BUSINESS

The Australian Dollar is trading around the USD1.0550 level this morning after a relatively quiet night.

Amid increasing bank competition, St.George Bank has slashed its two-year, fixed packaged home loan to 6.99 per cent per annum.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 25 points or 0.2% while the S&P lost one point to 1316 and the Nasdaq fell 0.

Sony Corp. said it expects the costs arising from the online security breach to hurt operating profit by about 14 billion yen (US$170 million) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012.

Apple has beefed up its patent portfolio, apparently obtaining the rights to about 200 patents formerly held by Freescale Semiconductor. The patents cover a range of technologies, from Wi-Fi to cellular data and data encoding, some filed as late as 2010.

There's a sucker born every minute. And for every sucker out there scammers are working hard to create newer and more elaborate scams. The newest breed of phishing scam involves malware, IP telephony and an offshore call center.

Visa announced that supermarket giant Woolworths has agreed to use its new contactless payWave payment system. Visa's new system allows customers to make purchases of under $100 without signing or using a PIN. This new system has raised valid security concerns with industry insiders.

The Australian share market closed slightly lower on Tuesday but bounced back from earlier lows caused by concerns about European sovereign debt.

Apple stores have a basic set-up. You go in the pristine environment and everything is neatly organized by each product. The iPods, iPhones, MacBooks and iPads are all arranged in their own sections and next to each product is a small piece of paper enclosed in plastic that shows the product's specs and price. Apple has decided to do away with this piece of paper and is now going hi-tech by replacing this with iPad 2s.

Australia’s forest industry showed mixed signals in the 2009-10 financial year with softwood log harvest up, housing starts increasing, broadleaved plantation harvest remaining constant, and a further decline in broadleaved native log harvest and woodchips exports.

The Australian sharemarket is pulling back for the second time this week, with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 0.9 pct or 40.9 pts to 4682.

The Gillard Government appears to be taking credit for National Australia Bank’s recent move to sell discounted mortgages online.

Come November, Jetstar passengers will be confronted with electronic self-service tools as they print their own tickets and tag their own baggage. This campaign is included in the new cost-cutting measures from the low budget airline.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) has finally relaxed its tough rules towards employees using social media, following pressure from bank employees to amend heavy-handed elements of the policy.

Wesfarmers Ltd’s forecast production for its Curragh mine has been cut by the company because of the recent rainfall and mechanical difficulties.

The Aussie fell sharply last night but found support at 1.0480/500 in what now appears to be a bullish wedge formation. While taking long positions is against the short-term trend, traders expect to see a small counter-trend rally in the near term. Traders will be looking to promptly take profits on any long positions, while a break of 1.0480 will be very bearish.

It's hard to know what hurt the Elders share price the most yesterday, the downgrade of the outlook or the general sell-off across the market, led by banks.

Investors would do better to worry about the continuing drought in central and southern China than another dip in a key manufacturing index for May.

Markets across Asia sold off yesterday with financial and big miners taking a whack from nervous investors.

The AUD is weaker this morning after some poor data releases and continued concerns about Europe saw investors move towards the USD in safe haven trading.

By Greg PeelThe week before last, a rumour ran around the spot uranium market suggesting that the US government's Portsmouth clean-up contractor Fluor-B&W had found a buyer for the full amount of uranium the Department of Energy intends to sell to cover the clean-up cost.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 130 points or 1.0% while the S&P fell 1.2% to 1317 and the Nasdaq fell 1.6%.Grimsvotn.

Australian burrito chain Mad Mex has seen a successful uptake on its month-long Cinco de Mayo Big Burrito challenge, reporting over 2000 of the one-kilogram burritos sold at its nine outlets in NSW, Queensland and Victoria.

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today announced the findings of a major study analyzing the impact of information-based energy efficiency programs at eleven utilities across the country. The report identifies energy reductions that could generate billions in savings for Americans and reduce carbon (CO2) emissions by more than 8.9 million metric tons per year if extended nationwide.

Peak horticulture body Growcom has called for the urgent integration of food policy and programs by the federal government to plan for future food security.

Institutional investors are increasingly bullish on using Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) in their portfolios. When looking to invest in ETFs, U.S. institutions turn most often to iShares, BlackRock's ETF business.

New barriers to international clearing could be erected by proposed new regulations for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives in the European Union, according to the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), the global hedge fund association.

- Authorisation granted for US LNG export- Shell to build the Prelude FLNG facility- Xeres has Woodside confident re Pluto-2By Greg PeelAs noted in The New Global LNG Dynamic, the Japanese earthquake suddenly provided some new impetus for Australia's burgeoning LNG industry, which was beginning to s...

Commodities will undergo another bull run once financial markets fully appreciate the threat of a global rise in inflation, according to Dighton Capital Management, one of the world's leading managed futures fund managers.