BUSINESS

Australian stocks have started the trading week in the red, dragged down by falls on European and US share markets at the end of last week. Typically, US investors bail out of equities on Friday 13th, the mood last week not helped by ongoing concerns surrounding the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis. Lower commodity prices haven't helped sentiment locally, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 20.5pts or 0.5pct in early trade to 4383.7.

Number one social networking site Facebook and Ten Network are talking about an alliance that would involve sharing of content, audiences and advertising income, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Three teaser shots of the new Fiat Viaggio have been leaked ahead of the car's official debut at this month's Beijing motor show.

By Adrian Ash, BullionVaultIt's more than "interesting" that platinum prices are lagging gold...GOLD has risen nicely since the meltdown following Lehmans' collapse, with the gold price in Dollars rising 130%.

Chances are higher for a Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) overnight cash rate cut in May due to ANZ Bank's decision on Friday to increase its variable mortgage and small business loan rates, economists said on Monday.

New data from R.L. Polk reveals that only 35% of hybrid owners bought another hybrid last year.

Save money and reduce your environmental impact by buying previously loved stuff — with a few notable exceptions.

Australian miners and interest rates, US quarterly earnings, Spain's struggles and the IMF's latest economic outlook for the world and major economies will dominate headlines here and offshore in the coming week.

Miners in Australia, earnings in the US, and the pain in Spain will dominate markets in the week ahead, along with concerns about China, weak commodity prices and interest rates.

Burma is entering the era of the Asian world economy.

One of the true wonders of the modern world, which goes largely unrecognised, is that China manages to collate and report its quarterly economic growth to the world in less than two weeks.

Student debt is growing at an alarming rate.

China has once again shown a capacity to surprise the west just when you don't expect major policy moves to happen.

BrightSource Energy Inc., a California solar-power developer, plans to go public, in spite of an unenthusiastic market for solar companies and an uncertain outlook for renewable-energy firms.

Does Australia have an economy that won't die?

New rumors about Apple's next MacBook Pro are circling the web as there are reports stating that the present 15-inch models are running low on stock. This seems to be an indication that a new line is being prepared with upgraded features and specifications.

Tablets have evolved from being an optional device to being a must-have device in a person's life either in business or personal dealings. Many companies have noticed this sudden shift as various tablet models are being manufactured and marketed in the market.

The Australian share market posted another solid session of gains today, to finish the trading week virtually unchanged. Yesterday and today's gains managed to negate losses in the earlier part of the week and it was clear investors were not spooked by the curse of Friday the 13th, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 42.5pts by close or 1pct to 4404.2.

Emerging economies have ramped up their campaign to finally secure the World Bank (WB) top post, possibly strengthening their efforts by fielding a single candidate.

A higher financial firewall may not be necessary for now, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Christine Lagarde, reversing her earlier calls of putting up a deep war chest to combat threats of global recession.

Finance Minister Penny Wong said on Friday that the Wednesday announcement by BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) that it would close its Norwich Park coking coal mine in Queensland is not an indicator of the state of the mining industry in Australia.

by Peter Switzer, Switzer Super ReportMy view on the stock market this year is more cautiously positive than last year.

Strong gains in global equities just overnight have made the Asian shares shoot up, especially after hard manufacturing data from the United States, and as leading Asian exporters offset signs of mild recession in Europe.

Yukio Edano, Japan’s Economy and Industry Minister said Monday that two nuclear reactors tentatively met government safety standards although completing the improvements might take several years. But, Japan’s Nuclear reactors are in process of paving the way for final approval for their startup soon.

The two large Australian mining firms, BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX: Rio) are expected to report next week 4 per cent lower of total estimated iron ore output for the March quarter.

Over the next 5 to 10 years the real estate industry across the country is going to undergo massive changes as we shift from a collection of state based industry's to a true national real estate industry. As we prepare to evolve into true national industry it makes sense that we ask ourselves just what role state based real estate institutes can play in that future.

Rare earths neodymium and dysprosium, critical components needed to create high-performance permanent magnets to support certain technologies, have been found in the brink of supply in the coming years, according to a research by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Materials Systems Laboratory.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 181 points or 1.4% while the S&P gained 1.4% to 1387 and the Nasdaq added 1.3%.

Local stocks snapped a four day losing streak today, thanks to better than expected jobs numbers and a strong lead from US and European share markets. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) gained 34.3pts or 0.8pct by close to 4361.6.