BUSINESS

Bus passengers in Brisbane are bound to be affected by a strike action planned by drivers and workers on Thursday, 21 July.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 94 points or 0.8% while the S&P lost 0.8% to 1305 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.

Stocks advanced Friday, as blowout earnings from Google and a big corporate takeover overshadowed another warning about the U.S.'s credit rating and a depressed reading on consumer sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 42.61 points, or 0.3%, to 12479.73. The blue-chip index bobbed between positive and negative territory much of the day before the late rise.

US industrial production rose by 0.2pct in June, in line with forecasts. Consumer prices (CPI) fell by 0.2pct in June, weaker than the -0.1pct consensus forecast. But excluding food and energy (core prices) the CPI rose by 0.3pct, slightly ahead of market forecasts. And consumer sentiment slumped from 71.5 to a 2-year low of 63.8 in July.

It appears that Microsoft is planning a foray into the social networking scene with a new project called "Tulalip". The experimental project was revealed after Fusible.com spotted a teaser on socl.com, a domain owned by Microsoft.

AFTERNOON REPORT (4.30pm AEST)Local stocks tracked sideways today, with losses in the energy and consumer discretionary sectors holding the overall market back. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) fell 2.8pts to 4539 while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) eased by 1.5pts to 4472.Merger and acquisition activity was the order of the day. Before market open, two takeover bids were announced - one in the energy sector and another in the materials sector.

Across Asia, regional markets have started the week in a mixed fashion despite the positive leads from the US on Friday. Traders continue to be very cautious ahead of what's likely to be another volatile week as debt problems in the US and Europe continues to hang over the market. The Hang Seng is 0.2% firmer for the session while the Shanghai Composite is 0.1% lower. The Nikkei 225 is closed for a holiday.

Australia's Labour Party has felt the pangs of public dismay as its popularity plunged to its lowest, according to a survey conducted by Nielsen.

Australia's New South Wales and Queensland could make a comeback in the second half if benchmark rates remain at their current levels, the June report of CommSec State of States said on Monday.

MIDDAY REPORT (12.35pm AEST)The local share market has defied Wall Street's positive Friday finish and started the trading week slightly lower. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 8.6pts or 0.2pct to 4534.1.Energy players are under the most pressure, despite a rise in the crude oil price. Oil is hovering around US$97.57 a barrel, thanks to a firmer US dollar and generally favourable stress tests results on European banks.

Daily update on share prices and consensus price targets.By Rudi Filapek-VandyckAccountancy software developer Reckon ((RKN)) has regained the attention of investors amidst doom and gloom for retail-oriented industrials and sluggish progress for China-leveraged base materials and energy stocks.

China's effort to have a grip on steel-making companies to fulfill its needs continue as the Sichuan Hanlong Group made a bid for Australia-listed firm Sundance Resources for A$1.4 billion ($1.5 billion).

(This story was originally published on Wednesday, 13th July, 2011. It has now been re-published to make it available to non-paying members at FNArena and to readers elsewhere).

(In yesterday's story we accidentally reported BHP Billiton had acquired Fayetteville assets from ConocoPhillips.

MORNING REPORT (7am AEST)US industrial production rose by 0.2pct in June, in line with forecasts. Consumer prices (CPI) fell by 0.2pct in June, weaker than the -0.1pct consensus forecast. But excluding food and energy (core prices) the CPI rose by 0.3pct, slightly ahead of market forecasts. And consumer sentiment slumped from 71.5 to a 2-year low of 63.8 in July.

A laptop that shows 3D without the glasses, an Intel-conceived notebook that works like a tablet, some laptops that boots and opens the Chrome browser in seven seconds, a notebook combined with a tablet, and laptops that roars on the Mac Lion are among the offerings lined up by top tier personal computer makers for the second half of the year.

Sony Corp. is releasing this fall two portable non-slab styled tablets, code-named "S1" and "S2" for now. The tablets depart from the usual square, flat slab-style of the present tablets that have failed to put a dent to Apple's dominance in the market.

Talk of rising enquiries from first home buyers has not translated into sales, new data suggests.

There have been three major disasters in the first three months of this year in the Pacific region: the Japanese quake and tsunami ranks the highest for the human and financial costs, followed by the Christchurch quakes in New Zealand and then the Queensland (and Brisbane) floods and cyclone.

Rental growth across Australia's capital cities stalled in the June quarter, according to reports from the country's largest property data providers.

The combination of a high-taxing Government, falling consumer confidence, internet competition and lack of interest from wealthy shoppers has created what David Jones' chief executive, Paul Zahra called the retail perfect storm and resulted in a 20 percent loss for the high-end store.

AFTERNOON REPORT (4.30pm AEST)Debt concerns in the US and Europe once again rattled local investors, with the Australian share market ending the trading week in the red. Ratings agency Standard & Poor´s today warned there is a one-in-two chance it could cut the United States´ prized triple-A rating if a deal on raising the government´s debt ceiling is not agreed soon. The deadline for the agreement is August 2nd. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) fell 18.6pts or 0.4pct to 4542.7 while the S&P/A...

Over the past year or so we have seen the rise of Real Estate Agents using Facebook to promote their business or personal profile. The best of you continually add informative and fun content to your page and have seen a steady rise in fans. But there is a disturbing trend to this and this shows complete mis-understanding of how to market yourself online.

It's that time of the year again when waiting for the next iPhone has fans grasping at the latest unverified news and rumors about the device. This week the latest news about the iPhone 5 comes courtesy of the Chinese-language site Sohu.com that reports the iPhone 5 release will be delayed because of the A5 chip overheating.

First home buyers in Australia have not yet returned in numbers to the property market despite some growth in the last few months, according to a financial comparison site.

FNArena has added another video to its Investors Education section on the website. In this educational AV broadcast, Jerry Simmons explains how technical indicators have turned decidedly bearish for various assets and FX crosses, including Chinese equities, financial stocks, EUR/AUD and EUR/JPY.

BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) will acquire US shale gas company Petrohawk for US$38.75 per share through an all-cash tender offer for all of the issued and outstanding shares of Petrohawk, representing a total equity value of approximately US$12.1 billion and a total enterprise value of approximately US$15.1 billion, including the assumption of net debt.

Despite prevalent rumors it looks like Apple's newest OS, the Mac Lion will not be roaring at users this week but instead will be out next week with the new Mac Book Airs and Mac Minis.

Change and changing mindsets, no matter at what stage are loathed at, but at times circumstances just points to the inevitable. This is how the staunch supporters of the carbon tax in Australia perceive their advocacy in the days to come.