BUSINESS

Australian businesses could save up to $125 billion a year or $625 billion over the next five years if it shifts to cloud computing, Cloud Accounting Australia review of case studies said.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 85 points or 0.7% while the S&P gained 0.7% to 1415 and the Nasdaq added 1.0%.

Creations of leading American fashion designer Ralph Lauren would still be available despite the end of a 23-year licence deal between the fashion brand and Australian accessories outfit OrotonGroup in June 2013.

The Australian sharemarket improved for the third time this week, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) gaining 1.1 pct or 46.5 pts to 4353.5. The energy and financial sectors led the rest of the market higher, while the property trusts ended flat.

Samsung has officially rolled out the new Galaxy Note tablet and this time around, it is a full-sized slate and in fact a tad larger than iPad with screen size of 10.1 inches.

Australian Banks on the Run

Local stocks are trading higher at lunchtime, following a mixed lead from overseas market and commodity prices. The European markets closed lower on growth concerns and rumours percolating around the markets that Spain is preparing to ask for an official bailout. The US markets were again mixed after stronger than expected US economic data have raised more doubts that the Federal Reserve will hold off from easing at its next policy meeting.

A taskforce made up of trade unions and manufacturers submitted on Thursday its report to Prime Minister Julia Gillard containing more than 40 recommendations.

It’s best for Apple and Samsung chiefs to sit down and attempt to reach an agreement before a trial jury deliberates on their legal disputes, a U.S. court presiding over the two’s patent contest said on Wednesday.

Nokia may just unveil new handsets by the first week of September, reports said, likely jumping the gun on Apple, which earlier has strongly indicated that the latest iPhone version would hit global markets no later than the mid-part of the same month.

The car repair industry in Australia criticised on Thursday the decision by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) not to require the recall of 24,000 made-in-China vehicles with asbestos fibre parts.

By Jonathan BarrattEconomic numbers from China last week and the lack of any follow through on stimulus talks from central banks over the last few weeks has seen some weakness reemerge into the copper market.

The Federal Magistrates Court in Sydney slapped on Wednesday a $15,500 fine on a Qantas and a manager for bullying an employee. Citing the Fair Work Act, the court said Qantas manager Peter Cawthorne coerced aircraft engineer Luke Murray into withdrawing a claim worth $10,000.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) customers would likely find it harder to accept the bank's explanation that following Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) overnight cash rate decisions could threaten its profitability.

By Greg PeelThe Dow dropped 7 points, the S&P was up 0.1% to 1405 and the Nasdaq gained 0.5%.It is looking increasingly likely the Fed will not need to provide additional stimulus in any big way in September.

The Australian sharemarket eased a touch for the first time this week, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) falling 0.2 pct or 10.4 pts to 4307. The mining sector was the biggest drag on trade, with the S**9**P/ASX 200 Materials index slumping by 1.35 pct or 131.2 pts to 9620.7.

Etihad Airways is aggressively on the roll and its Australian CEO, James Hogan, declared on Wednesday that following its substantial holdings acquisitions on Virgin Australia and three other carriers in Europe, the airline is looking for more.

Two prominent Microsoft OEM partners have expressed plans not to join the Windows RT tablet bandwagon, not yet at least, reportedly to focus their efforts on the more powerful Windows 8 slate that will hit the market in the early months of 2013.

International frequent travellers might as well start to practice the feeling of being bodily scanned by a $230,000 worth security machine as Australia starts to roll-out those humongous equipment effective November 2012 in all its international airports.

Local stocks are trading in the red at lunchtime, following an unconvincing offshore lead and mixed commodity prices. A report showing the Eurozone economy shrank in the second quarter met expectations, and European shares rose in thin trade, however US markets were again mixed as were commodities. At midday in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 22.5pts or 0.5pct to 4294.9.

The Office of Insurance Regulation in Florida ordered Praetorian, the subsidiary of Australian insurer QBE Insurance, to cut its home insurance premiums by one-third. QBE actually offered to reduce its rates by 2.2 per cent, but Commissioner Kevin McCarty asked the insurer to cut it by at least 35 per cent.

Three of Brazil's largest telecommunication companies will have to spend more than $9.8 billion to upgrade their internet and mobile access services ahead of the upcoming football World Cup in 2014, reported the Financial Times on Monday, after the Brazilian government threatened to punish the companies unless they did so.

The German and French economies showed signs of resilience as the two eurozone countries performed slighter better than expected.

Groupon Inc., online shopping giant, on Monday published its quarterly profit as its shares dropped by nearly 20 percent due to revenue miss and investors' concern over growth in the next months.

FNArena has added another video to its Investors Education section on the website. This week ATW's Jerry Simmons looks at the AUD rally, discusses a steadier run for the euro, prognosticates on a few market indices futures and soy beans, among many other things.

Lawyers of the largest class action lawsuit in Australia told the High Court on Tuesday that ANZ bank charged customers with excessive bank fees for overdrawing their accounts.

Game developers Electronic Arts anticipate profits derived from the digital downloads of their games to overtake the sales of physical gaming software within the span of a couple of years and according to their chief operating officer, the company is now directing its attention towards increasing its range of products meant for mobile and free-to-play.

A National Australia Bank (NAB) official said on Tuesday that in the next few years, Australian banks would rely less on wholesale funding and instead focus on deposits as the main source of their lending operations.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 2 points, the S&P was flat at 1403 and the Nasdaq slipped 0.2%.The US economy is consumer-driven, hence data on consumer spending are an important indicator of the health of the US economy.