, climbing past 77 US cents. The Australian dollar reached 77.14 US cents.

Telstra has collaborated with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Message Xchange to perform an Australia's first end-to-end electronic invoicing experiment.

Optus has launched the 4.5G network in preparation for its 5G technology.

Qantas revealed on Thursday that Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners will use a new Premium Economy seat. The next generation seat is expected to debut in October.

Yahoo and Verizon finally agreed to close their pending deal but the acquisition price has been discounted by US$350 million (AU$455 million).

Coca-cola Amatil announced on Wednesday that it would close its Thebarton facility in South Australia.