BUSINESS

Spot iron prices are up to an almost 15-month high at $153.90 per tonne. The rally in prices, which started in December 2012, is mainly due to China's rebuilding of its stockpiles as the Asian giant gears to boost its economy, which in turn, could improve steel demand.

Not unexpectedly, Switzerland topped the 10 best countries to be born in 2013 list made by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Australia and New Zealand tied for second place.

Local stocks pulled back today, ahead of the start of the US earnings season and as investors looked towards the next crucial stumbling blocks for the global economy. Despite gaining in the early session, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) finished the day's trade at 4712.3pts, down 25.8pts or 0.5pct.

Australian shoppers on the lookout for great, massive bargain finds may well ought to splurge these first few months of 2013 as retail businesses prepare to further slash already discounted items for sale just to be able to overcome the sector's burgeoning sales slump and somehow boost profit.

Acer’s 7-inch Iconia B1 Android is officially out and retailed for a low-price tag of $US150, the device manufacturers said in a released statement on Monday.

Google’s Android platform and all the handsets operating on the mobile OS are dismissed as clones by hardcore Apple fanboys. It might be true years ago but a self-confessed Android convert now attests that Android’s current form “even feels a bit ahead of iOS 6.”

It’s not even an Apple or a Samsung device but Nexus 7, manufactured by Asus for Google, has generated considerable consumer attention and kudos from tech experts. They agree that the Android tablet is a solid lure, thanks to its impressive specs and more impressive price tags.

Following a modest pullback yesterday, the Australian sharemarket is back in the black at lunch with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 0.1 per cent or 2.8 pts to 4740.9. Yesterday the XAO slipped by around 0.1 per cent, however local shares are still up 1.75 per cent so far in 2013 (after five sessions of trade).

Arguably, any plan of any government to raise prices of commodities automatically creates pandemonium on its voting populace. But in Australia, the proposal to increase the prices of cigarettes has been considered a welcome move. Apart from the end goal of increasing the national government's coffers, the plan could help severe the rising number of lung cancer deaths in the country brought by excessive smoking.

It is the year of feature-filled and powerful smartphones and the upcoming Galaxy S4 is no exception. Apart from the super specs that blog reports have attributed to the next Samsung flagship phone, this exciting handset will reportedly deploy with more wireless capabilities.

A handsome face like that of Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt is an asset not only for those who want to pursue a career in show business, but even in the corporate world. A new Australian study said men with attractive face earn $32,150 more than males with average faces.

Call it iPhone 5S or iPhone 6 but analysts are firmly convinced that Apple will introduced two smartphone versions this year – a low-end edition and likely to be named iPhone Mini for a still undetermined debut date and the regular configuration that the tech giant aims to rollout as early as June 2013.

While many smart, high-tech TVs and cars will dominate most of the appearances in the CES 2013 in Las Vegas, Sony, Huawei, and Lenovo will bring some of their new devices to the show.

The engineered glass with combined thinness, lightness, and damage-resistance Gorilla Glass is coming back, more resilient and much better. The developers of this scratch-resistant glass promised that the new version will have 40 per cent reduction of visible scratches, three times resistance against scratches, and has 50 per cent more strength boost.

For 2013, the California-based kitchen appliances maker Dacor will release the first wall oven using Android OS. The wall oven has a dimension of 30 inches and its Android controller is powered by a seven-inch device called Discovery IQ controller.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) started on Monday night investigation of a fake press release that caused losses to Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) and its shareholders.

Cars, more than electronic gadgets, are said to take the centre stage in the ongoing Consumer Electronic Show 2013 in Las Vegas. However, in the case of Hyundai, it will showcase high technology as well with a demonstration of Apple's Siri Eyes Free mode.

Long holidays like the just-ended Christmas and New Year season is a welcome development for most workers because it allowed them rest from job-related stress.

Positive jobs data out of the US on Friday failed to give a boost to local stocks today. The main All Ordinaries Index (XAO) finished slightly lower, down 4.8pts or 0.1pct to 4738.1. On Friday, the S&P 500 Index in the US hit a five year high, while the Dow Jones Index was up 3.8pct on the week, its best weekly win since December 2007 as lawmakers agreed on a deal to avert the fiscal cliff and December jobs numbers came in higher than expected.

The Nexus 7 tablet dock is set to become officially available on Jan 10, 2013, at least for consumers' orders coming from the United States, as recently indicated by B&H on its official site.

Wegelin & Co., the oldest Swiss private bank, said on Thursday it would shut its doors permanently after pleading to a criminal conspiracy charge in the U.S. and admitting that it had helped wealthy Americans for years avoid tens of millions of dollars in taxes.

Giant Japanese telco NTT Docomo reportedly partnered with Samsung to deliver an Amber Brown Note to the Land of the Rising Sun.

Australian Olympic boxer Damien Hooper got himself embroiled in a tight fix during the weekend after a night of clubbing at a Queensland nightclub.One of the country's finest boxers is now facing charges before a court of law because of a gruesome night of misbehaving.

Today the Australian share market opened higher with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) adding 24 points. The Aussie market received a boost from the better than expected non-farm payrolls, Job report, in the states on Friday. As the start of trade the best performing sectors were Industrials, Banks & Energy. In the mining sector the small & medium size miners did better than large players and the media sector was once again listing small gains.

A month after Australia implemented the nationwide plain tobacco packaging law, the state of New South Wales has leveled up the anti-smoking campaign by prohibiting smoking in public places. The new anti-smoking law became effective on Monday, January 7.

Three new Microsoft Surface tablets are reportedly set to be unveiled later this year, joining the first batch that the software giant had simultaneously launched with the Windows 8 in October 2012.

Majority of teenagers now have access to smartphones which they primarily use for basic phone functions, education, social media, and entertainment. But when entertainment needs goes beyond the usual movie and TV fare, pornography is the first thing in mind. Network carriers have filtered these Web sites but teens have found a way around it through sexting - messages and pics that are sexually explicit.

The New Year of 2013 has entered its second week and for many, this week would be back to business as usual. It is another year to make small, medium or large businesses more productive and efficient for loyal customers. Handling a business can be very stressful and demands a lot of time and effort, but through Android and iOS devices and apps, entrepreneurs and corporate executives can enjoy the advantage of having a secret adviser that can do things even when the assistant or accountant is not...

Google has launched an application that lets people follow and track their New Year's Resolution through an online map and also lets them see what others around the world have promised in 2013. The California Internet giant's 2012 Zeitgeist Web site obtained half a million log entries and more than a third involved "to love" or "be loved" entries. The entries are divided into several categories including love, health, finance, career, education and family.