BUSINESS

Local shares were flat footed in early trade on Tuesday, despite solid improvements for US stocks overnight which included the S&P 500 briefly lifting above 2,000 points for the first time. A continuing theme on Tuesday has been the weakness in the resource sector after commodity prices finished the northern hemisphere sessions with mixed fortunes. Investors remain wary of iron ore after prices fell 2% in the last day. More significant however is that prices have fallen below $US90 per tonne. Wh...

New Zealand's economy may be heading for "the rocks" when it rebuild in Christchurch and migration rate slows down. Economists believe the country cannot sustain a high growth rate in the coming years.

The reactions from the US and Europe to the news out of Jackson Hole over the weekend were as expected - green on the equities front and red for the EUR.

In US economic data, new home sales fell by 2.4% in July to a four month low. New home sales are up 12.3% on a year ago. A lift in the stock of properties on the market and slower price gains should help stimulate demand in months ahead. The Markit Services Purchasing Managers Index dipped from 60.8 to 58.5 in July.

Most experts would probably agree that there is no exact formula to becoming a successful real estate agent. But one thing that's going to make a difference in an agent's budding career is understanding how to build a solid reputation and impact in the local community. According to Australian agent and Century 21's top Australian salesperson for three years, Stephanie Hearne, it takes three things to accomplish that, and she expounded on these in a piece she wrote for Property Observer....

Bank of America settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission over admitting that it failed to inform investors during the financial crisis about known uncertainties to future income from its exposure to repurchase claims on mortgage loans.

A Wells Fargo/Gallup Investor and Retirement Optimism Index study in late June found that many investors are unaware of the true state of the stock market. The bases of that conclusion were the responses of American investors who had at least $10,000 in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or retirement accounts.

Fuel distributor Caltex continued to downsize its Australian operations, announcing on Monday that it will further cut 10 per cent of its work force in the next 12 months. The 10 per cent is equal to 350 jobs that will be shed as part of Caltex's restructuring.

Monday saw sellers return to the Australian share market for the first time in 7 session. Buyers made several early attempts at pushing the index higher, although they were thwarted on each occasion. The ASX 200 opened with a loss of 7 points; at session highs it was almost 5 points to the better. At the nadir of the day the market was at a deficit of 20 points. There was little inspiration on offer throughout the region. Investors remain wary of the Chinese bourse after last week's weaker re...

Peru has been hit by a great 6.9-magnitude earthquake on Sunday.

Iceland has downgraded the alert over the Bardarbunga volcano from red to orange after a series of strong earthquakes rocked the area on Saturday. But the Icelandic Meteorological Office warned the triple threat of earthquakes, eruptions and flooding still remain.

As cliché goes, no matter how brave a person is, there will be something that person is most afraid of. As for the ISIS, it is the fear of dying in the hands of an armed female warrior. The Kurdish security forces have banded a group of all women fighters to serve as pivotal weapon against the senseless terrorist group.

Imam Syed Soharwardy, founder of Muslims Against Terrorism and the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, has denounced actions of ISIS saying their activities weren't borne of the Islam teachings.

In US economic data, the weekly Economic Cycle Research Institute index fell from a 3.6% annual rate to 2.8%.

After speculative trading on Wednesday and Thursday around the prospect of rates rising sooner than expected based on the release of the Fed minutes, the weekend's Jackson Hole Symposium has quickly put a lid on these theories.

The local share market spent the final session of the week consolidating on the improvements of the last 5 days. Friday's gain meant that the ASX 200 has risen by just under 1.5% this week. The status quo amongst the sectors largely remained the same over the course of the second half of the day. Miners remained under pressure reflecting the weaker Chinese PMI data seen on Thursday.

There were mixed signals out of the US session overnight. Better than expected growth figures were balanced by the US Fed's view on inflation with the central bank indicating that the risk of lower inflation has diminished. This came in the change to the FOMC statement which revised down the risks of inflation remaining below the 2.0% target with the banks saying "the likelihood of inflation running persistently below 2% has diminished somewhat". Whilst only a small one, it was a step c...

U.S housing starts rose sharply in July, indicating what appears to be a stunted recovery for the local housing market is now "back on track," according to a report on CNBC on Wednesday.

TheTel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) may soon have competition as Haifa, the third-largest city in Israel, wants to open a second bourse that focuses on technology-based stocks.

Telco giant AT&T is offering to Cupertino, California residents an enviable 1 gigabit per second download speed.

The experimental drug ZMapp to counter the deadly Ebola virus seemed to be working. Its first human recipients, American missionaries Dr Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, have been discharged by Emory University Hospital. Both have been declared as virus-free, safe for release and ok to go home.

Even if their group has denied to give their participation to a government campaign, doctors in Canada remain against smoking marijuana, be it for medicinal purposes or not.

American technology company Symantec will showcase a major change on Sept. 23 with the introduction of Norton Security. Norton Security will replace nine of the company's current security products, and it will be offered as a subscription service.

Ford has revealed more details about the upcoming Ford Falcon According that will have the 000 technology which can, in fact, save lives.

Apple stock has finally reached the $100 mark since the CEO Tim Cook announced a stock split last June. Morgan Stanley remains bullish on AAPL shares as analysts advise investors that now is a good time to buy shares.

More record prints for the S&P as it's now within eight points of 2000, a psychological milestone.

In US economic data, weekly claims for unemployment insurance fell by 14,000 to 298,000, below forecasts for a result near300,000.

The Australian Tax Office has finally released its official guidelines for the tax treatment of Bitcoin in Australia. Industry experts believe Bitcoin consumers will be the most affected with the tax rule.

The winning streak continued with shares hitting fresh six-year highs, rising for a third day and remaining above the key 5600pt level. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) improved by a modest 0.1 per cent despite mixed performances from global markets overnight. The US economy expanded at a faster than expected 4 per cent annual pace in the June quarter, while comments by the US central bank relating to inflation has increased the market's expectations of an earlier rate rise. The default of Arge...