BUSINESS

Gordon Merchant, founder and biggest shareholder of troubled surfwear retailer Billabong International, announced on Tuesday it is open yet again to accepting takeover bids for the company. Billabon shares dived 47.5 per cent into a massive whirlpool after coming out of a trading halt since Thursday.

Australia's four largest banks now have less reason not to pass in full to borrowers any future overnight cash rate cuts that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would make. It is because the latest yearly survey of the Bank for International Settlements have released Tuesday stated that ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac topped the list of profitable banks in the world.

By Richard (Rick) MillsAhead of the HerdAs a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best informationAt the start of golden ages golden stories should be toldFollowing many years of net annual sales in the 400 to 500 tonne range, central banks, underweighted in gold and ...

By Andrew NelsonIf things weren't travelling along slowly enough in the uranium spot market, last week saw even less activity according to market consultants TradeTech.

FNArena has added another video to its Investors Education section on the website. This week, ATW's Jerry Simmons sees possible support emerging for US stock future indices (implying strength for equities) and oil, while sounding a cautionary note for gold.

Google has just dropped a hint regarding Google's next Android version which is reportedly named as Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The hint was revealed when it was spotted at Google Play Store.

ZTE Corporation recently announced its partnership with Rightware Kanzi UI Solution in order to release a Android 4.0 or Android ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich) smartphones sthat would utilized 3D user interface (UI) technologies.

To indicate that she is really serious in her desire to become a director of Fairfax Media, Australia's richest woman threatened to sell her 19 per cent stake in the company unless its board makes her a director.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 138 points or 1.1% while the S&P lost 1.6% to 1313 and the Nasdaq plunged 2.

BioWare, the game developer behind Mass Effect 3 will be releasing an extended cut for the game which would be available on June 27, 2012.

Microsoft has finally entered the tablet market with the release of their tablet called "Surface" which will have the latest OS from Microsoft which is Windows 8. Now that Microsoft has entered the market, will Surface be the best iPad challenger out there?

Local stocks have started the trading week in the red, as investors opt to stay out of the market ahead of a key European Union summit later this week and square their books ahead of the end of the financial year. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) today lost 21.8pts or 0.5pct to 4072, while the ASX 200 (XJO) lost 20.4pts or 0.5pct to close at 4027.8.

Rave reviews in Asia and Europe will power Samsung's Galaxy S3 to about 10 million units by the end of July, according to Samsung Mobile Division Chief Shin Jong-kyun on Monday.

BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) is making Western Australian history by moving headquarters to Brookfield Place Tower. With 3,000 BHP employees, the relocation is the state's largest office transfer in its history.

Due to the threat posed by foreign airlines that buy shares of Australian air carriers, the Opposition has suggested amending Qantas's ownership law to achieve a more level playing field for the losing flag carrier.

Mortgage House franchisee Tom Mak believes that steps should be taken to initiate a campaign that explains the role of a mortgage broker to prospective Asian borrowers.

When Einstein laid out the groundwork for Quantum Physics in the early 1900′s everyone was amazed at his theories, but soon after everyone was asking, but how can it be used and how is this applicable to anyone's lives?

Broking businesses will come under increasing pressure on commission income as national hold periods for housing stretch out longer in coming years, according to RP Data.

One crisp fall Sunday afternoon under bright blue skies, my wife and I visited five homes up for sale. We remembered them by their street names: Big Acre, Blue Silo, Pontiac, Prairie Rose and Lamont.

Microsoft has revealed their Windows 8 tablet called "Surface" which will be available in the market sometime soon. This is Microsoft's first forray in the tablet market which can be a hit or miss from Microsoft.

Digital technology is reinventing our whole world, in service of you and me. It's free enterprise on steroids. It's bypassing the gatekeepers and empowering each of us to invent our own civilization for ourselves, according to our own specifications.

ANZ Bank caught the country's banking industry thrice in 2012 after it first went against the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) policy to hike its standard variable mortgage rate when the central bank kept the overnight cash rate on hold. In the second instance, ANZ kept a part of the cash rate cut and slashed the interest rate below the RBA rate reduction.

Nearly 13% of the content in today's Australian Financial Review was about yesterday's big announcement from Fairfax Media Limited (ASX:FXJ). In case you missed it - and if you're a newspaper reader it would have been impossible to miss - Fairfax announced 1,900 job cuts, the creation of a pay wall for on-line content, a strategy to become a 'digital' business (whatever that means), and the closure of printing facilities in Sydney and Melbourne.

Right now, we have a distant but comfortable view of the global debt crisis. It affects the stock market and your retirement savings. Apart from that there is no discernible impact. But if you look closely there is a lot to discern.

It's just another acronym dreamed up by the market to describe the daily see-saw action in asset prices. Despite the complexity of the market and the millions of signals it throws off, we have managed to distil the daily price action down to either risk on or risk off.

Public appetite for more details about the Rinehart family feud will be satisfied on Tuesday, June 26, with the release of the unauthorised biography of Gina Rinehart, Australia's and the world's richest woman.

By Greg PeelJack Lifton has had more than 50 years experience in the global automotive, heavy equipment, electrical, electronic, mining smelting and refining industries.

Nokia recently gave a preview of the newest products in their Nokia smartphone line which includes Nokia Lumia 900 and Nokia Lumia 610. The entrance of these two new handsets in the Nokia Lumia prompts customers to ask this very important question: Which is the better Nokia Lumia Phone?

Microsoft has just announced Windows Phone 8 and its pending release in the market. Microsoft also announced the different smartphone manufacturers that would carry Windows Phone 8 in their smartphone models and these companies include Nokia, HTC, Huawei, and Samsung.