BUSINESS

The local share market has followed global markets into the red, after US and European investors bailed out of equities overnight on ongoing worries about budget deficits. However the selling isn't as bad as was predicted, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down .

Another victim of Friday's fire at the Quaker Hills Nursing Home in Sydney died Monday night bringing the death toll to eight.

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) recovered last week $34 million of client funds of MF Global Australia, paving the way for the partial return of their money earlier than expected.

- ANZ remains bullish on gold- European buying seen as a sign of economic stress- Higher prices may limit Asian buyingBy Chris ShawGold recorded solid gains in October, closing the month 6% higher.

Ford reveals the new, more fuel-efficient 2013 Ford Escape at the L.A. Auto Show.

Here are the five steps that need to happen during any major business adjustment and some of the pitfalls to avoid along the way.

Mining areas have proven the big winners of the Queensland property market, dominating the state's growth suburbs.

Cameron Clyne, chief executive of Australian banking major NAB who controversially passed on just 20 basis points of the 25 basis point cut enacted by the Australian central bank, despite the fact that the lender posted a 19.2 per cent increase in full year net profits on $5.5 billion is in line for a large pay hike.

There was no good news for shareholders in steelmaker OneSteel Ltd at yesterday's AGM in Sydney.

And Perth-based internet service provider iinet has confirmed its intention of buying Canberra-based TransACT for $60 million.

A new Italian government headed by Mario Monti, a respected economist and former European Commissioner, has replaced the government of Silvio Berlusconi, who had dominated Italian politics for 17 years.

The Canadian housing market continues to function in a consistently insensitive manner. It's like it fails to realize that the rest of the free world is hurting, and this persistent, and seemingly abnormal, growth is bound to cause more offense than awe.

The 21-day period for Qantas management and unions to agree on new contracts lapsed on Monday with no negotiation extension made by the parties, so the dispute will now have to be settled by the Fair Works Australia (FWA).

St. Lucia is increasingly seen as one of the world's most interesting property markets. The island is in many ways comparable to neighboring Barbados, but St. Lucia's property prices are about 40% to 60% lower.

The Financial Trilemma In China And A Comparative Analysis With IndiaBy Joshua Aizenman, Professor of Economics, University of California Santa Cruz and Research Associate, the NBER; and Rajeswari Sengupta, Assistant Professor of Economics and Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research...

An unexpected trade deficit in October for Japan, thanks to a surge in expensive energy imports, such as LNG, while exports fell for the first time in three months.

By Greg PeelIt looked for all the world like long awaited buying interest from utilities ? the real end-users of uranium ? had appeared the week before last and might be set to gain momentum.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 255 points or 2.2% while the S&P lost 1.9% to 1192 and the Nasdaq dropped 2.0%.

Activision has promised gamers who signed up for Call of Duty Elite that the social network will be up and running by December 1.

Christmas is fast approaching and Kids as well as Kids at heart is making their list on what to expect during the Holidays.

MMG opened on Monday its new copper open pit mine at its Golden Grove operations. The $22-million project is expected to produce 235,000 tonnes of copper concentrate containing 59,600 tonnes of copper metal in concentrate at 25 per cent copper from 2012 to 2014.

With the forwarded drawdown from $300 million worth of funds to prop up its operations, Australia's OneSteel Ltd scrambles to turn around its operations within 12 months, according to reports.

Rydges Hotels and the Denwol group will build a $68-million four-star hotel just outside the International Terminal of Sydney Airport. Construction is expected to begin soon and is scheduled to be substantially complete by late 2012.

Tech gadgets would likely be on top of the Christmas shopping list of Australians as tech companies take advantage of the changing consumer preference for Yuletide gifts.

Jeep used to be the No.1 SUV brand in the world, but that was way back in 1999 when sales topped 554,446 vehicles in the United States alone. Then came the GFC and Chrysler’s free fall into bankruptcy in 2009, and many were convinced that the automotive group was terminal.

More than 2.1 million Australians are intending to buy a new car in the next four years, according to new research by analyst Roy Morgan.

Last week was the worst for global markets for the last month or more as Europe's woes again threatened to overwhelm confidence.

They want the auction to be as peaceful and as successful as possible. Hollywood's Julien's Catalogue.com would not want to brandish the name of the former owner of the antique pieces of furniture and other art works from a mansion in Holmby Hills Estate.

Too many brokers have an "old school" approach to low-doc lending, a broker specialising in the loans has said.