BUSINESS

Siri's only a month old and the service is already embroiled in a scandal. The dulcet toned digital personal assistant was accused by several blogs that it was blocking answers to questions about abortion or birth control.

- Citi initiates on FKP Property with Neutral rating- Upside and downside risks for earnings are in play- Refinancing remains a key catalyst- Buy ratings still dominate on the stockBy Chris ShawFKP Property Group ((FKP)) is a diversified play, owning, managing and investing in the retirement, reside...

By Greg PeelThe RBA today cut its cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.25%, following on from a similar cut in November.

The federal government of Zimbabwe, in a bid to improve the country's fiscal liquidity situation, demanded that foreign-owned mining firms should have their primary listings in the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE).

Sydney is ranked as the third most favourable market in the Asia Pacific region for commercial real estate investment next year, largely due to the resiliency of the Australian economy, according to Emerging Trends in Real Estate® Asia Pacific 2012, a real estate forecast jointly published by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Iran claimed Sunday that it has "captured" a spy drone belonging to the U.S., as the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan admitted that one of its reconnaissance aircraft went missing last week.

The owner of the Rivers Australia chain will appear in court on Wednesday in connection with the charges of indecent assault filed against him by a former employee.

Homeowners in financial stress are receiving advice from what may seem an unlikely source: the Australian Bankers' Association.

The administrator of Refund Home Loans has claimed the business could sell before Christmas.

The Queensland government approved a 25-year mining lease for the Mt Carlton gold-silver-copper project of Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN).

Refund Home Loans' administrator has assured franchisees that a wind up resolution will only affect a shell company, not Refund Home Loans' businesses.

The holiday shopping season is projected to generate some $10 billion of total sale for the retail industry and big chunk of that pie would be enjoyed by Australian retailers, reports said.

Australians will have another alternative budget carrier from Asia by mid-2012 as Scoot operates a 402-seat daily flight between Sydney and Singapore. Scoot will offer 40 per cent lower fare than traditional airlines and targets young and adventurous travelers who want to go around the region at lower cost.

As pointed out in the Diary (see below), the coming week is going to be crucial for the future of the euro and Europe's slumping economy.

World stocks edged higher on Friday, ending the best week since March 2009 as the great relief rally of 2011 halted for a breather ahead of the decisive week ahead.

The flow of economic data and decisions will perhaps be the most important week this year and for the early months of next year for the global economy, and especially Europe and Australia.

Qantas unions have secured the support of the Labor Party to strengthen the Qantas Sales Act. The party backed the motion filed by Transport Workers Union (TWU) Federal Secretary Tony Sheldon to keep majority ownership, operation and governance of Qantas in Australia.

The Map Group announced on Monday plans to merge the international and domestic terminals in Sydney Airport by 2019.

Australian coal miners, Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) and Aston Resources (ASX: AZT), are talking about a corporate merger, Whitehaven disclosed on Monday.

A federal court judge in San Jose, California has ruled against Apple's petition to temporarily ban the sales of Samsung smartphones and tablets in the U.S. allowing the Korean products in market shelves until the start of the patent infringement trial on July 30, 2012.

- JP Morgan initiates with Overweight rating on Grange Resources- Value the main attraction- Upside from new project and increased production, some risks at Southdown- Grange rated Buy by all five brokers offering coverageBy Chris ShawGrange Resources ((GRR)) is Australia's largest producer of ...

From Craig James, Commsec Chief EconomistUS non-farm payrolls (employment) rose by 120,000 in November, in line with market expectations. Private payrolls rose by 140,000, the jobless rate fell from 9.0pct to a 2-1/2 year low of 8.6pct and average earnings fell by 0.1pct.

From Morrison Securities: U.S. stocks finished barely changed in Friday's session to cap a strong week after the U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped and European leaders and central bankers redoubled efforts to tackle the sovereign-debt crisis.

Cisco Systems is planning to release a larger and smaller version of its enterprise-centric Cius tablet.

Three hackers claim they have successfully gained root access to Research in Motion's PlayBook tablet to run unauthorized applications.

Google's Android system may have updated its Google Maps feature to work indoors but Nokia is raising the bar by having their indoor maps in 3D.

Australian banks are in a position of strength despite emerging global challenges but ratings agency Moody's warned that the volatile situation in Europe could pose serious threats to the sector's present stability.

A Chinese airliner took off from Osaka's international airport without clearance from air traffic controllers sparking an investigation by civil aviation authorities from the two countries.

Qantas unions blamed mismanagement of the national air carrier for its $200 million loss for the second half of the financial year. The unions said Qantas should not blame the strikes for the loss, which Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce pinpointed as one of the reasons behind the red ink.