BUSINESS

By Greg PeelThe US was closed for Memorial Day and the UK was closed for a bank holiday so there was very little else going on across the globe last night.

Suncorp confirmed yesterday that its over-exposure to insurance is still hurting the company.

European stocks finished flat to lower Monday, with volumes thinned by the absence of U.S. and U.K. markets and with German utility shares lower on a report that the country has set a final date for shuttering its nuclear reactors. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.1% to 278.82.

According to a report by Reuters, EU officials are drafting a second bailout package for Greece in an attempt to prevent the country defaulting on debt next month.

The US dollar became the story last week, falling as the euro defied gravity and the doubts about Greece and the eurozone's financial health to end higher, sending some commodities lower on the day.

The continuing Fukushima nuclear crisis is proving to be a greater threat to the health of the Japanese economy than the impact of the March 11 quake and tsunami.

U.S. stocks rose Friday but failed to avoid a fourth-straight week of losses as major indexes recorded their longest weekly losing streak in more than a year.

Australian Xbox users were given an early Christmas present when Foxtel declared that there will be no data charges for Telstra BigPond customers who are signed up to the Xbox 360 service. The pay subscription service also announced that BigPond TV channels which include the AFL and NRL channels, TVN and BigPond Sport TV will become available to Xbox gamers who use Foxtel's Xbox package.

A gradual implementation of the carbon tax is the favoured scheme of industry groups led by the Business Council of Australia.

The Australian sharemarket is continuing on its weak run, with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 0.1 pct or 2.6 pts to 4757.7. Shares were down by as much as 0.4 pct this morning, however have recovered over the past hour thanks to gains from the mining and energy sectors.

Suncorp Group, Australia's biggest general insurer, aims to increase its insurance margin by three percentage points next in the next financial year and double its profit in New Zealand over the next three years.

Just when you thought it was safe to trade in your cash and credit cards for Google Wallet, PayPal and eBay launch a lawsuit to stop Google in its tracks. A day after Google launched its new mobile e-payment service, PayPal and eBay filed a lawsuit alleging that Google's new payment service was the result of some shady corporate dealings.

A recent survey discloses that the Australian new home sales show indication of falling to levels during the global financial crisis as it currently appears flat.

ING Direct is reducing the variable interest rate on its 100 per cent offset home loan product, Orange Advantage, by 0.10 per cent p.a. from today 30 May 2011 amid toughening competition among Australian lenders.

Fact can indeed be stranger than fiction.

Any hope for a steady recovery of the U.S. economy is heavily dependent upon U.S. consumers to support future growth, given that consumer expenditures account for more than 60% of GDP.

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. has resumed the G650 flight-test program, following a temporary suspension of flying after an April 2 accident. The first flight since the accident took place May 28, with Serial Number 6001 flying for 1 hour and 39 minutes. The crew included senior experimental test pilots Jake Howard and Tom Horne and Flight Test Engineer Bill Osborne.

UK-based navigation and positioning solutions company Veripos will open a branch office in Perth to provide sales and support for both Australia and New Zealand.

Investors in Australia have become increasingly bearish about the prospects for investment returns from Australian equities.

Engineering conglomerate Ausenco Ltd (ASX Code: AAX) had secured another contract with Beadell Resources Ltd (ASX: BDR) to manage the $75 million processing plant delivery at the Tucano gold project in Brazil.

In the decade since Microsoft announced Software Assurance, many customers have found it cheaper to skip upgrades rather than pay up front for the rights to them. Essentially, the licensing program does the opposite of its design.

Twitter's acquisition of TweetDeck was finally made official this week. Twitter will buy the popular feed organizer for $40 million US dollars. The move has users in a twitter if their beloved third-party client could be stripped clean by Twitter.

Golden Circle, a subsidiary of US-based Heinz Corporation, based in Brisbane, Queensland, has sacked 350 workers, causing a major blow to food production and food processing in Australia.

Westpac (ASX: WBC) has now assured there had been no compromise of its security or systems.

A number of credit card numbers were cancelled by the Commonwealth Bank and Westpac in fear that they might have been compromised and opened to fraudulent activities.

Trolley thieves beware. Woolworth has launched a new mobile application that will allow people to report a lost trolley via GPS. The retail store giant hopes this move will reduce the $50 million lost every year in trolley collection and replacement costs.

Australia’s financial advice and wealth management industry accounts a friendly merger between the Snowball Group and the Shadforth Financial Group.

Alice Springs Airport or ASA is delegated to be the first aircraft "boneyard" outside the United States after a deal for the construction and operation of the facility was concluded with a storage company this week.

Forget the US markets and wonder about China's and the very nasty 5%-plus fall in the Shanghai Composite last week, a fall that seems to have gone unnoticed outside the country.