COMPANIES

The Australian share market closed 0.6 per cent lower, with investors starting to hope that the central bank would cut interest rates for the first time in a year next month. The local bourse opened almost one per cent down on a weak lead from Wall Street overnight. By the close on Tuesday both major local indices had made back some of their early losses, with the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index down 24.9 points, or 0.64 per cent, at 3,872.1 and the broader All Ordinaries index dropped 25.1 points, o...

Australian retailers on Tuesday expressed concerns with the Reserve Bank of Australia’s cash rate decision to maintain the cash rate at 4.75%.

More than a year after the plane crash that killed majority owner Ken Talbot, Sundance Resources is set to be taken over by Hanlong Mining Investment Ltd, a subsidiary of giant Chinese resource firm Sichuan Hanlong Group, with the suitor aiming to raise its present 18 percent stakes on the iron ore miner.

More regulations are facing tobacco companies as the Australian government studies measures to curb sale of cigarette and tobacco products across the country.

MIDDAY REPORT (12.30pm AEDT)The Australian sharemarket is continuing to fall after a tough start to the new trading week yesterday. The ASX 200 index (XJO) is down 0.4 pct or 17.1 pts to 3879.9 while the broader All Ordinaries index (XAO) is 0.5 pct or 18.9 pts lower to 3941.8.

High-tech devices such as iPhones, iPads and camcorders topped the list of gifts that were given to New South Wales public officials. Next to the gadgets, also high on the list of bribe items masked as gifts were beach holidays, football tickets and gift vouchers.

It appears Apple is convinced that Samsung Electronics will not be able to market its Galaxy 10.1 tablet in Australia as the U.S. tech firm rejected Tuesday overtures by its South Korean rival for a settlement of their legal dispute.

Economists said Tuesday that despite the stronger-than-expected international trade and building approvals figures for August, the Reserve Bank of Australia is unlikely to change the current cash rate.

National Australia Bank now offers the best one-year fixed rate among Australia’s largest banks, after it slashed its fixed interest rates by as much as 0.15% on Tuesday.

A faulty signature update for Microsoft Security Essentials and Microsoft Forefront made an error on Friday and classified the Google Chrome executable file for Windows as a malware, specifically a ZeuS Trojan.

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) is offering exclusive games on PlayStation Network (PSN) every Tuesday starting this month. Gamers in North America who download games or make purchases worth up to $60 using their PlayStation Network/SEN Wallet can earn $10 store credits in November.

Apple Inc. unveils the highly hyped fifth generation iPhone at its Cupertino, California headquarters. The event marks the first time Tim Cook will take center stage after succeeding the ailing Steve Jobs. While hoping to stride out from Jobs' shadow, he hopes to retain the Apple founder's magic in pitching new Apple devices. More than whether Cook will give the first impression that he is a showman and a visionary like Jobs, here are five things we'd love to see at the Oct. 4 but pr...

Woolworths is recalling 3 litre Homebrand Full Cream Milk for possible contamination of food-grade dairy cleaning solution. Food products containing cleaning solution may cause illness to some if consumed.

Woolworths has recalled some of its home-brand milk and has reassured its customers that the recall is just a precautionary measure.

Amazon.com new Kindle Fire tablet costs $209.63, IHS iSuppli estimated on Friday but since Amazon is selling the tablet for only $199 every tablet is costing the company $10 to produce.

The Margaret River Guide phone app has been launched to help visitors and tourists enjoy the best of their stay and vacation in one of Australia's most stunning territories.

Australia’s largest consumer class action returned to the Federal Court today with Maurice Blackburn representing around 34,000 ANZ customers who have filed against the bank in protest against the bank’s exception fees.

Ashton has agreed to sell 10 % of its stake in Maules Creek Project for A$370 million to J-Power Australia Pty Ltd, subsidiary of J-Power of Japan.

Microsoft is admitting that its in-house anti-virus product, Microsoft Security Essentials, had targeted Google's rival Chrome browser for blocking or even deletion, which the company insisted was unintended.

Samsung plans to launch an upgraded version of the 7-inch Galaxy Tab in Australia before Christmas, Smarthouse reports.

In a world-first Australian experiment, Coca-Cola is replacing the "Coke" branding with one of 150 of Australia's most popular personal first names for its next summer marketing campaign.

Japan intends to work more closely with private firms dealing with internet security after Mitsubishi Heavy, which works closely with Boeing, said in September network information such as IP addresses may have been leaked.

The $50-million class action suit filed by 34,000 ANZ customers has taken a first step forward by starting on Monday hearings in a Melbourne Federal Court.

Manufacturers experienced another tough month in September with the Australian Industry Group - PwC Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI®) down 1.0 point to 42.3, indicating a further weakening in the sector.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos had announced during the launching of the Kindle Fire tablet in New York City on Wednesday that the company is producing millions of the device for customers. But just how many Kindle Fires can Amazon really sell?

If its niche crowd, the managers and professionals, ate a BlackBerry Bold or Torch for lunch and have the BlackBerry PlayBook for dinner, Research In Motion Ltd. would have given free beers to everyone. But the problem is that there are fewer business users are ordering BlackBerries, and the existing users are picking an iPad or an Android tablet.

Ditching the Android and have its own platform in webOS could make sense for Amazon. The retailer has an unmatched portfolio of goods and services -- including songs, movies, books, apps, etc. -- that it could integrate to its own platform for mobile devices.

Confidence in Australia’s accommodation industry has risen after ABS statistics for the June quarter of 2011 showed "pleasantly surprising" results.

Google has responded to Microsoft and Samsung's agreed to a cross-licensing deal by accusing Microsoft of extortion.