BUSINESS

Strong earnings from International Business Machines (IBM) powered blue-chip stocks higher for the fourth-straight session, even as discouraging quarterly reports from other bellwethers kept the broader market flat.

By Marc Lichtenfeld, Investment U Senior AnalystWednesday, January 18, 2012: Issue #1689The workers at the restaurants and bars around Union Square in San Francisco have likely just about caught their breath.

Australian shares ended Friday on a strong note for their third successive week higher. Easing concerns about Europe's debt and more upbeat earnings from Wall Street boosted local optimism. At the close on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 24.8 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 4,239.6, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 24.4 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 4,303.

New Zealand's State-owned Meridian Energy has shelved its plan to build a $2 billion wind farm in central Otago following a bad review.With up to 176 wind turbines, the $2- billion project on the Lammermoor Range would have been the biggest power project in the South Island since the 1980s, and it would have generated enough electricity for Christchurch and Dunedin combined and eventually the whole of the island, said reports.

Rolls Royce said on Thursday that it has implemented measures to correct the manufacturing errors seen on its engine components that nearly caused a Qantas Airways flight to explode while in mid-air in November 2010.

British actor Jude Law is among the individuals who received just compensation from the media empire of Rupert Murdoch's News Group as part of the settlement in the case involving email and phone hacking instigated by the editors and reporters of the now-defunct News of the World, lawyers and reports have confirmed.

Thousands of Australians lost their jobs in December, underscoring what experts said could be the biggest loss the local economy had seen in the past 20 years.

Four of the biggest Australian banks netted together closed to $24 billion in the financial year 2010-2011 and market analysts are forecasting that the growth will continue on this year, by as much as nine percent, according to reports. Nonetheless, why is fear still hounding the country's biggest banks?

Inflation slowed in the final three months of 2011, as consumers price index dropped 0.3% in the quarter, bringing the annual pace to 1.8%, according to Statistics New Zealand.

Apple exporters are optimistic, but at the same time realistic on shipping to an Australia market open after 90 years, as reported by the New Zealand Herald.

Big global investors have started 2012 in a better mood than they were at the end of 2011.

In his first report for 2012, AMP Capital Investors' chief economist and strategist, Dr Shane Oliver peeks into his crystal ball.

Like its rivals, Rio Tinto and Fortescue, BHP Billiton is gung-ho about 2012, despite many commentators being just as gloomy about the outlook for iron ore, Chinese steel and coal.

Retailers' sentiments were confirmed by the latest sales indicator released on Friday by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), which showed that the sector struggled to achieve sales targets last year. Nevertheless, although the numbers are disappointing, they revealed that with some creativity and technological savvy, more sales can be achieved.

by Peter Switzer, Switzer Super ReportNow that most of us are close to being back to work for 2012, I thought I would lay down my expectations ? not my predictions ? for the year.

Rudi Filapek-Vandyck, Editor FNArenaI joined Twitter. Not because I am curious what this celebrity has to say about her kids, or to read that another one is waiting for a connecting flight, impatiently.

Ahead: In Australia, data on export and import prices is released. In the US, data on existing home sales is released.

Financial stocks led major indexes higher early Thursday afternoon as investors digested stronger bank earnings as well as a rush of U.S. economic data and a pair of well-received European bond auctions.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 46 points or 0.4% while the S&P gained 0.5% to 1314 and the Nasdaq added 0.7%.

In Fonterra’s latest online auction, where the average price increased and the winning price also hiked at US$3701 a tonne, the results bolstered the optimism of NZ economists.

Apple is credited for introducing the tablet computers to the world, but Samsung gave the world a choice. By comparing the iPad with the Galaxy Tab 7.0, it is easy to narrow down the similarities and differences between the two remarkable devices.

If 2011 was a bad year for Australian retailers, their losing streak would likely continue through 2012.

Think Tank Property Finance expects 2012 to yield more positive conditions for commercial property.

Aggregator Vow Financial has kicked off the year by launching a series of webinars that will be open to all brokers via their Facebook pages - not only its member brokers.

The HIA has claimed the gloom hanging over home building looks set to continue, and has called for a "three pronged attack" to address the sector's woes.

Acting Treasurer Bill Shorten criticised on Thursday the planned manpower cuts in Australia's banking industry estimated to result in the loss of 7,000 jobs. He accused the lenders of putting profits ahead of jobs.

Specialty Fashion Group got publicity yesterday for its weak Christmas performance as sales, revenue and earnings fell for a second December half year period in a row.

The World Bank's warning of a possible new global recession much deeper and longer lasting that the 2008-09 slowdown certainly got attention yesterday.

The black market is one of the biggest and fastest growing economies in the world