BUSINESS

U.S. stocks notched a massive advance Thursday, as investors seized on favorable corporate and economic reports to recover most of the ground they lost in the previous session.

Web-based file storage and content sharing service Box.net on Thursday unveiled three new apps for the tablet world: one for Android Honeycomb, one for BlackBerry PlayBook, and one for HTML5-compatible browsers.

It was another interesting session on the Australian share market, as investors reacted to fresh sovereign debt worries out of Europe and a surprise rise in the local unemployment rate. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) fell 1.5pct on open, outperforming near 5pct losses witnessed on Wall Street overnight.

Supermarket chain Woolworths is taking grocery shopping to another level by launching an iPhone App that aims to make it easier to navigate through Woolies with an aisle ordered shopping list.

Australians campaigning for animal rights will rally across the country on Sunday, August 14, in support of legislation that will determine the future of the live export trade. This comes after the first shipment of cattle since the lifting of the live export ban to Indonesia left the Port of Darwin on Wednesday and the government announcing a new package of subsidised loans and grants to cattle producers affected by the suspension of trade.

Well, looking at yesterday's Commonwealth Bank full year result, several points stand out.

Australia's economy generated more part-time jobs in the month of July rising 22,100 to 3.40 million, emphasizing the state of local firms that are not woven within the industries of the mining sector.

FNArena has added another video to its Investors Education section on the website. In this educational broadcast, produced 24 hours prior to this week's FOMC meeting on Tuesday, ATW's Jerry Simmons explains why equities were ready to rally.

Electrical retailer Harvey Norman yesterday joined rival JB Hi-Fi, Colorado, Borders/Angus and Robertson and the Premier Retail group of chains in restructuring operations to meet the challenge of weak sales, cautious consumers who are saving madly and the strong Australian dollar.

Employment prospects for new postgraduates remain positive, with 86% of postgraduates finding full-time employment within four months of completing their studies in 2010.

St. George and ING Direct have joined the wave of fixed rate cuts, and an MPA Top 100 Broker has predicted an RBA cut may not be far behind.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 519 points or 4.6% while the S&P dropped 4.4% to 1120 and the Nasdaq lost 4.1%.

The release of the Bank of England Inflation Report for August suggested that policymakers were clearly more downbeat than in May. In terms of interest rates the policy makers are in “wait and see” mode. GDP growth in 2011 will be weaker than expected at just 1.4pct, while CPI inflation is expected to undershoot the 2pct target.

U.S. stocks slumped as investors were squeezed between fears of further contagion among European banks and the Federal Reserve's gloomy economic outlook.

Ratings agencies usually do not give a company a rating higher than its home country's sovereign rating. Are the tech giants then suffering the domino effect of the U.S. downgrade?

MARKET CLOSE (4.30pm AEST)Well after the strangest of days for the Australian market yesterday, shares locally improved strongly for the second consecutive day. The ASX 200 index (XJO) rose 2.6 pct or 106.5 pts to 4141.3 while the broader All Ordinaries index (XAO) jumped 2.7 pct or 110.7 pts to 4207.4. This takes the gains for the week to just under 1 pct so far.

MIDDAY REPORT (12.30pm AEST)The Australian sharemarket is gaining for the second straight day, with the All Ordinaries index up 2.9 pct or 117.1 pts to 4213.8. Almost all sectors are higher with the exception of the property trusts, which are slightly lower at lunch.

The hacker collective Anonymous has vowed to "destroy" Facebook on Nov. 5, according to the group's official YouTube channel announced on Tuesday.

Finally, Singaporean budget airline Tiger Airways has been given the clearance by Australia's aviation authorities to fly again.

In the wake of this week's share market meltdown, a new report from Ernst & Young reveals that the threat of higher taxes to be slapped on the the resources sector could weaken the Australian economy, which narrowly escaped the contagion of the financial crises two years ago.

By Richard (Rick) MillsAs a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best informationIn 1873, the Fourth Coinage Act was enacted by the US Congress.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 423 points or 4% to 11,239 while the S&P gained 4.7% to 1172 and the Nasdaq jumped 5.

- Bradken's full year result met last year's guidance- Guidance for FY12 implies further solid earnings growth- Forecasts and targets adjusted, Brokers maintain Buy ratingsBy Chris ShawIn August of last year management at consumable products and capital equipment group Bradken ((BKN)) guid...

The Aussie has been pushed up to crucial resistance at 1.0400 and traders will be looking for new shorting opportunities up at this level. The 1.0400 level is the neckline of the double-top formation and the market will view this level as critical. Traders are likely to favour the downside until we see a clear break of 1.0400.

By Greg PeelOne might be forgiven for fearing that by the end of last week, spot uranium may have been hit hard by festering economic fears in the US and Europe.

The release of the FOMC minutes confirmed that US interest rates are unlikely to change anytime soon. The Fed committed to keeping interest rates near zero for at least another two years and in a divided decision the central bank also signalled it was prepared to do more if necessary to spur growth over the midterm.

Over the years the Australian dollar has had a habit of going up by the stairs and coming back down via the lift. I

MARKET CLOSE (4.30pm AEST)The Australian sharemarket had a dramatic trading Tuesday as stocks staged an amazing comeback with the ASX 200 index (XJO) up 1.2 pct or 48.7 pts to 4034.8 while the broader All Ordinaries index (XAO) rose 1 pct or 40 pts to 4096.7.

Global miner BHP Billiton is moving to gain control of its iron-ore mining operations in Australia's Pilbara region. Australia’s Leighton Holdings today announced it has signed a Heads of Agreement for the sale of the HWE Iron Ore entities and assets that provide iron ore contract mining services to BHP Billiton in Western Australia.