BUSINESS

Another session of positive leads from overnight trades in the U.S. and partly from European markets will bode well for Tuesday's trading in Australia.The markets in the U.S. moved forward with Apple Inc. leading the way with shares selling $600 a piece in reaction to company announcements that cash dividends and a buy-back scheme will be the way to go forward spending its billions in cash coffers.

The Australian dollar managed to find some upside yesterday after Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens expressed confidence in China’s economic growth.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde has said that the global economy is showing signs of stabilisation, but warned that there is no room for policy mistakes at this critical point in recovery.

A quick preview of the key economic events for the upcoming week.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 6 points while the S&P added 0.4% to 1409 and the Nasdaq starred with a 0.

Apple's huge cash chest is no secret and most definitely that reserve keeps on adding up as new Apple products hit the market. Yet how much really has Apple been cashing on its incredible success lately?

China continues its foray on energy securing measures with its recent joint venture with French energy giant Total SA ((NYSE:TOT) to produce and refine shale gas.

The Australian share market has started the trading week on a positive note, after European and US share markets posted strong weekly gains. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 25.8pts or 0.6pct to 4390.5.

There were cracks around the cockpit windows of an Air New Zealand plane, the airline found on Sunday, resulting in the grounding of 11 planes on the same day. The cracks were spotted during routine maintenance check in Christchurch.

By Greg PeelIn 2011, central banks across the globe collectively bought more gold than they had previously over 40 years.

It seems our hopes of yet another brand joining the V8 Supercars championship next year has been short-lived, with Chrysler confirming to V8X magazine that it will not proceed with the move.

A firm and steady opening has set in the Australian stock market today and analysts are closely watching if it would break the barrier resistance of 4320, an indicator that a change in sentiment towards the positive amidst concerns of the economy's correlation to China's economic slowdown may take place.

Passenger car sales in the European Union plummeted almost 10 percent in February -- their biggest drop since 2010 -- as consumers tread warily through uncertain economic times.

Judging by recent speeches and comments, the RBA is clearly wondering why the value of the Australian dollar hasn't fallen after that 4.7% dip on our terms of trade in the final quarter of 2011.

After a brief flurry of optimism that saw the shares rise yesterday in the wake of the expected fall in interim earnings, Myer shares closed the day down 9c or 3.3% at $2.28.

On February 14, the Bank of Japan broke with tradition and announced an inflation target of 1%.

Property developer Stockland Group yesterday took another move to expand its share buyback by selling another asset to finance the expansion.

Debt: Fortescue Boosts Raising To $US2 Billion, Nexus Cuts Reserves

It wasn't a surprise that consumer sentiment fell in the latest survey from Westpac and the Melbourne Institute, nor was it a surprise that housing construction finished 2012 on a weak note.

Two of the country's most respected newspapers, The Australian Financial Review and The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) have come together to jointly promote the Commercial Real Estate (CRE) Auction Centre.

American International Group (AIG) is in quest for raising about $6 billion to repay a federal government bail-out. AIG will sell part of its stake in Asia subsidiary AIA Group in a long-awaited move to be able to repay the federal government bail-out.

Online payment processing firm PayPal has introduced another of its over-the-counter payment scheme, this time around through the use of the now ubiquitous smartphones.

Health campaign groups in Australia launched on Friday the independent Alcohol Advertising Review Board. The main task of the new board would be to name and shame alcohol firms with advertising campaigns that violate international alcohol advertising regulations.

Telstra Corporation has some sort of a coup when the giant Telco offered on one of its stores the third iPad edition early Friday morning, with an Aussie construction manager earning the distinction as the first in the country to own the most-sought after product.

The Macquarie group had its second credit downgrade in four days. The first was by Fitch on Tuesday and the second by Moody's Investors Service on Friday. Moody's cut Macquarie's credit rating by one notch to A3 from A2.

The National Stock Exchange of Australia (NSX) announced on Friday that it will lower its trading fees to 0.1 basis points per buy and sell beginning April 2.

Jobs in Australia's retail sector appear to be in a worse situation compared to the banking sector. While a report in January warned of the loss of 7,500 banking jobs over the next two years, another study forecasts 118,000 retail jobs could be axed in the next three years across the country.

by Peter Switzer, Switzer Super ReportWith the stock market defying gravity and the legendary market expert, Laszlo Birinyi, tipping the S&P 500 to rise 24% this year, the question is, are there any other reasons to be positive on stocks in 2012?Next week, I will look at reasons for being negative b...

A baby formula made 100 per cent from New Zealand has been pulled by company from stores after a man raised suspicion via email that the milk formula may have caused his young daughter to get sick.