BUSINESS

There is a looming war between poppy growers in Tasmania and Turkey. However, it is not similar to drug battles fought in Columbia, Mexico or other illegal drug-producing areas.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 92 points or 0.7% while the S&P lost 0.7% to 1365 and the Nasdaq fell 0.

Buoyed by the lower cash rates imposed by the Reserve Bank since the start of 2012 and a generally robust economy, Australian households ramped up their spending in June that led to retail sales jumping by 1.4 per cent in the month.

The Australian sharemarket edged higher today for the fifth time in six sessions. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose by just 0.2 pct or 7.4 pts to 4290.1, receiving a boost by some better than expected economic news earlier in the day. Despite the gains, investors still seemed cautious to overcommit to markets ahead of the all-important European Central Bank (ECB) meeting tonight. ECB President, Mario Draghi last week hinted at stimulus and now has much to live up to.

The Australian share market lost some ground for the first time in five trading sessions yesterday. Overnight most European markets moved higher as investors positioned themselves ahead of the European Central Bank (EBC) meeting tonight. US markets were only slightly lower before the outcomes of the 2 day meeting of the US Federal Reserve (FED RES) were revealed. Unfortunately the FED RES did not give investors what they were expecting. The views of the Fed members were in line with our current ...

"It hurts," was all that James "The Missile" Magnussen could muster of his defeat to American swimmer Nathan Adrian who outdid him in the pool by a fingernail and one-hundredth of a second in the 100 metres freestyle final event of the 2012 London Olympics.

The official countdown begins as Microsoft said on Wednesday that its numerous tinkering and testing on the new Windows 8 and Windows RT have been completed.

Despite the drought in different parts of the country, Australia still managed to export in the last five years $216 million worth of water. Data from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said the water exports were made up of natural, mineral, aerated, flavoured and sugared water, snow and ice.

Major changes were made in Australia's union movement after the president of the scandal-rocked Health Services Union (HSU) resigned on Wednesday. To make his departure from the union more dramatic, HSU President Michael Williamson quit via a text message.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 32 points or 0.3% while the S&P lost 0.3% to 1375 and the Nasdaq fell 0.

The Australian sharemarket lost some ground for the first time in five trading sessions today. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) eased by 0.2 pct or 6.7 pts to 4282.7. Two worse than expected economic reports issued in China kept the market in negative ground for much of the day.

After four days of stiff and neck and neck competition in the 2012 London Olympics, Australia's total medal tally has so far reached six - one gold, three silver and two bronze. Australia's standing is in the 12th place on the medal tally.

In Australia it looks like we're doing more sinking than swimming...and we're not just talking about the Olympics.

Money, although most people don't view it as such, is technology.

We saw a big turnaround in market sentiment overnight. The excitement of more central banks stimulus was washed away by end of month trading and concern over weak employment and sales numbers out of Europe. European markets are still awaiting the outcome of The European Central Bank (EBC) meeting on Thursday. Overnight the news that the, 17 nation, Eurozone saw its unemployment rate climb to a new Euro-era high of 11.2% hit the markets hard.

Microsoft has unveiled plans to retire its Web-based e-mail service Hotmail, replacing it with the social media-integrated Outlook that is currently in preview play and readily accessible to millions of existing Microsoft e-mail patrons around the world.

Roy Hill Holdings, owned by Australia's richest woman Gina Rinehart, signed its first sales contract with a Chinese steelmaker to provide iron ore. Roy Hill inked in Beijing on Thursday the agreement with Shougang Group, one of the largest steel companies in China.

Based on an assessment of the cost of generating electricity using 40 different technologies until 2050, a report released on Tuesday identified nuclear and wind power as competitive energy alternatives to coal-fired power.

In an apparent confirmation that Australia's mining sector is moving on a slower lane, mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) plans to cut jobs in Melbourne and close an office in Sydney.

FNArena has added another video to its Investors Education section on the website. This week ATW's Jerry Simmons starts off his commentary on a regularly covered topic, the EUR/USD Weekly chart, pointing out the low reached last week is in an extremely important technical area of a prior weekly...

Tata Steel in Europe, which is the second largest steel producer in the continent, utters that there is a growing desperate need for a growth strategy in the U.K. so to overcome the problems in the industry. Dr Karl Kohler, chief executive of Tata Steel in Europe, admitted that he had experienced the toughest time in his 30 years and at the same time he called for the UK to remove the obstacles to economic growth.

Amazon.com Inc., a Seattle-based company, reported quarterly results. According to data, Amazon's sales growth had slowed down outside the U.S. and in addition, its profit margins had decreased as the company continued to invest in warehouses so that the delivery speeds would improve in the near future.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 64 points or 0.5% while the S&P lost 0.4% to 1379 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.2%.

The Australian sharemarket edged higher today for the fourth straight session, following strong gains in European markets overnight. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose by 0.5 pct or 22.5 pts to 4289.4.

Once again European market rallied higher overnight, ahead of the outcome of The European Central Bank (EBC) meeting on Thursday. Then the market is expecting the ECB will announce new stimulus measures for the European economy. The US markets lost a little ground by the close as investors held back from buying ahead of the outcome of the US Federal Reserve´s 2 day meeting that kicks off later tonight.

By Greg PeelIn early 2008, world grain prices spiked as a variety of weather issues combined across the globe, from drought in Australia to floods and droughts elsewhere across the world's major grain growing areas.

He would have made a fine Yahoo ship captain but Ross Levinsohn, who twice missed the chance of becoming CEO of the Internet firm, is finally leaving the company that he served for close to two years.

There appears to be some truth to warnings from industry experts that the mining boom is headed for a slowdown. One evidence is that a new report released on Tuesday found that only one-fourth of Australian mining firms plan to invest in major projects in .the next 12 months.

Exxonmobil announced on Monday that it has started to drill for natural gas in Papua New Guinea (PNG) as part of its $15.7-billion PNG LNG venture. The drilling is at the Hides natural gas field at PNG's highlands.