BUSINESS

Russian Interior Ministry investigator Oleg Silchenko, who was responsible for the false arrest, torture and murder in custody of Hermitage Fund's lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, has issued a summons to question the CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, William Browder, in Moscow.

Hedge fund flows as measured by the GlobeOp Capital Movements Index were positive 2.29% in May.

Resource giant BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) says it has met all concerns raised over its planned expansion of the Olympic Dam uranium and copper mine.

Ivernia Inc. (TSX: IVW), owner of the Magellan Mine in Western Australia, said that it has entered into an agreement for Green SEA Resources Inc. to pay Canadian $20 million (A$19.5 million) in exchange for a 16% stake in the owner of the world's largest pure lead mine.

Qantas Aiways’ maintenance engineers have decided to postpone all industrial action over their claims for job security.

Leighton Finance International, Leighton Holdings Ltd’s (ASX: LEI) wholly owned subsidiary, is redeeming the five-year 7.875 per cent fixed-rate US$110m Guaranteed Notes issued on 16 May 2006.

Australia’s competitive advantage is in danger as the country’s freight advantage is being eroded, and as China lessens its dependence on Australian minerals, says a free market think tank.

Red-faced Facebook executives on Thursday admitted launching a smear campaign against number one rival Google and discredit its privacy practices.

- The PBoC has again raised the Chinese RRR- There is some evidence of slowing in the short term- Liquidity nevertheless remains little changed- Beijing is unlikely to go hard on interest rate risesBy Greg PeelThis week's Chinese “data dump” showed April CPI inflation had slipped to an a...

AUD was initially sold lower in Europe as the market continued with negative sentiment after the bad jobs numbers but support was yet again found under 1.0600 and most traders are now starting to feel that 1.0550/1.0600 could be the base for the time being. For the bullish sentiment to return we need a convincing break back through 1.0700

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 65 points or 0.5% while the S&P gained 0.5% to 1348 and the Nasdaq added 0.

Yesterday the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported that the unemployment rate remained at 4.9% in April, while total employment fell by a seasonally adjusted 22,100

HFR (Hedge Fund Research, Inc.) announces the industry's first daily hedge fund performance database, allowing investors to access data on a rapidly growing universe of hedge funds which provide investors with daily performance figures.

The recent woes of the Aussie were compounded by local employment data yesterday and after falling almost 2 cents in the 12 hours prior to the release another cent was given up almost immediately.

MARKET CLOSE (4.30pm AEST)The energy and mining sectors were the best performers yesterday, but it was a very different story today, with both sectors holding the market back. The ASX 200 index (XJO) fell 1.8 pct or 84.1 pts to 4696.1 while the broader All Ordinaries index (XAO) slumped by 1.7 pct or 81.6 pts to 4776.6.The S&P/ASX 200 Materials index fell 2.57 pct or 355.2 pts to 13482.1, off the back of weaker commodity prices overnight in U.S trade. Australia’s largest miner, BHP B...

The energy sector pulled U.S. stocks lower Wednesday, with the Standard & Poor's 500 index posting its biggest one day drop in two months, as crude oil prices tumbled. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 130.33 points, or 1.02%, to 12630.03.

The 21-year antitrust battle Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) has been fighting with the U.S. government ends today, May 12.

The NSW Government made the right decision in scrapping the ad valorem tax on property, according to the Property Council of Australia.

Australian media company Fairfax Media Ltd. (FXJ) will cut about 82 editorial production jobs from its two main Sydney and Melbourne newspapers as part of a drive aimed at saving A$15 million (US$16 million) a year.

Groupon, the group buying site that features a daily deal on the best stuff to do, eat, see and buy in more than 500 markets around the world today announced its launch of the Groupon New Zealand, which began offering deals on May 10, 2011.

Michael Andrew, 54, chairman of KPMG Asia Pacific and also of KPMG Australia, has been elected Chairman of KPMG International.

BlueScope Steel Ltd. (BSL), Australia's largest steelmaker, announced today that it will report a full-year loss as the strengthening Australian dollar cuts the price of competing imports and the value of offshore earnings.

A stronger Australian dollar has been impacting on earnings for Westfield Group but a quarterly trading update yesterday suggests this is being countered by lower debt costs.

Two out of three Australian small businesses think that ‘business is good’, with some considering the strong Australian dollar an integral business tool, according to a new small business survey released today by Westpac.

American pop star Lady Gaga has invaded the virtual farms of Farmville and has her own GagaVille to promote her singles included in her album "Born This Way," online games producer Zynga has announced.

While the recently announced 20 per cent discount on stamp duty for first home buyers does not come into effect until 1 July this year, it may apply to homes purchased now according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.

A New Zealand court has ordered Australian airlines Qantas to pay fines worth NZ$6.5 million for fault of price fixing, records showed.

Australian national carrier Qantas Airways (ASX: QAN) has been forced to cancel 31 flights affecting around 2500 passengers and delay another 46 flights during tomorrow's morning-peak, as a result of union-led industrial action from licensed engineers.

Industry leader BlueScope Steel Ltd. says it expects to report a net loss for the financial year ending June 30.