COMPANIES

A Virgin Australia pilot inspecting a parked plane at the Brisbane airport was blown over a staircase by the engine blast from another plane positioning for takeoff on Thursday.

Google released its updated Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS this week and what an update it is. Android 4.0 is bigger and better than its previous version and could rival the iPhone's iOS 5 in terms of new innovative functions. With such futuristic features like unlocking your phone just by looking at it, the Android 4.0 OS is a giant leap forward for Android phones.

Wesfarmers Ltd on Thursday announced its retail sales growth rose 6.5 percent for the first quarter of the 2012 financial year.

The Australian Bankers’ Association (ABA) on Thursday reiterated it is important that Australian banks are profitable, because they provide economic security at a time when global conditions are unstable.

Australia is in a fortunate economic position and this has enabled Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, NAB and ANZ to deliver dividends, but bankers on Thursday explained that not all dividends go to shareholders.

With Apple and Android going full steam ahead with their new flagship smartphones, Microsoft is hoping its new Nokia Windows Phones would turn the smartphone market to Microsoft and Nokia's favor.

Samsung may supply the A6 chip for Apple’s iPhone 5 despite multiple court battles.

Apple released the iPhone 4s last week and while consumers have been very receptive to the new iPhone, with 4 million units sold over the weekend, there are already rumblings about the next generation iPhone 5.

With Steve Jobs's death sparking more interest in Apple products and services, there is a growing interest among techies and companies in Apple's looming iCloud service.

BP, the largest supplier of fuel to Australia’s industrial sector, has commenced construction of a new Truckstop at Dandenong.

Abbott Laboratories plans to separate into two publicly traded companies, one in diversified medical products and the other in research-based pharmaceuticals.

Notwithstanding the mining boom trumpeted by the federal government, Australia’s business environment flashed plummeting figures in the September quarter, basing on the latest survey released on Thursday by the National Australia Bank (NAB).

A female employee of tech giant IBM has filed a $1.1 million sexual harassment lawsuit against her former supervisor and IBM. Among the forms of harassment which Susan Spiten experienced from her ex-manager include being told to expose more of her breast to boost sales.

United Dairy Power (UDP), one of Australia's largest privately owned independent dairy companies, has successfully acquired Lion’s Murray Bridge and Jervois factories in South Australia.

Leighton Holdings on Thursday disputed Standard & Poor’s Rating Service’s (S&P) decision to downgrade its credit rating from ‘BBB/A-2’ to ‘BBB-/A/3’, claiming it was not a true reflection of the company’s credit quality.

Computer giant International Business Machine (IBM) is facing a $1.1 million sexual harassment suit filed before the Australian Federal Court by a former female employee, who claimed that she was humiliated, bullied and harassed by a male superior for two years.

Leighton Holdings had successfully closed a US$600 million syndicated Master Lease Facility, which provides the company’s two operating subsidiaries in Indonesia with additional capacity to fund their expanding mining activities in the country.

As European banks struggle to commit as to how much their book values should be stated against the backdrop of deep sovereign bonds restructuring, Australian banks have remained strong and viable, according to a top officer of the Reserve Bank.

The Transport Workers Union (TWU) rejected a new agreement proposed by Qantas for the air carrier's 3,800 baggage handlers, caterers and ground staff.

Victoria train riders may soon be able to send emails or surf the Web while on their way to work or home. The state government is considering installing wi-fi transmitters and improving communications on regional trains, according to Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder.

Research in Motion (RIM) has unveiled a new mobile operating system that hopes to bring app developers to the fold of BlackBerry smartphones and tablets.

The battle for smartphone supremacy has gotten increasingly tough of late with such giants like Apple and Samsung competing to get the most of the mobile phone market. Apple's iPhone 4s, released last week and already setting sales records, has overtaken its Android competitors and is now the reigning champion. But that doesn't mean that Apple can rest easy as a new batch of Android smartphones is coming to the market.

The latest addition to the directory of Ikea's stores will also be the biggest in the southern hemisphere. The megamart is twice the size of the Sydney Cricket Ground, according to reports. On top of its 9000-product offering, shoppers will enjoy a 760-seat restaurant and 1680 dedicated car spaces.

The Gingerbread-powered Droid Razr is the iPhone 4S's newest challenger and Motorola says Apple and non-Apple fans should take notice of its latest innovation as it may be the smartphone they are looking for.

Microchip analyst Chipworks has confirmed that the A5 processor of the iPhone 4S is made by Samsung, Apple Inc.'s supplier-turned-legal adversary.

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/320193/000119312511273826/d244527dex991.htmhttp://online.wsj.com/article/AP26ba15082dab4ca48a7a71030b115715.htmlhttp://www.beatweek.com/news/9664-losing-touch-ios-5-on-iphone-ipad-signifies-death-of-ipod-branding/http://online.wsj.com/article/AP26ba15082dab4ca48a7a71030b115715.htmlhttp://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/12/us-apple-poll-idUSTRE79B6CI20111012

Sony finally confirmed that its next generation handheld the PlayStation Vita will be coming to gamers in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Australia on February 22, 2012.

Hewlett Packard has released an update to its HP TouchPad tablet proving that there's some life left in the now outmoded tablet line.

Dell Inc. will be a company to provide services and solutions to businesses.