BUSINESS

Costco: A tale of retail shopping done right

Costco opened its new store in Canberra today and the line of customers outside the store has led other retailers to question what the US members' only retailer has done to get such a reception.
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Time To Take Advantage of Low Property Prices

Do not be spooked by gloomy economic forecasts: right now there are great bargains to be had for the canny property investor. A slowing of the Australian economy and a decrease in demand for housing has created a once in a lifetime opportunity for buying solid investments in areas with strong growth drivers.

Copper Leading Other Risk Assets?

FNArena has added another video to its Investors Education section on the website. ATW's Jerry Simmons latest analysis comes with seemingly opposing observations.

The Overnight Report: Party Time!

By Rudi Filapek-VandyckThe Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 152.50 points, or 1.21%, at 12724.41 for its highest level in six weeks and the second triple digit gain in three sessions.

Australian Dollar Outlook 7/22/2011

The Australian Dollar rallied above USD 1.0800 overnight as equity markets rallied after EU leaders agreed on a bail-out package for Greece

Today's Financial Calendar

Significant Scheduled Events For 22 July, 2011:(AU) - trade price index, Q2 (EZ) - new industrial orders, May (EZ) - Germany IFO survey, Jul (GOT) - EGM (HST) - EGM (INQ) - EGM (ISK) - Annual General Meeting (MDV) - EGM (RRI) - EGM FN Arena is building the future of financial news reporting at www.

Woolies The Defensive Staple

- Woolies delivers solid quarterly sales result- Guidance reiterated, so only minor changes to earnings estimates- Brokers attracted to defensive earnings growth- BA-ML the only negative view following upgrade by MacquarieBy Chris ShawWhile a tough operating environment has forced the likes of David...

Australian Stock Market Report 7/22/2011

The Philadelphia Fed business activity index rose from -7.7 to +3.2 in June. The increase was the first since March. Encouragingly across the sub-indices, new orders, hiring and shipments recorded a healthy improvement.

World Markets Overview (7/22/2011)

MORNING REPORT (7am AEST)The Philadelphia Fed business activity index rose from -7.7 to +3.2 in June. The increase was the first since March. Encouragingly across the sub-indices, new orders, hiring and shipments recorded a healthy improvement. While prices paid by manufacturers was the lowest in nine months. US jobless claims rose by 10,000 to 418,000 last week. The Conference Board leading index rose by 0.3pct in June.

Australian Stock Market Report-OPENING (7/22/2011)

On Wall Street overnight, it was a very strong session as a number of positives combined to send stocks higher. Outside of the jobless claims number, economic data was stronger-than-anticipated and earnings from giants Microsoft and Morgan Stanley topped estimates. The big news, however was an agreement from the EU emergency summit on a final bailout package for Greece worth EUR160 billion; they also empowered their bailout fund to buy debt of stressed nations and offer emergency credit lines. ...

Watch Out for Fake Apple Stores

An American in Kunming, southern Yunnan province in China said in her BirdAbroad blog at Wordpress that she found three shops masquerading as bona fide Apple stores in the city.

Mac OS X Lion and MacBook Air: Why Apple Is Today's Tech Juggernaut

The MacBook Air features the latest generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 dual-core processors. With a processor of speeds up to 1.8GHz and faster memory, the new MacBook Air gains 2.5x faster processing performance over the previous generation. It also has the Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor, which includes an on-chip engine for video encoding and decoding.

Australian Stock Market-CLOSING (7/21/2011)

AFTERNOON REPORT (4.30pm AEST)Local stocks posted a slight win today, but importantly managed to hold onto yesterday's impressive gains, despite slight falls on Wall Street overnight. Sentiment was boosted by hopes European leaders will agree on a second bail-out package for Greece, while a disappointing flash read on China's manufacturing sector limited gains as markets around the Asian region fell. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose 7.8pts or 0.2pct to 4626.2 while the S&P/ASX 200 ...

BHP Billiton Registers Record Q4 Output, Earnings

Global mining giant BHP Billiton said on Thursday that its iron ore output for the last quarter of fiscal year 2010-11 soared by 14 percent to 35.5 million metric tonnes, exceeding projections earlier set by market analysts.

Australian Stock Market-MIDDAY (7/21/2011)

Midday-Lunchtime REPORT (12.15pm AEST)Local stocks are managing to hold onto yesterday's impressive gains despite small losses on Wall Street overnight. Investor sentiment has been boosted by hopes Eurozone members will agree to a second bail-out deal for Greece when they meet in Brussels later tonight. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 23.8pts or 0.5pct to 4642.

Gone In A Flash

By Greg PeelThe "flash" manufacturing PMI (purchasing managers' index) calculated by HSBC is an early estimate of HSBC's ultimate result published immediately after month-end.

Heartworm drugs for pets; Big Pharma's cash cow

In a seemingly diabolical plot, veterinarians and pharmaceutical companies have teamed up in a marketing campaign to frighten pet guardians into giving year-round heartworm preventatives to their cats, as well as dogs.

The 'vision thing' in leadership

Australia has everything to play for, and every advantage it could hope for, but it also has every chance of blowing its future prospects. So says a 16-page special report in the May 2011 issue of the internationally recognised journal, The Economist.

Australian Dollar Outlook 7/21/2011

The Australian Dollar is holding its recent move above USD 1.0700, as sentiment remains positive, even if slightly subdued, regarding European and US Debt problems and plans.

CFO: Google Gears Up For Long-Term Growth

Larry Page’s recent tinkering on Google’s in-place structures were meant to reposition the internet giant and keep its competitive posture despite the enormous success that the company has achieved in so short a time.

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