SERVICES

Australia's share markets drifted lower today in subdued trading conditions as investors and traders took a breather after a wild week. Losses were limited by bargain hunting and technical support at the low point established in the last fortnight. Globally, markets are on hold ahead of the non-farm payrolls data to be released tonight in the US, analysts said.

Australia's employers led by an industry group and the retailers association have warned of the possible consequences of the minimum wage increase approved by authorities.

Lulz Security, a hacker group, claimed it had attacked the Sony network once more. On Thursday, the team broke and entered the servers which hold the SonyPictures.com. More than a million of passwords, email addresses and other information from its current users have been compromised.

Australia's services sector showed poor signs of improvement, according to the latest Australian Industry Group/Commonwealth Bank Australian Performance of Services Index (Australian PSI®), the seasonally adjusted index fell 1.6 points to 49.9 after a strong lift the previous month (readings below 50 indicate a contraction in activity).

Expect a lacklustre trading today at the Australian stock market because of negative to mixed leads derived from offshore trading overnight.

Stardeals, a shopping website that offers a daily deal on the best local goods, services and cultural events as part of the global Groupon Inc. network, this week began offering deals for the first time in Perth.

The retail sector saw improvements in the month of April as its sales chalked up better numbers that signaled a better outlook for the local economy, according to the latest data issued on Thursday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The world's leading e-commerce company Alibaba.com now has well over 550,000 Australians using it as a business source, with an average of more than 20,000 people signing up to its site each month, latest figures show.

Boeing (NYSE: BA) added another continent operating the new Boeing Sky Interior with last week's delivery of a Next-Generation 737-800 to GOL Airlines - one of the world's leading low-cost airlines and launch customer in Latin America for Boeing's innovative interior.

Australia's James Packer's Consolidated Press Holdings, Seek co-founder Andrew Bassat and American hedge fund Tiger Global have invested some $80 million in online retail giant called Catch of the Day.

Environment group Greenpeace has warned consumers of the possible dangers pose by children's toys made in China because of the high percentage of a harmful chemical found in them.

A Qantas flight from Thailand to the UK has been forced to return to the Bangkok airport after one of its engines broke down after take-off.

Leading manufacturer British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) on Tuesday launched a national media campaign against the Federal Government's proposed plan to impose plain packaging on cigarettes that could harm marketing and sales.

The Australian dollar jumped and recovered its four-day loss as an impact of the Reserve Bank's hint that benchmark rates may soon rise up at some point.

Pyxis Mobile, provider of the only cross-device mobile application development platform designed to meet customers' constantly changing needs, announced today that the company has partnered with Smartsoft International, Inc., to expand its platform's SAP integration and mobilization capabilities.

Australia's Reserve Bank has hinted that higher interest rates maybe inevitable to contain the jump in consumer prices, authorities said.

Japan's Sony Inc has resumed the partial operations of its leading PlayStation Network and Qriocity entertainment services in the U.S. and Europe after more than three weeks that they were attacked by hackers, the company said in a statement.

American pop star Lady Gaga has invaded the virtual farms of Farmville and has her own GagaVille to promote her singles included in her album "Born This Way," online games producer Zynga has announced.

A New Zealand court has ordered Australian airlines Qantas to pay fines worth NZ$6.5 million for fault of price fixing, records showed.

Australian national carrier Qantas Airways (ASX: QAN) has been forced to cancel 31 flights affecting around 2500 passengers and delay another 46 flights during tomorrow's morning-peak, as a result of union-led industrial action from licensed engineers.

Qantas pilots belonging to the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) announced on Thursday plans to stage a strike after enterprise bargaining negotiations with management bogged down.

Gamers world-wide are in for another visual treat and experience as they can be the ones to lead the assault into the simulation videogame battleground set in the background of the late Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden's abode in Pakistan.

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (SingTel) has announced that its chairman, Chumpol NaLamlieng, is stepping down in July

A planned one-hour strike by more than 1,000 engineers is expected to delay Qantas Airways’ flights Friday at airports across Australia.

Aircraft engineers at Qantas plan a one-hour work stoppage on Friday that will launch what they intend to be a series of industrial actions against the airline.

Trainee pilots with as little as 200 hours of experience are flying Qantas Airways’ (ASX: QAN) budget airline Jetstar, according to the pilots' association.

Virgin is flying high under a new banner. After changing its name to Virgin Australia, the carrier has announced it has acquired new planes with new interior designs that promise a complete new "magical" experience.

Australian publishing giant Fairfax Media on Tuesday reduced its earnings outlook as it announced it would outsource the sub-editing for its largest mastheads. The announcement was met negatively by investors which saw Fairfax's shares plunge in mid trade.

Sony has admitted and confirmed that some of the credit and debit card data on its PlayStation Network for videogame players were stolen. Therefore, customers must take action in checking their accounts with their banks.