BUSINESS

Software makers are re-training their attention on what Apple has proven as a sure-fire way of earning the big bucks - put together a sexy gadget and have it powered by in-house operating system and maybe a few years after, you'll be on top of the world.

The PlayStation Network would be receiving another software update by today but the said update would just be minimal. The update will roll out for today and it is dubbed as "v4.20".

Day 1 of the Google I/O 2012 has already past but the revealing of the new Google products are still fresh for everyone's mind. During the conference, Google revealed the Google Nexus 7 Tablet, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and Google Glasses.

Despite weaker commodity prices globally, Australia expects record-high $209 billion export revenue from mining and energy resources in the coming financial year. The Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics attributes its optimism to new resource projects going full blast this year.

Metcash reported on Thursday northbound results but behind the numbers were the wholesale grocer's shrinking income, which the company admitted had plunged by more than 62 per cent in the past 12 months leading to end of April 2012.

NBN Co flatly denied that Australia's $36-billion nationwide broadband roll out has hit a snag following reports that major contractors attached to the federal initiative were mulling possible pull outs from the project that has been plagued by numerous delays.

Local stocks are gaining traction for a second consecutive session, following gains on US and European markets overnight. Positive US housing data boosted sentiment, although volumes were low in Europe ahead of a key European Union summit kicking off tonight in Brussels. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 18.8pts or 0.5pct to 4102.8.

by Andrew Milligan, Head of Global Strategy, Standard Life InvestmentsIf European policymakers were playing a grand game of golf they would currently be knee-deep in the rough, with no line of sight to the green.

The Hollywood Palladium is making its way on to the commercial market where it is expected to sell for up to $60mn, says the Hollywood Reporter.

Technology is really changing the lives of consumers the world over. Among the technological innovations that Australians could look forward to in the future that would make life easier for them is not falling in line at supermarket check-out counters.

Dell recently unveiled its line of XPS Ultrabooks with the hopes of becoming the top providers of ultrabooks in the world. Despite that intention, can it really compete with Apple's MacBook Air?

Facebook, the popular social networking site recently made changes in terms of email addresses of users. This change made users angry and protests regarding this change was widespread among Facebook users.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Australia's sharemarket is waiting if that adage would be applicable in the case of Australia's richest woman, Gina Rinehart, who was denied anew on Wednesday a seat in the Fairfax Media board.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 92 points or 0.7% while the S&P gained 0.9% to 1331 and the Nasdaq added 0.7%.

Mozilla Firefox 13 is being plagued with security and privay issues due to its new feature. This new feature can be a potential threat for users who are sharing the same computer device.

There are news reports saying that Google is planning to launch the company's newest tablet offering named Google Nexus Tablet. The Google Nexus tablet is said to be the next competitor for Apple's iPad.

A new McKinsey report released on Tuesday showed that there is widespread pessimism among business leaders over the prospects of the global economy.

The interest rate cutbacks imposed by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) in the past two months seemed unable to convince Aussies to shop for new homes, bank executives said on Tuesday.

The competition between Qantas Airways and Virgin Australia further heats up as the latter unveiled today plans to secure more service routes to Europe via the code sharing arrangement the airline had earlier inked with Singapore Airlines.

Apple has just released its latest line of MacBook Pros and one of the highlights for this is the inclusion of Retina display as its main feature. The inclusion of Retina display means that the image for the MacBook Pro would be sharper and clearer. Despite that assurance, Apple's MacBook Pro with Retina display is now being plagued with issues and problems.

The local share market is picking up a little following four sessions of losses, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 21.8pts or 0.5pct to 4078.1 at lunchtime in the East. There was a little bit of investor apathy in Europe overnight ahead of yet another European Union summit to discuss the region's debt crisis while US markets rose on upbeat housing data.

A quick recap of the weekend: Syria has shot down a Turkish military jet, the Muslim Brotherhood has won power in Egypt, England lost on penalties (again), North smashed Adelaide, and the blithering idiots who pretend to run Europe's economy have decided that spending more money is the answer!

Small businesses play a central role in employment generation but are often ignored because they are after all, small! The value and role played by the New generation of small business in propping the global economy cannot be underestimated.

With less than a week before the Gillard government starts the collection of the $23-per tonne carbon tax, the Opposition is using all means to discredit the tax. The Coalition strategies include tapping small Australian businesses to post fliers that apologises to customers for hiking their prices on account of the carbon tax.

Brokers have flocked to the Austaralian Broker Online forum to detail numerous experiences of older borrowers being knocked back by the banks.

The power of Australia's richest woman, Gina Rinehart, was immediately felt by Fairfax Media even before she steps into the company's boardroom. A day after Ms Rinehart threatened to sell her shares of the company, Fairfax shares declined 3.5 per cent and closed at 55 cents.

By Kathleen Brooks, Research Director UK EMEA at FOREX.comThe markets aren't holding out too much hope for a neat resolution to the sovereign debt crisis at this week's EU summit.

The Google IO 2012 is set to take place on June 27-29, 2012 at Moscone Center, San Francisco. Developers and spectators alike are all anticipating the upcoming news and updates for the Google IO 2012.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 32 points or 0.3% while the S&P gained 0.6% to 1319 and the Nasdaq added 0.