BUSINESS

Commodity explorer and miner, Alkane Resources (ASX: ALK), has upgraded its resource of zirconia and rare earths at Dubbo in the central west of NSW.

BHP Billiton will stay the course despite prevailing challenges in the short term and will even ramp up its expansion path, which runs in counter with shareholders’ rumbling of a lull in acquisition moves.

The National Australia Bank says the outlook for Australia's manufacturing industry is bleak with output falling by almost 1% in the September quarter.

We always talk about the special partnership between the UK and US, and we all know that it will scarcely ever be as "special" as it was between Bush and Blair, at least not until sufficient time to have past for us all to have forgotten the lies Blair told during the time that he was being operated from behind by Bush, but that is another article.

The Sri Lankan government is scrapping the 100% tax levied on foreigners buying land, in favour of a new special land tax to be unveiled in the 2012 budget.

Sony Ericsson has decided to issue its latest batch of smartphones that run on Android, minus the support of major American telcos and allowing U.S. consumers to enjoy a quick taste of the new Google-powered handsets.

Following the unveiling of its Lumia smartphone series last month, giant mobile phone maker Nokia has indicated that it will release tablet computers by the second half of 2012, which of course will be powered by Microsoft’ upcoming Windows 8.

The Downing Centre Local Court has ordered the GMI Food Wholesalers and its directors to pay a fine of $236,000 for supplying Virgin Blue with inflight chicken meals tainted with the listeria bacteria that infected several passengers of the airline in 2009.

Optus sought on Thursday for Telstra to be transparent on its use of the $11 billion National Broadband Network (NBN) windfall to ensure it would not use the money to stifle competition.

Australia’s manufacturing sector continues to witness retreating indicators well into the third quarter the current year, according to the National Australia Bank’s (NAB) latest Manufacturing Activity Index.

Qantas unions found an ally in transport workers overseas when the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) warned the Australian flag carrier that it would get involved if there are future industrial rows between Qantas and its unions.

By Greg Peel"Considerable risk in Europe certainly remain," note the Deutsche Bank Australian equity strategists, "but with changes in key governments there may be progress from here".

The Australian share market is trading flat at lunchtime in the East, following another volatile offshore session. US stocks were relatively stable heading into the last hour of trade, before ratings agency Fitch warned of contagion risks to US banks if the European sovereign debt crisis intensifies.

Android users beware: there has been a rise in malware in Android apps that could infect your smartphone or tablet.

BHP Billiton ((BHP)) lifted its profits for shareholders by no less than 75% in the year to June and Rio Tinto ((RIO)) is expected to have achieved near 100% growth for the year to December when the company reports its full year numbers in February.

Sony Ericsson has confirmed that it will upgrade its entire Sony Experia line of devices to the newest version of Android, the Ice Cream Sandwich

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 190 points or 1.6% while the S&P lost 1.7% to 1236 and the Nasdaq dropped 1.7%.

If energy-efficiency policies, price reforms, new emissions-free infrastructures and increased renewable energy subsidies aren't firmly in place by 2017 then it might become too late to turn back the tide against the effects of climate change, according to the recently released World Energy Outlook by the IEA (International Energy Agency).

To help people decide which is better for their needs, here are three points of comparison for entry-level units of both OS for the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Mini and the Windows Mobile-powered HTC 7 Trophy

China and South Korea's planned investment in offshore wind farms amounting close to $25 billion in the near term could also impact on the rare earths production.

Investing in gold would be a good way to rebalance the portfolio of pension funds and other institutional investors before the European sovereign debt crisis turns for the worse, a bullion expert advised.

Like its counterparts in the U.S., Australia's only manufacturer of solar panels is suffering from weak sales due to competition from cheap Chinese solar panel imports.

Ten daily flights are available to Australians after the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) allowed Tiger Airways on Tuesday to increase its flights from Singapore to Australia.

Online shopping further grew among Australian consumers, mostly spurred by cheaper products offered by international retailers who were able to lure web-prowling customers looking to extend the value of their dollar.

The debate in Australia whether to lift the bank on uranium export to India or not continues with pro and anti groups airing their sides.

Sydney's tight rental market has shown some marginal improvement, new figures suggest.

The RBA minutes showed a split on decision to cut rates, with arguments for both easing and a policy "on the tight side of normal".

Urban lifestyles are taking off as single dwellings become prohibitively expensive.

Aussie consumers have no plans to jump into the property market, even though savings are up and mortgage stress is down.