BUSINESS

Microsoft Corp. will host a conference this week where Windows 8 and other new products are expected to be unveiled. But there are things we'd love to see at the event but won't.

Rumors of the iPhone 5 should be over in just a few weeks. An internal memo from U.S. carrier Sprint says that employees can't take time-off during Sept. 30 to Oct. 15 due to a major phone release. The memo backs rumors that Apple Inc.'s long delayed but highly anticipated iPhone 5 will be released in early October.

Outages are occurring too often. Up to 365 million users of Microsoft Corp.'s e-mail and cloud services worldwide were scratching their heads at the end of the week: Hotmail, Skydrive, Office 365, and others Windows Live service were inaccessible. Though service was restored in a couple of hours for most, the downtime was the second in 30 days.

Australia is pushing for a comprehensive reform package to the Australian shipping industry to allow it to be more internationally competitive, according to Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese.

Nexteer Australia has received government funding of $63 million to help develop and manufacture its innovative lightweight technology and create more than 250 jobs in Australia.

Ferrier Hodgson, an accounting firm specializing in insolvency, has been appointed as receiver of Solar Shop Australia Pty Ltd., Australia's largest provider of solar PV systems, a move that has shaken and disappointed the solar industry.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) appealed the Federal Court’sruling dismissing its application to prevent Metcash from acquiring the Franklins supermarket business, saying that the acquisition will erode competition .

With an iPhone 5 release date expected in October, all talk has been about Apple's yet to be unveiled smartphone.

Apple's popular iPad is a hot commodity with consumers but can they be used to make your business better?Here are 6 ways other companies have tailored the iPad to make a better customer experience and enhance their overall service.

Amidst the soaring threats of striking another global recession and skyrocketing prices in fuel, consumers in Indonesia manage to cultivate a growing penchant for cars, commodity gladly perceived prolific by Asia's largest car manufacturer, Toyota Motor Corporations.

In a move that has come to define the dog-eat-dog business world, Yahoo chief executive Carol Bartz was fired this week. Bartz has come back at this perceived betrayal with some expressive comments directed at the board of directors of the internet company.

AFTERNOON REPORT (4.30pm AEST)The local share market has finished the trading week on a positive note, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) adding 7.6pts or 0.2pct to 4277.4 and the S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) firmer by 6.7pts or 0.2pct to 4194.7.

Recently, SmartCompany released its list of the 10 most influential people in Australian IT. The annual list judged the people in Australia's tech industry based on their involvement in the industry and their capacity to influence the sector beyond their own companies or organizations.Here are the 10 most influential IT people, according to SmartCompany.

Australian mining giant Rio Tinto got a new water deal in Pilbara. The company, which announced the deal Friday, secured the agreement in exchange for surrendering its entitlement from the Millstone aquifer.

Oxfam Australia is calling on the Just Group to ban sandblasting on its jeans manufacturing process due to serious health concerns it poses on workers.

FNArena Editor Rudi Filapek-Vandyck will be giving a two-hour presentation at the University of New South Wales, on the 15th September (next week Thursday).

- CLSA report suggests strong growth in Asian HNWIs- China a major driver, Indonesia tipped for highest rate of growth- Industries creating positive economic value to benefitBy Chris ShawWith the Asian region growing strongly so too is the number of high net worth individuals according to a report b...

The fight is not yet over for recently fired Yahoo Chief Executive Officer Carol Bartz. Ms Bartz said she wants to keep her board seat on the tech firm, but a Yahoo statement said she could not keep the seat.

The US trade deficit narrowed from $53.1 billion to $44.8 billion in July. The 13.1pct decline was the biggest monthly drop since early 2009. US exports rose 3.6pct while imports eased by 0.2pct in July.

The Australian Dollar fell against all of its 16 major counter-parties after a government report released yesterday showed the Official Unemployment Rate unexpectedly rose to 5.3 percent

U.S. stocks declined Thursday, eroding some of the prior session's advance, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's remarks failed to calm investor jitters over the state of the economy.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 119 points or 1.0% while the S&P lost 1.1% to 1185 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.8%.

The mining industry received more government assistance than manufacturing over the past 12 months, despite record mining profit levels, the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union complained today.

Energy company Jatenergy Limited (ASX:JAT) is supplying high quality crude jatropha oil to Lufthansa for use in the world’s first, long-term trial of renewable jet fuel on the German airline’s regular scheduled flights between Hamburg and Frankfurt.

The US Renewables Group (USRG) will provide $344 million financing for the solar project led by Solar City for that will double the current number of residential rooftop solar system in the US.

The Reserve Bank of Australia could cut its key interest rate after the unexpected soft employment data release today, according to economists.

Developers try to keep up with the demand for smartphones and apps based on Google Android operating system, by hiring new programmers and releasing updated versions of the software.

But according to a report, Samsung Electronics may unveil a tablet powered by Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 8, marking the South Korean company's first collaboration with the software giant.

I was never the lazy student that gave "the dog ate my assignment" alibis. I wrote an article stating 1,000 reasons why Motorola's Droid Bionic would beat the iPhone 4. But that was in January, when Motorola touted a new device with amazing specs at a time when Nokia Oyj was still busy experimenting with the Meego, Samsung had yet to become a major player in mobile devices, and Apple's fifth generation iPhone was still months away.