BUSINESS

Global Markets Overview – October 8, 2014

Global Stock Market Indices
In times like the present, with volatility ramping and the intraday trading moving through the 100+ point range, I must remind myself that equities are at the top of the risk curve. They're therefore the first to see selling when nervousness is exposed.

Despite RBA Decision To Hold Key Lending Rate, Banks Offer Mortgage Season Promos

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left on Tuesday the overnight cash rate unchanged at its record-low rate of 2.5 per cent, set in August 2013. However, the RBA decision did not deter lenders from revising some of their mortgage rates by offering season promotions such as cash-back deals and waived fees for new home loans.
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New York Stock Exchange

Australian Stock Market Report – Midday October 7, 2014

Australian shares are trading at their weakest levels in eight months, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 1.3 per cent at lunch. This follows slight falls on Monday in what was a quiet start to a holiday interrupted week. Global markets lost a little ground overnight with the DOW slipping by just 0.1 per cent.
A Woman Holds A Mock iPhone 6 Plus (L) And An iPhone 5s.

Apple’s Woes Shift From #Bendgate To #Hairgate

The furor over the bending iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus units has barely died down, yet, Apple is faced with another public relations crisis as #Hairgate threatens to be another headache for the Cupertino-based tech giant that was supposed to be enjoying brisk sales of its new flagship devices.
European Central Bank

Global Markets Overview – October 3, 2014

The ECB meeting was the highlight of overnight trade but investors had to wait until President Mario Draghi's press conference for some real direction. After sounding very aggressive and showing willingness to do whatever it takes to spur the economy in past weeks, investors interpreted Mario Draghi's language as less dovish - he failed to say that the committee is ready to adjust the size and composition of purchases. Analysts feel this was a step back from what Draghi's recent comment...
A man counts U.S. dollars at a currency exchange office in central Tripoli, June 3, 2014. Libya's currency is under heavy pressure as a breakdown in security and a collapse of oil revenues due to port blockades have badly disrupted public finances and an

Australian Stock Market Report – Afternoon October 2, 2014

The recovery that stirred the spirits of optimists this morning was fading at lunchtime and not long afterwards the ASX 200 had made a new low for the session. There were no developments in particular that saw the mood shift, and one factor that united the 2 halves of the day was the fact that the majority of sectors remained in the red over the entire session, The ASX200 ending down by 0.7 per cent at 5,298.5 points.
Customers look at Apple iPhone 5C and 5S at an Apple store in Beijing's Sanlitun area, September 30, 2014. The iPhone 6 will be sold in China from Oct 17, after rigorous regulator scrutiny led to Apple Inc reassuring the Chinese government that the smartp

#Bendgate: Israeli Psychic Yuri Geller Bends iPhone 6

A renowned Israeli psychic who was famous in the 1970s for bending spoons using only his mind may be the bane of Apple, not teens who just walk into a device store and attempt to bend the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus using their bare hands.
People walk down stairs in a train station in Tokyo's business district September 30, 2014. Japanese big manufacturers' confidence improved slightly in the three months to September, a closely watched central bank survey showed, but service-sector sentime

Australian Stock Market Report – Morning, October 2, 2014

In US economic data, the ADP national employment index showed that 213,000 private sector jobs were created in September, just above forecasts. Construction spending fell by 0.8% in August, short of forecasts for a 0.5% gain. And the ISM manufacturing index eased from 59.0 to 56.6 in September, short of forecasts for a reading near 58.5.
New York Stock Exchange

Australian Stock Market Report – Midday October 1, 2014

Local investors have had little opportunity to savour the gains of the pre-ceding session. The 0.5 per cent gain for the ASX 200 on Tuesday was erased in short order at the open today. Buyers were invisible at the open and the ASX 200 shed 48 points at the low point of the morning. The selling pressure eased over following hours and in the hour leading up to lunch a good portion of the losses were neutralised. The signals sent from US and European markets overnight were mixed. On the one hand a ...
New York Stock Exchange

Global Markets Overview – October 1, 2014

Global equities have just capped the worst quarter of trade since 2012. However, the US market has just logged its seventh consecutive quarterly gain. That is a concern for me.
A woman walks past three Telstra public phone booths in suburban Sydney August 9, 2012. Telstra, Australia's biggest phone company, posted a larger-than-expected 5 percent fall in second-half profit as declines in its traditional fixed-line business outwe

Telstra To Convert Old Payphones Into Wi-Fi Hotspots

With almost every Australian above the age of 10 owning a mobile phone, payphones have become a relic of the past, as useless as the pager. But telco giant Telstra has taught of a brilliant way to recycle these things by converting them into Wi-Fi hotspots.
An office worker is reflected in the window of the Australian Securities Exchange building displaying the ASX50 curve for Wednesday in central Sydney August 7, 2013. Australian shares skidded 1.3 percent on Wednesday, its biggest fall in five weeks, hit b

Australian Stock Market Report – Afternoon September 30, 2014

Over the course of Tuesday afternoon the ASX 200 slowly edged higher ending the day up 0.54 per cent at 5292.8 points. In doing so the market was able to make new highs for the session, although the improvements felt as though they were made on shifting sands. The best that could be said for the market at present is that sellers have exhausted themselves, and the index has drifted higher in their absence.
Office workers are reflected as they walk past the Australian Securities Exchange building in central Sydney April 8, 2011. Singapore Exchange Ltd has terminated its $8 billion bid for Australia's ASX Ltd after the Australian government formally rejected

Australian Stock Market Report – Midday September 30, 2014

The start to Tuesday's session on the ASX followed a familiar pattern of trade, in that sellers dominated once more. The initial plunge for the index saw a loss of 11 points at the low point of the morning. From the lowest ebb the market recovered to push back into positive territory, albeit rather briefly. A status quo was then established which saw the market pivot around the un-changed level in the late morning trade. The softer tone for the second session of the week was at least consiste...

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