BUSINESS

The National Australia Bank was able to deliver earnings in the June quarter as local and affiliate banks from offshore locations have contributed to business growth in spite the difficult conditions.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 634 points or 5.6% to 10,809, the S&P fell 6.7% to 1119 and the Nasdaq fell 6.

The idea of real estate portals having direct contact with vendors was first tabled by Realestate.com.au CEO Greg Ellis in March 2011, where he indicated REA would consider selling products directly to property vendors.

It is perhaps the biggest story of the year in terms of fundamental food rights, and yet with very few exceptions, old media (traditional newspapers and news outlets) has outright refused to even cover the story.

- BIS Shrapnel releases Building In Australia 2011 report- Oz building commencements tipped to recover from 2011/12- Commercial and industrial building the key driver- Residential construction improvement not expected until 2012/13By Chris ShawThe Australian housing market has seen limited activity ...

Potential home buyers are being frightened away from the market by the government's proposed carbon tax, it has been claimed.

Recently announced changes to the federally funded Remote Employment Services aims to ensure job service providers meet the needs of Indigenous and other remote job seekers.

Markets fell across Asia, Europe and the US yesterday and overnight as the Australian dollar slumped, sharemarkets plunged and gold soared past $US1700 an ounce.

Global equity and commodity prices plunged on Monday as fears of recessions across the Northern Hemisphere caused panic selling by investors. Despite the US credit rating downgrade, the US dollar index and US bond prices rose.

U.S. stocks tumbled deeper into correction territory in a Monday rout that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunging to the biggest point drop since Dec. 1, 2008.

Panicked investors shaved about $17 billion off the Australian share market, sending it to a 25-month low on fears of a volatile Wall Street following the first downgrading of US sovereign debt by Standard & Poor's.

Global equity and commodity prices plunged on Monday as fears of recessions across the Northern Hemisphere caused panic selling by investors. Despite the US credit rating downgrade, the US dollar index and US bond prices rose.

AFTERNOON REPORT (5.20pm AEST)Stocks around the Asian region fell further into the red today as investors reacted to the decision by ratings agency Standard and Poor's to downgrade the long-term credit rating of the United States from AAA to AA+. Investors and traders remained on edge despite the Group of Seven industrial nations pledging a coordinated effort to ensure financial markets have enough liquidity.

Qantas pilots have slammed claims they are seeking spas and massages as part of their industrial campaign against the airline.

Virgin Australia will soon be flying with business class to the Gold Coast, and new luxury lounge is set to follow.

- RedMed quarterly delivered in key areas- Forex pressures continue to impact- Growth outlook still solid, diversification a benefit- Buy ratings still dominate broker viewsBy Chris ShawSleep disorder group ResMed ((RMD)) reported 4Q11 earnings last week and the result had been viewed as an importan...

By Richard (Rick) MillsAs a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best informationThe history of fiat money has always been one of failure - every fiat currency since the Romans started diluting the silver content of their denarius has ended in devaluation and eventual...

(This story was originally published on August 3, 2011. It has now been re-published to make it available to non-paying members at FNArena and to readers elsewhere).

Businesses must change their attitudes about people working from home and use the internet to connect employees through "telework", the Minister for Broadband and Communications Stephen Conroy has announced.

We anticipate a very volatile environment in the next several days after equity markets fluctuated wildly on Friday and the first downgrade of US sovereign debt from AAA to AA- was done by S & P since debt ratings began in 1917 after US markets closed.

New research has revealed that rural and regional workers are not receiving adequate mental health support services. Medibank Health Solutions has released research results which show rural and regional workers feel their employers have unrealistic work expectations which have led to a poor work-life balance.

As an emerging market that has only opened up to foreign investment in the early 1990s, job opportunities for foreigners in Vietnam are far more plentiful than anywhere else in Southeast Asia (except perhaps in Singapore).

Competition time! We love our washing lines and clothes lines around here at My Green Australia. So we want to celebrate this love and also welcome Spring and Summer time!

After switching on its first 4G base stations, using Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, in May, Telstra has now announced it would start selling Australia’s first commercial LTE device later this month. Businesses in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane will be the first to experience 4G/LTE mobile broadband.

In case you haven't noticed - and, in lieu of the press generated by the recent battle royal over how much to increase the U.S. national debt, most of you probably haven't - Europe is on the brink of financial collapse. But before you shed too many tears for the Mother Continent, save a few for America because at the pace we're going, we're next.

Late on Friday night US time, ratings agency Standard and Poor´s downgraded the long-term credit rating of the United States from AAA to AA+.

After a tumultuous end to last week the Aussie opens on Monday at 1.0400 as investors continue to digest news of the United States downgrade by S & P on Saturday morning local time from AAA to AA+.

Standard & Poor's took the unprecedented step of downgrading the U.S. government's "AAA" sovereign credit rating Friday in a move that could send shock waves through global financial markets and potentially undermine world economic growth. In a press release, S&P, cut its top-notch long-term credit rating for the U.S. Treasury's debt to AA+ with a negative outlook.

Perhaps all those doomers and gloomers in Australia moaning about how tough times are here, will lift their blinkers and have a quick look at Australia's AAA credit rating and compare that to the US after Standard & Poor's cut on Saturday, our time.