BUSINESS

By Peter SwitzerThree of my favourite market experts are tentatively positive on shares, but they all admit that there is a capacity for officialdom to really stuff up our investments.

Bayfield Ventures Corp. on Thursday announced drilling additional significant gold and silver intercepts on its 100% owned Burns Block property in the Rainy River District of north-western Ontario.

The "safe haven" commodity gold dropped two percent Thursday as apprehensions continue to hound investors wary over the Eurozone's ability to contain its debt crisis.

Leighton Asia in joint venture with Gammon has secured a A$1.2 billion contract from the MTR Corporation to construct the West Kowloon Terminus Station North, part of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL).

Fixed interest rates have continued their downward slide in October, with 36 lenders moving rates downward this month, according to new research from Australia's financial comparison site RateCity.

As mortgage lenders continue slashing fixed home loan rates, Australia's financial comparison site RateCity warns availing even discounted rates can actually cost more for households in the long run.

A Virgin Australia pilot inspecting a parked plane at the Brisbane airport was blown over a staircase by the engine blast from another plane positioning for takeoff on Thursday.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The AUD has opened around USD1.0230 this morning, despite weaker base metals which were heavily sold overnight.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 37 points or 0.3% while the S&P gained 0.4% to 1215 and the Nasdaq fell 0.

Google released its updated Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS this week and what an update it is. Android 4.0 is bigger and better than its previous version and could rival the iPhone's iOS 5 in terms of new innovative functions. With such futuristic features like unlocking your phone just by looking at it, the Android 4.0 OS is a giant leap forward for Android phones.

Wesfarmers Ltd on Thursday announced its retail sales growth rose 6.5 percent for the first quarter of the 2012 financial year.

The Australian Bankers’ Association (ABA) on Thursday reiterated it is important that Australian banks are profitable, because they provide economic security at a time when global conditions are unstable.

Australia is in a fortunate economic position and this has enabled Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, NAB and ANZ to deliver dividends, but bankers on Thursday explained that not all dividends go to shareholders.

With Apple and Android going full steam ahead with their new flagship smartphones, Microsoft is hoping its new Nokia Windows Phones would turn the smartphone market to Microsoft and Nokia's favor.

Local stocks ended in the red for a second session this week, after rising on Monday and Wednesday. The rollercoaster ride continues as investors await the weekend European Union summit with hopes leaders will come up with a viable solution to the region's debt crisis.

Shares of Australia's largest gold miner Newcrest Mining fell after the company reported its September quarter gold production slid from the previous quarter.

Samsung may supply the A6 chip for Apple’s iPhone 5 despite multiple court battles.

Apple released the iPhone 4s last week and while consumers have been very receptive to the new iPhone, with 4 million units sold over the weekend, there are already rumblings about the next generation iPhone 5.

With Steve Jobs's death sparking more interest in Apple products and services, there is a growing interest among techies and companies in Apple's looming iCloud service.

Harcourts Queenstown has been instructed to sell seven of the nine titles at the world renowned Walter Peak Estate by Mortgagee Deadline sale.

BP, the largest supplier of fuel to Australia’s industrial sector, has commenced construction of a new Truckstop at Dandenong.

Abbott Laboratories plans to separate into two publicly traded companies, one in diversified medical products and the other in research-based pharmaceuticals.

Notwithstanding the mining boom trumpeted by the federal government, Australia’s business environment flashed plummeting figures in the September quarter, basing on the latest survey released on Thursday by the National Australia Bank (NAB).

Gold, either for short-term or long-term investing, is still be the best commodity an existing or future investor can always look into. But for those who are more into long-term investing, it makes sense to invest not only in gold but in a number of broad-basket commodity as well.

A female employee of tech giant IBM has filed a $1.1 million sexual harassment lawsuit against her former supervisor and IBM. Among the forms of harassment which Susan Spiten experienced from her ex-manager include being told to expose more of her breast to boost sales.

United Dairy Power (UDP), one of Australia's largest privately owned independent dairy companies, has successfully acquired Lion’s Murray Bridge and Jervois factories in South Australia.

Leighton Holdings on Thursday disputed Standard & Poor’s Rating Service’s (S&P) decision to downgrade its credit rating from ‘BBB/A-2’ to ‘BBB-/A/3’, claiming it was not a true reflection of the company’s credit quality.

The State of Australian Cities 2011 sets the stage for the implementation of much-need planning reform coupled with a major boost to infrastructure spending, said the Property Council of Australia and the Residential Development Council (RDC) on Thursday.

Computer giant International Business Machine (IBM) is facing a $1.1 million sexual harassment suit filed before the Australian Federal Court by a former female employee, who claimed that she was humiliated, bullied and harassed by a male superior for two years.