BUSINESS

Windows 8.1 users will be able to migrate to 'Windows 8.1 Update' starting 08th April 2014. According to Microsoft, this is a mandatory and recommended update for Windows 8.1. Failure to install this Update will prevent Windows from patching the system with any future updates from May 2014. Although the Windows 8.1 Update is set out to be a security update, it packs a lot of new features. This update is available for both MSDN and TechNet subscribers.

Financially strapped Tokyo Electric Power Co, operator of the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, has been slapped a US$1 billion lawsuit by the 79 US sailors who were the first respondents to the crisis three years ago. The sailors claimed the operator lied about the high level of radiation in the area as they carried out their humanitarian mission.

The local share market has tested five year highs in early trade, with every sector well supported.

After McDonald’s outlets were blacklisted in Canada for violating the Temporary Foreign Worker programme, it has been argued that Canadian workers have worse work ethics than their foreign counterparts.

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) dropped 1.7 per cent at $522.66 as of April 7 as U.S. tech stocks continued to slide in the stock market. Despite the continued fall, options traders still expects the iPhone maker to bounce back as indicated weekly call options, according to analyst reports.Options traders are positive that the new products of Apple Inc will drive the world's most valuable company after it bounced back from its worst monthly loss in 12 months.

New Developments on Xbox One (Direct YouTube Upload) and Amazon Fire TV (Beats Google Chromecast to Top Spot).

The NASDAQ broke its three-day rout with a 0.9% rise as Google, Facebook and eBay added 2%. The S&P and the Dow also broke its four-day downtrend, which will see support for the broader market, particularly the information technology space. However, this does not mean that after this slight pull back the tech space would make the sector fundamentally cheap; it is likely that the market direction in these stocks over the coming week will be downward as they return to fair value.

In US economic data, weekly chain store sales were up by 2.9% in the latest week compared with a year earlier, up from the 2.3% annualised gain in the previous week.

In yet another sign of how Australian banks and consumers are adapting to new technology, Westpac announced on Tuesday that beginning next week, its millions of customers could use the bank's tap-and-go app when shopping.

To approve or reject - those are the options suggested by the Queensland Land Court to the state government on the planned $6.2-billion Alpha Coal Mine in Galilee Basin. The project is a joint venture between Australia's richest person Gina Rinehart and GVK, an Indian conglomerate.

Despite the shade of legality that medical marijuana has recently acquired from courts and even stock exchanges, the warning of experts that it is too early to place a person's well earned money in the industry via shares acquisition has some truth to it.

The Australian share market closed only modestly lower on Tuesday despite big falls once again on Wall Street overnight. Investors continued to sell out of biotech and technology stocks on fears they are overpriced.

An email emerged with Apple Inc’s Schiller saying Samsung ad “feels it” while iPhone ad struggles

Already upgraded into a category three system, Weather Bureau forecasters on Tuesday forecast Tropical Cyclone Ita would even strengthen further into a category four.

New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters has recently denounced the intention of Prime Minister John Key to sell more of the Kiwi country to foreign ownership.

Twitter announced that it has acquired 'Cover', an Android lock-screen app, on Monday for an undisclosed amount. Cover helps users by suggesting and locating useful and frequented Android apps on the user's lockscreen.

The Australian sharemarket is losing ground for the second day, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 0.4 per cent and trading below the 5400pt level. Local shares are now down by just 0.16 per cent so far in April; however are still 0.75 per cent firmer since the start of this calendar year. Volume was significantly held back yesterday due to a Chinese public holiday. Sharemarkets in China are resuming normal trade today. U.S. stocks slumped for the third day overnight, with the tech specifi...

The visit of the royal trio Duke and Duchess of Cambridge plus Prince George may have whet the appetite of the Kiwis these days, but it should not be mistaken for a fact the fascination will go long term. A poll released on Monday said Kiwis don't want William as king and prefer a homegrown to become head of state.

McDonald's, accused of Temporary Foreign Worker abuses, is under federal investigations in British Columbia, Canada.

With the NASDAQ logging its worst three days of trade since November 2011 last night, the growing roar of the bears was easy to see. The bears point to several reasons for their calls on tech stocks, including technical breakdowns, over valuations and the fact that these stocks have been some of the best performers of the last 24 months; profit is glaring.

In US economic data, the employment trends index rose from 117.01 to 117.52 in March. Consumer credit rose by US$16.49 billion in February, above the forecast for a US$14.09 billion rise..

It is not just the Wolf of Weed Street who made a lot of money on trading medical cannabis stocks. Early traders of Tweed Marijuana (TWD) shares on Friday, when the company became the first publicly traded producer of medical weed at the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada, also got a financial high.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott signed on Monday evening in Tokyo the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The multi-billion dollar agreement would cover the next 20 years and open doors for both Australian and Japanese markets for each others' products.

Amazon introduced its Fire TV last week to a very positive review but now Google is rumored to launch its own set-top box. The competition is already rife with Apple TV, Roku, Google’s own Chormecast and Amazon’s Fire TV ruling the roost.

The Australian sharemarket kicked off the week a touch lower, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 0.2 per cent; remaining modestly above the 5400pt mark. Tomb sweeping day in China is being observed today, resulting in the closure of China's markets. Last week, the XAO rose by close to 1 per cent, making it the third straight week of improvements.

The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia reportedly will bring in $44m in domestic and international sales

Boeing has debuted over the weekend to the global aviation industry Air New Zealand's first ever 787-9 Dreamliner. And it's painted black all over with the official New Zealand Fern Mark the only colour contrasting it in white emblazoned across the rear of the plane.

Humility and simplicity are Pope Francis' leadership mantras ever since accepting the post as supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. These should no longer come as a surprise on the set April 27 canonization of Popes John Paul II and John XXIII.

The royal tour of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge of New Zealand will bring many benefits to the country. The New Zealand government said the royal couple's visit is good for the island nation. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are set to begin their nine-day tour of New Zealand. The government has promised that the money used will be going back to the economy as the royal tour highlights the country's business and tourism industry.