BUSINESS

No joy for retailers from the latest sales data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics yesterday which showed a rise of just 0.2% in February.

Germany's competition watchdog to launch pricing inquiry against petrol giants.

Acting on a ban by the European Commission, the United Kingdom has issued a moratorium against the technique of stripping meat from animal bones, raising concerns over the future of cheap patties and burgers.

Some commentators, analysts and retailers suggest the slow retailing conditions and cautious consumers hurting the likes of Harvey Norman and JV Hi-Hi and Dick Smith are limited to Australia.

Government bonds had a tough first quarter, recording losses, and so far the second quarter is seeing a bit more of the same as market rates edge higher on signs the US economy is doing better than expected and the eurozone crisis has eased.

It was a close run thing at yesterday's April meeting of the RBA board, a rate cut almost happened, judging by the significant change to the wording of the key part of the post meeting statement from Governor Glenn Stevens.

Draw Something has become one of the most popular mobile games throughout the world.

Are the gods of insurance (weather, the earth and financial markets) finally smiling on QBE and two tough years?

The weak retail sales data from the ABS helps explain why Metcash, the big grocery retailer and hardware and liquor distributor and retailer announced a big restructuring yesterday of its basic grocery distribution businesses and the write down of an investment in retailing in Queensland.

There is a rumor that Apple is currently working on a game controller for easier playing in iPhone.

Retailers are looking to Easter sale season for some sort of resurrection following solid indication that more and more consumers shied away from the shopping scene during the Christmas holiday shopping spree.

Business executives deserve huge pay considering huge responsibilities on their hands and the risks that come with the job.

The Australian share market has started the final day of the shortened trading week on a negative note, as profit takers move in ahead of the Easter break and following weakness on offshore markets overnight. US and European markets retreated following a disappointing Spanish bond auction and as investors anxiously debated what markets would look like without more stimulus from the US Federal Reserve. In early trade on the local market, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 34.5pts or 0.8pct to...

A patent filed last spring by Apple with the United States Patent and Trademark Office reveled that Apple is planning to develop Siri into having language transition features.

Korean-based firm Samsung announced that there will be a delay regarding the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 line. The company announced that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 line will be likely to be available by the end of April, 2012.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 124 points or 1.0% while the S&P lost 1.0% to 1398 and the Nasdaq dropped 1.5%.

Australia's exports declined 2 per cent in February which contributed to a trade deficit of $480 million. It is the second largest trade deficit for the country since early 2010.

Instagram, the popular photo-sharing app is now available for Android users. It was first exclusively offered to iPhone users for the past 18 months but it has now expanded to Android-based smartphones.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), the world's top tech company by market value, will report to the public its revenue and earnings for its second fiscal quarter.

Facebook unleashed its retaliatory actions against Yahoo, which the social networking giant has accused of using technologies that it claims exclusive ownership of.

The local share market has followed Wall Street into the red, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 17.3pts or 0.4pct in early trade to 4407.1.

Apparently taking too much heat from the scandals hounding his family's media empire, James Murdoch announced on Tuesday his resignation as chairman of British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB).

Even if BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) produces about one fifth of the global supply of seaborne coking coal, its declaration on Monday of a force majeure would have limited impact on coking coal prices, analysts said.

By Ryan Fitzwater, Investment U"Gina Martin Adams, a strategist at Wells Fargo, likes to look at a copper in comparison to another commodity known to have its own economic gauge.

House prices in France rose by 4.3% (1.8% when adjusted for inflation) during 2011, according to the National Institute for Statistical and Economic Studies (INSEE).

The all-new, second-generation Mercedes-Benz B-Class has launched in Australia with three model variants making up the range: B180, B200 and B200 CDI.

Now we all know how most rental cars get treated, but we suspect this McLaren MP4-12C may be treated with a little bit more respect by its users.

The mining construction boom in Queensland will end as early as 2014, BIS Shrapnel forecast on Wednesday.

Stocks fell after details from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting offered no signals that immediate monetary stimulus is on the way, prompting investors to question whether the rally can continue without a prime driver.