COMPANIES

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.

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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.

Recent labor market research shows Australia’s $427-billion worth of resource projects will struggle to survive the crippling labour and skills shortage. Resource industry employer group AMMA says only a united front from all tiers of government can alleviate the imminent threat to many prospective workplaces.

After finalizing some fresh debt from banks and U.S. private investors, CSL Limited, the world's second biggest blood products maker, said it plans to buy back A$900 million of its shares.

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia (PGA) is again in hot water over another apparent shady deal. This time it involves alleged kickbacks paid by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to chemists.

Virgin Australia announced on Wednesday it would provide additional capacity over the coming months to meet market requirements and to minimize the impact of ongoing Qantas industrial action on the Australian travel and tourism industry.

Rio Tinto announced on Wednesday that it would advance the first shipment of ore from its Simandou project in Guinea to mid-2015. The earlier shipment date is because of accelerated development resulting from approval of another $211 million for continued studies and $1.117 billion funding commitment for early works and procurement of long-lead items.

The labor row between Qantas engineers and management turned for the worse after the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) filed a complaint with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) on Wednesday.

After some legal setbacks, Samsung Electronics finally won some of its legal battles against Apple. The victory was handed by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh who dismissed on Tuesday some of the antitrust claims by Apple against the South Korean firm.

Defying the softening market demand for iron ore, BHP Billiton announced on Wednesday a 24 percent hike on its iron ore output while admitting at the same time that the company’s copper production has retreated significantly in the face of a protracted labor problem.

Angry Birds maker Rovio revealed at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco on Tuesday that the popular video game will add a new bird while preparations for a movie version is underway.

Web browser maker Opera Software has developed a new mobile web browser that can load pages faster on devices running on the Android operating system.

Hungry Jack’s is replacing its slogan from ‘The Burgers are Better Hungry Jack’s’ to ‘Hungry Jack’s makes it better’ as the fast-food giant aims to expands its menu and increase its health focus.

Following a strategic review, Rio Tinto said 13 assets will be divested at an appropriate point in the future, and some of these will be managed separately in the meantime.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation forged a settlement agreement with nternational oil and gas firm BP regarding claims related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010 .

Commercial spaceflight company Virgin Galactic has officially opened its spaceport in New Mexico, USA to serve as the jump-off point of space tourists 12 months from now.

The bus drivers union agreed on Tuesday night to an Industrial Relations Commission order to lift a ban on gas-powered buses in Sydney. The explosion of a gas-powered bus prompted public bus drivers to raise their protest by refusing to get on the road, resulting in huge inconvenience among Sydney passengers at peak hour Tuesday.