BUSINESS

Analysts are increasing their price targets of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) on iPhone and iWatch release dates nearing.

The Australian sharemarket is improving for the second time this week, with a positive lead from Wall Street helping lift local stocks. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 0.8 per cent, creeping back above the key 5400 point mark. The property trusts are the lone losers at lunch, with all other sectors recording at least modest gains.

After buying Beats Electronics, Apple Inc may be eyeing Disney as its next big target acquisition. In an article by Washington Post, one analyst at North River Ventures thinks this possibility is "frighteningly obvious."

Jordan Kimmel, chief executive officer at investment education firm InvestView (OTCQB: INVU) said 2014 remains a bull market and described this year as the most unloved bull market since he joined the financial industry more than 25 years ago.

U.S. President Barack Obama may have the most number of followers on online social networking and microblogging service Twitter, but he is not the portal's most influential world leader. Pope Francis is.

While regular employment in a corporate environment has its perks such as social security, fixed regular income and medical coverage - being a freelancer - also has its advantages.

Once again we saw a sharp contrast in sentiment from European to US trade as a different set of forces dictated sentiment. European trade remained fairly risk-off as investors focused on rising geopolitical tension on the Iraq and Ukraine front. Latest reports suggest the US is considering further sanctions against Russia, while militants in Iraq continue to expand their territory.

In US economic data, durable goods orders fell by 1.0% in May, below forecasts tipping a flat result. Excluding defence equipment, orders rose by 0.6%. The final reading of economic growth (GDP) in the March quarter showed a decline of 2.9%, bigger than the 1.7% decline that was forecast.

In February 2014, Australia's joblessness rate hit 6 per cent, the highest rate since 1997. Employment experts believe that by identifying the hot jobs over the next five years, Aussies could help prevent their becoming unemployed since they could initiate steps this early to shift careers or learn a new trade.

After the announced Siri enhancements at the Worldwide Development Conference (WWDC), Cupertino tech giant Apple post job ads that will teach the digital assistant Siri to expand her existing lexicon and at the same time understand and speak 13 more new languages.

The ASX 200 remained under pressure over the course of the afternoon, although there were some signs of resilience. The index recovered from session lows when it was down by about 64 points. At that level the index was at 5378, marking an area of support that has been a feature of recent week. Buyers defended the level successfully and the market traded higher although buyers were reluctant to take the bourse substantially beyond the 5400 mark. Investor interest was respectable with healthy leve...

Besides the recent school shootings, one of the biggest news to hit the US was the 2013 bombing of the Boston Marathon. The tragedy, which took the lives of three people and injured more than 260 others on April 15, 2013, was newspaper headlines for days.

A dentist from Maryland is fuming mad and will sue British Airways after the airline made an erroneous entry into its airline booking system that flew the passenger and his companion to the southern Caribbean island of Grenada, instead of the ancient city of Granada, Spain.

The Advertising Standards Board (ASB) has dismissed complaints that the campaign for razor brand Schick objectifies women.

Residents of Canada have been advised to brace for a warm and humid weather, possibly with thunderstorms, as the country celebrates its four-day long weekend, Canada Day from June 28 to July 1.

The Australian sharemarket is losing ground for the second straight day, with weakness across U.S markets and continued conflicts in Iraq and Ukraine keeping investors edgy. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is back below 5400pts, falling by 0.5 per cent at lunch.

A joint study by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoAML) and Age Wave found that a big majority or 72 per cent American pre-retirees over the age of 50 say they intend to continue working after retirement, albeit in a more flexible and fulfilling way.

Investors are piling in as the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney joins the capital markets.

US equities unwound despite some mostly positive economic releases, as geopolitical risk came back into play. The conference board's consumer confidence and new home sales both came in well ahead of estimates, but this wasn't enough to lift sentiment. Fed members were also quite vocal with Dudley saying a mid-2015 rate hike seemed reasonable, while Plosser suggested the Fed is closer to meeting its twin objectives. Risk assets lost some ground, while the yen and gold were bid higher in a f...

In US economic data, new home sales soared by 18.6% in May to a 504,000 annual rate, above forecasts for a result near 440,000. Consumer confidence rose from 83.0 to a 6-1/2 year high of 85.2 in June, above forecasts near 83.5. The Case Shiller measure of home prices rose by 0.2% in April with the annual rate easing from 12.4% to 10.8%. But the Richmond Federal Reserve index eased from +7 to +3 in June.

A 1-minute, 50-second commercial released by fastfood giant McDonald's for the ongoing World Cup 2014 in Brazil has gone viral, logging more than 4.6 million hits in YouTube after one month it was posted.

Bianca Rinehart, he eldest daughter of Australia's richest person, Gina Rinehart, insisted to the court on Tuesday that younger half-sister Hope Welker is on her side in their family's legal battle for control of the $5 billion trust.

The Australian sharemarket erased around half of Monday's improvements, dragged lower by US weakness. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) finished 0.3 per cent softer, with the major banks the worst performers. Improvements amongst the industrials and property trusts were short lived today and all sectors ended in the red.

Google Inc may be paying more taxes in New Zealand with a bill of $227,074 in 2013. However, according to reports, the Internet search giant has earned US$15.42 billion in global revenues in the first quarter of 2014. Comparing Google's tax bill in New Zealand and its total earnings, the amount the company paid to the government may be deemed not enough.

U2 frontman Bono said that Apple Inc. is F@*#ing annoying

Arden Partners, in its latest analysis and forecast of London-based firm Audioboom Group PLC (LSE: BOOM.L), made a "buy" recommendation for the stock.

The warring Rineharts - Australia's richest family - are at it again as the clan returned on Tuesday, June 24, to court in an attempt to find a trustee for the $5 billion family trust.

A heart-stopping viral video has shown a daredevil rally car driver attempting to break the world record for longest car jump but did not go as planned.

The Australian sharemarket is losing ground at lunch, with U.S. market weakness providing a negative lead for local shares. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 0.4 per cent, with all sectors in the red. On Monday, the Australian market rose by 0.4 per cent thanks to better than expected economic news in China.