BUSINESS

Australian stocks have closed lower for the fourth straight session as offshore worries prompted broad based selling on the local bourse. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 46.7 points, or 0.95 per cent, at 4,584.7 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index had fallen 46.7 points, or 0.99 per cent, to 4,661.6 points.

The US Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that home prices fell by 0.3pct in March to be down 5.8pct on a year ago. And US durable goods orders fell by 3.6pct in April after a 4.4pct lift in March. Economists had tipped a fall of 2.2pct.

U.S. stocks registered a third-straight day of losses after a mixed round of housing and manufacturing data combined with worries about Europe's debt-laden countries to weigh on investor sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 25.05 points, or 0.20%, to 12356.21, its lowest close since April 19. General Electric led the blue-chip index lower, dropping 29 cents, or 1.5%, to $19.10, while American Express fell 56 cents, or 1.1% to 50.56.

Daimler AG has announced the upcoming redesign of its B-Class Mercedes Benz, which the German carmaker said, will hopefully attract a new generation of buyers once its compact car lineups have assumed the more familiar features currently deployed on the flagship models.

The Australian sharemarket hit its lowest level since mid-March today; with the ASX 200 index (XJO) falling 1 pct or 44.1 pts to 4584.7 and the broader All Ordinaries index (XAO) dropping 1 pct or 46.7 pts to 4661.6. Aussie shares have now fallen for the fourth consecutive session.

Australian retail property group Westfield Group (ASX: WDC) says it is confident of strong performance across its portfolio this calendar year despite the impact of a lower U.S. dollar.

Oil and gas producer Santos has discovered oil at Finucane South in the Carnarvon Basin, offshore Western Australia. Well logs and wire line testing have confirmed a net oil column of 18 metres in excellent quality reservoir sands in the Angel Formation, the company said.

The New South Wales Government will inspect a further 500 solar panels in Sydney to ensure the installations are safe for consumers and comply with regulations.

Google has long been a thorn in Microsoft's side especially in the search engine market. When Microsoft launched Bing in 2009, the company thought it could easily catch up with Google. It didn't quite succeed as well as it hoped.

The Australian sharemarket is pulling back once again, with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 0.7 pct or 30.8 pts to 4677.5. Almost all sectors are weaker now than they were at this time yesterday and the financials are the worst performers at lunch.

Building and construction work done rose modestly overall in the March quarter, but there is a growing divide between building and mining-related engineering construction, according to Master Builders Australia, the peak body for the building and construction industry.

A new development in Apple's legal suit against Samsung has a federal court forcing Samsung to hand over samples of their new Android smart phones and tablets for Apple to examine.

Qantas pilots have today moved toward industrial action for the first time since 1966, with the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) lodging a formal application at Fair Work Australia to ballot 1700 long-haul pilots.

The resilience of Queensland business owners shone through despite the state’s small business sentiment being hit hard by the recent natural disasters, with the state reporting a Happiness Index of 53 per cent in a new business survey released by Westpac.

Galaxy S smartphones from Samsung outsold Apple iPhones in Japan during Q1 2011, which places Samsung in the ranks of the top four handset vendors of Japan for the first time, according to Strategy Analytics. Android smartphones are now outselling iOS smartphones in Japan.

S&P will make the following changes to the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600 indices. Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) will replace Massey Energy Corp. (NYSE: MEE) in the S&P 500 index after the close of trading on Wednesday, June 1. Alpha Natural Resources is acquiring Massey Energy in a deal expected to be completed on or about that date pending final approvals.

Advent Software, Inc., a leading provider of software and services for the global investment management industry, today unveiled a major new release of Geneva, Advent's award-winning global portfolio management and fund accounting solution.

Risk appetite continued to wane during the week ending May 18 as investors digested a fresh round of lukewarm-to-cold macroeconomic data, fresh speculation that Greek debt will be restructured and the fact that the official end to the US Federal Reserve's QE2 program is now less than eight weeks away.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced the next version of Microsoft Windows will arrive sometime next year. The new operating system, billed "Windows 8", will be available for PCs, slates and tablets.

The harmonisation of workplace health and safety laws across the country, while reducing red tape and arguably improving safety for workers, could prove costly.

Shares in accounting software provider Reckon Ltd fell 3% yesterday after the company's annual meeting heard the company is seeing improved business conditions in 2011 as demand for its products recovers.

The aftermath of the big wet in the central Queensland coal fields has again forced Wesfarmers to take the knife to its sales forecast for its rich Curragh coking coal mine.

The U.S. housing sector may be slowly coming up out the abyss, as suggested by the earlier release of new home sales for the month of April by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Goldman Sachs now sees Chinese economic growth of 9.2% this year (10% previously) and 9.2% from 9.5% for 2012.

As expected Brisbane-based testing services group Campbell Brothers Ltd has produced a cracker of a full year result, and a very tasty final dividend.

Capital is continuing to move into emerging market bond funds, reducing the cost of borrowing for developing countries and reducing the significance of the Western financial system.

DotconBy Tim Price, Director of Investment PFP Wealth Management“We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually produce the entire works of Shakespeare.

A traditional view is that 'talent' refers to the A Players, the top 20% of employees.

The last week saw sharp declines in commodity prices and equity markets, with oil taking a big hit as Eurozone worries rose to the fore. After the drop in oil prices, which many analysts point out was merely correcting the speculative rise in prices, oil is once again trending upward.