BUSINESS

Research in Motion (RIM) has unveiled a new mobile operating system that hopes to bring app developers to the fold of BlackBerry smartphones and tablets.

The battle for smartphone supremacy has gotten increasingly tough of late with such giants like Apple and Samsung competing to get the most of the mobile phone market. Apple's iPhone 4s, released last week and already setting sales records, has overtaken its Android competitors and is now the reigning champion. But that doesn't mean that Apple can rest easy as a new batch of Android smartphones is coming to the market.

Contract prices of steelmaking ingredient coking coal will slide below $240 per metric ton between now through the fourth quarter of 2012 as nations continue to ride to a continuing global economic slowdown that will in turn ease demand for the metallurgical raw commodity, energy forecaster Wood Mackenzie said in a report Wednesday

The latest addition to the directory of Ikea's stores will also be the biggest in the southern hemisphere. The megamart is twice the size of the Sydney Cricket Ground, according to reports. On top of its 9000-product offering, shoppers will enjoy a 760-seat restaurant and 1680 dedicated car spaces.

The Gingerbread-powered Droid Razr is the iPhone 4S's newest challenger and Motorola says Apple and non-Apple fans should take notice of its latest innovation as it may be the smartphone they are looking for.

Microchip analyst Chipworks has confirmed that the A5 processor of the iPhone 4S is made by Samsung, Apple Inc.'s supplier-turned-legal adversary.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 72 points or 0.6% while the S&P fell 1.3% to 1209 and the Nasdaq was Apple sauce, down 2.

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/320193/000119312511273826/d244527dex991.htmhttp://online.wsj.com/article/AP26ba15082dab4ca48a7a71030b115715.htmlhttp://www.beatweek.com/news/9664-losing-touch-ios-5-on-iphone-ipad-signifies-death-of-ipod-branding/http://online.wsj.com/article/AP26ba15082dab4ca48a7a71030b115715.htmlhttp://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/12/us-apple-poll-idUSTRE79B6CI20111012

- Mixed quarterly production report for Oz Minerals- Copper solid, gold output lower- Earnings forecasts cut on lower gold guidance- Two brokers downgrade to Neutral ratingsBy Chris ShawSeptember quarter production from Oz Minerals ((OZL)) was mixed, with copper output largely as expected but gold p...

Sony finally confirmed that its next generation handheld the PlayStation Vita will be coming to gamers in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Australia on February 22, 2012.

Hewlett Packard has released an update to its HP TouchPad tablet proving that there's some life left in the now outmoded tablet line.

Dell Inc. will be a company to provide services and solutions to businesses.

The volatility continued for investors today, with the local stock market attempting to recover some of yesterday's losses. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose 25.3pts or 0.6pct to 4274.8, notching up its second win of the week. Sentiment was boosted by a newspaper report from the UK's The Guardian which suggested France and Germany have agreed to increase the size of the European stability fund to two trillion Euros.

The labor problems plaguing Qantas Airways for months now have given competitor Virgin Australia a wide opening to expand its market share.

Recent labor market research shows Australia’s $427-billion worth of resource projects will struggle to survive the crippling labour and skills shortage. Resource industry employer group AMMA says only a united front from all tiers of government can alleviate the imminent threat to many prospective workplaces.

Analysts and federal authorities remained optimistic on China's fiscal strength even as the world's second-largest economy slowed down in the third quarter.

China Steel has been reportedly mulling of buying stakes in various overseas coal and iron ore mines, with a $2.5 billion budget to spend, over the next four years.

Households are steadily gaining confidence in their financial well-being, with 28 per cent of Australians prepared to start spending again over the festive season, following a period of frugality and personal debt reduction – according to the latest ING Direct Financial Well-being Index.

After finalizing some fresh debt from banks and U.S. private investors, CSL Limited, the world's second biggest blood products maker, said it plans to buy back A$900 million of its shares.

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia (PGA) is again in hot water over another apparent shady deal. This time it involves alleged kickbacks paid by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to chemists.

Virgin Australia announced on Wednesday it would provide additional capacity over the coming months to meet market requirements and to minimize the impact of ongoing Qantas industrial action on the Australian travel and tourism industry.

Rio Tinto announced on Wednesday that it would advance the first shipment of ore from its Simandou project in Guinea to mid-2015. The earlier shipment date is because of accelerated development resulting from approval of another $211 million for continued studies and $1.117 billion funding commitment for early works and procurement of long-lead items.

Buoyed by strong demand and low interest rates, Canadian house prices continue to rise. In the year to end-June 2011, the national house price index rose by 4.52% (1.37% inflation-adjusted), according to Teranet-National Bank of Canada.

So what can the Reserve Bank do as it looks to the next board meeting on Melbourne Cup day and assesses the country's economic position and whether to cut interest rates?

Is the long tipped hard landing for China's economy about to happen?

After a decade, Kimberley's cotton growers are harvesting cotton once more. The ABC reported around 800 hectares of GM cotton will be balled up by a Queensland contract harvester next month.

The labor row between Qantas engineers and management turned for the worse after the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) filed a complaint with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) on Wednesday.

After some legal setbacks, Samsung Electronics finally won some of its legal battles against Apple. The victory was handed by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh who dismissed on Tuesday some of the antitrust claims by Apple against the South Korean firm.

Defying the softening market demand for iron ore, BHP Billiton announced on Wednesday a 24 percent hike on its iron ore output while admitting at the same time that the company’s copper production has retreated significantly in the face of a protracted labor problem.