BUSINESS

The local market extended its losses in the second half of trade, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 0.5 per cent or 29.2pts to 5446.2. The miners ended modestly firmer; however the improvements lessened this afternoon while falls from the big banks held the market back most. Australian shares have fallen for five consecutive sessions while yesterday was the worst day in five weeks for local stocks.

The Ebola outbreak will last 12 - 18 months more.

The Australian sharemarket is modestly lower after recording its biggest daily slump in five weeks yesterday. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 0.1 per cent and continues to soften following disappointing signs for China's economy on Saturday.

BSI marked the housing market in Australia as the second most overpriced in the world.

We remain fixated on the events that will unfold on Thursday morning, with trading in the currency markets suggesting expectations of a change in language are a near certainty.

In US economic data, industrial production fell by 0.1% in August - the first decline since January. US Capacity utilisation fell from 79.1 to 78.8 in August. The New York Fed's Empire State general business conditions index rose from 14.69 to 27.54 in September -the highest since October 2009.

The Web sites of Australian carriers Telstra, Vodafone and Optus, and Cupertino-based Apple crashed because of the huge volume of demand for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Europe's commercial real estate investment market continued its strong growth during the first half of the year with France and Germany leading the way, Property Magazine International reported, utilising a study conducted by the CBRE Group.

Six months after Malaysian Airlines Flight MH 370 mysteriously disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board, the head of the Indonesian Police Force claimed he knew what happened to the missing Boeing 777 jet but did not provide any further details.

It was a tough day for the Australian market after the falls on Wall Street on Friday night and the weak Chinese data released on Saturday there was little hope of a strong day for the Aussie markets. By the close the All Ordinaries Index was down 1% to 5,475.4 points

Pilots of Air France will stage a work stoppage from Sept 15-22.

The Australian share market remained under the control of the selling fraternity on Monday morning. The weakness in Europe and the US continues to cast a pall over the local picture. US stocks ended last week under pressure, leading the S&P 500 to shed just over 1 per cent over the course of the week. Similarly the ASX 200 lost 1.2 per cent during the same period.

In what seemed to be a direct blow to strict Catholic doctrine of marriage before sex, Pope Francis married 20 couples on Sunday who have lived together and no less already had children. The papal wedding took place in no less than in St. Peter's Basilica.

Apple's new products has impressed Goldman Sachs analysts who raised their price target of Apple stock and earnings forecasts. Apple Pay may be promising in Australia.

Inflation risk is starting to creep into the psyche of US markets; the S&P just snapped out of its longest streak of weekly gains in 2014 on Friday, as all eyes turn to this Thursday's FOMC meeting.

In US economic data, retail sales rose by 0.6% in August and lifted 0.3% if autos are excluded. Both results were in line with forecasts. Consumer sentiment rose from 82.5 to 84.6 in September, above forecasts for a result near 83.3.

Optus Australian subscribers could expect better TV, Internet, phone and data transmission with the successful launch of the carrier's Optus 10 satellite on Friday morning. The Ariane 5 rocket launched the satellite from the European space centre at Kourou, French Guiana.

The price of iron ore has hit a five-year low of $82.20 per tonne, spelling more bad news for Australia's top export commodity. Price of the key steelmaking-ingredient has been on a downhill trend since Dec 4, 2013 as the benchmark price of iron ore tumbled down 41 per cent.

BRW named on Friday a software firm about to launch a HipChat app for Apple watch as the best placed to work in Australia. The award is based on feedback from over 28,000 workers polled by BRW and a culture audit.

Embattled carrier Malaysia Airlines has barely recovered from two major tragedies four months apart when a third tragedy almost hit the airline on Saturday. MH 198 which left Hyderabad on late Saturday bound for Kuala Lumpur had to turn back because of auto pilot defect.

An online petition is collecting signatures to shutter the Naked Sushi catering company in British Columbia, Canada, because of its flagship service in which diners eat sushi that is piled on top of a naked female model's body. Feminist groups in Canada denounced the Japanese firm for treating women's body as just as object and only emphasises the sexual role of women in society

In a picture that was much like Thursday, sellers continued to push the ASX 200 lower over the course of the afternoon. Initially the area around 5520 for the index provided some modest support, although by mid-afternoon the area gave way and new lows were plumbed. Counter intuitively, the Materials sector was the sub index that performed the best over the last session of the week. The improvement was a combination of seller's fatigue and the anticipation of a lower Aussie dollar, which would...

The Australian sharemarket is falling for the third straight day and for the fourth time this week, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 0.4 per cent. Should nothing change dramatically this afternoon, this has been the worst week for local shares in a month. Last night a report showed there were more people filing for unemployment benefits in the US last week than expected. The DOW slipped by 0.1 per cent while the broader S&P500 ended modestly firmer.

Telstra said on Thursday that as part of its expansion, the carrier's 4G coverage would be accessible to 90 per cent of Australians. The telco would also widen its 700MHz commercial trials to include selected zones in Sydney, Adelaide, Darwin, Bundaberg, Yamaba and Sarina when the 700Mhz offering is switched on next week.

Global equities seem to be in a holding pattern as we head into next week's FOMC meeting. Additionally resurfacing geopolitical risk from the Russia front seems to be keeping investors cautious. Perhaps the most significant development in overnight trade was further EU sanctions on Russia. The latest round of sanctions included moves like banning major Russian state-owned banks from any borrowing among other financial-related limitations.

Russia has pulled out its troops from Ukraine, NATO said there still remained 1,000 troops on the ground.

In US economic data, jobless claims rose by 11,000 to 315,000. The treasury monthly budget statement showed a $129 billion deficit in August, in line with estimates.

The rage now among men who love to live their sexual fantasies but probably couldn't find a female sex partner willing to do what they want is to buy a realistic love doll. Priced at a minimum of $2,000, the doll manufactured by a Japanese firm, Oriental Industry, may find competition within a decade from sex robots.

As expected, Syria and Iran are fuming over the battle plan that U.S. President Barack Obama laid down on Wednesday during a televised address. The two countries criticised Washington for not including them into the international coalition that will destroy ISIS.