BUSINESS

OneSteel announced on Monday (August 22) that it has forged an agreement with WPG Resources Limited (WPG), acquiring the latter's iron ore assets in northern South Australia for $346 million.

- Asian growth drives solid Blackmores result- More of the same expected in coming years- Credit Suisse upgrades to a Buy on valuation groundsBy Chris ShawVitamins and supplements distributor Blackmores ((BKL)) delivered what the market viewed as a solid full year result, net profit increasing by 12...

When applying for a rental property tenant history is methodically and ruthlessly checked ̶ and with good reason. There's a lot on the line if an agent accepts a tenant who goes on to trash the place.

(This story was originally published on Wednesday, 22th August, 2011. It has now been repeated to make it available to non-paying members at FNArena and to readers elsewhere).

Living and working as a real estate broker in The Riviera Maya, Mexico, I am constantly engaged in conversations with folks who recently purchased their "dream home" in Mexico.

The Spanish Government has announced that it will temporarily cut the sales tax on new house purchases in order to boost activity in the construction sector.

The Australian Dollar appeared to have tired during the Asian session on Friday, consolidating in range-bound trade between 1.0320 and 1.0380.

U.S. stocks closed lower Friday and notched their fourth straight losing week, as investors continued worrying about a potential global recession and the health of the European banking system.

Nordstrom is my guilty pleasure but there is nothing guilty about the pleasure of shopping at one new Nordstrom-owned store. The store, Treasure & Bond, will open on Friday in New York City and Nordstrom has committed to donating store profits to charity. That’s right; Nordstrom will not be pocketing the profits from Treasure & Bond.

We have a long list of events and data including Australian profits, US economic growth, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, stockmarket confidence and the appearance of RBA Governor, Glenn Stevens on Friday.

Online nominations have now closed for the Australian HR Awards and intensive research is currently underway to determine the finalists.

Although excessive use of social media during work hours may be a valid reason for terminating an employee's employment, Fair Work Australia has found that a landscape architect who was accused of making over 3,000 transactions on a chat line during work time within a three month period was unfairly dismissed.

Hewlett-Packard had high hopes for its HP TouchPad: being the largest vendor of desktops and laptops, it had hoped that its tablet would be able to compete with Apple's iPad.

- Adelaide Brighton interim report meets expectations- Earnings guidance seen as conservative- Ratings upgraded post the resultBy Chris ShawThe market had been expecting interim earnings from Adelaide Brighton ((ABC)) of around $62 million and this was the result delivered by management.

Electronics retailer Harvey Norman has ordered its franchises to stop selling HP's TouchPad tablet, after the product manufacturer said it would no longer be making the device.

Westpac is slashing its three-year fixed-rate home loan by 0.2 per cent to 6.59 per cent as part of its Spring Home Loan Celebration. The rate cut applies to new home loans of at least $150,000.

Western Australia may be the hot spot for industry, but work outcomes for Perth graduates are among the worst in the country according to the latest Good Universities Guide, released today.

After peaking above $US1800 an ounce last week, it slipped well below that, only rise 1.5% to end Thursday around $US1,828 an ounce Thursday as fears continue to burble on about Europe.

MetaQuotes officially released a new version of its MetaTrader 5 iPhone platform app for mobile trading. With the new version, in addition to broadened trading opportunities, forex and stock traders will receive full technical analysis features.

A union representing Qantas engineers announced it will begin one-hour work stoppages next week that will last until the week before Christmas.

Westpac-owned St.George Bank today slashed its fixed home loan rates by up to 0.55 per cent pa.

Images of periled polar bears sinking into arctic seas because of melting polar ice caps have become an iconic symbol of the devastating consequences of so-called global warming.

Firstfolio has seen revenues surge on the back of its acquisition strategy, and plans to continue to seek out acquisition targets.

Retail deposit growth has driven a stronger funding position for ANZ, the bank has stated.

What is behind Google's thinking and what kinds of outcomes can we realistically expect?

Recent discounting moves by lenders are "acts of desperation", and will eventually disadvantage brokers and borrowers, a top broker has stated.

Atlas Iron Limited (ASX Code: AGO) has announced a 50 percent increase in its direct shipping ore (DSO) reserves, to 79.3 metric tons at 57.8% Fe, from its North Pilbara Projects.

Business sales figures across Australia posted disappointing numbers in July, according to a survey done by Commonwealth Bank on 200,000 merchant facilities.

- Mermaid Marine delivers strong profit result- Brokers expect more growth in FY12 as oil and gas activity expands- RBS upgrades to a Buy rating on valuation groundsBy Chris ShawProfit for FY11 of $43.