COMPANIES

Giant Australian miner BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) plans to leave the diamond mining business and instead focus on long-life and expandable assets. The company said it is considering selling its diamond interests in Canada's Ekati mine and Chidliak exploration venture.

Qantas passengers again faced delays even if the unions and the air carrier's labor dispute is under arbitration with Fair Work Australia. The culprit this time was computer outage.

It's still a feature phone world out there. Despite rising demand for smartphones in the U.S. and Europe the rest of world is still clamoring for feature phones.

An Apple iPhone spontaneously burst into flame in a flight from Lismore to Sydney last Friday.

Toyota has rediscovered its love for the fancy cars as the Japanese automaker unveiled on Sunday its latest foray in the world of sports racing, the new sporty compact ‘86’.

Qantas Airways has launched a probe on the alleged scandalous ‘encounter’ between one of its pilots and a female passenger during a long-haul flight that originated from London and landed in Sydney Friday night.

Many techies love to customize the ROMs of their Android devices, which allow various ways to modify smartphones, including the manipulation of startup devices, increase of speed and better battery usage.

The expansion and diversification of its operations had led to record revenue growth for Australian environmental services company, CO2 Group Limited (ASX: COZ). On Monday, CO2 reported revenues of $35 million for financial year 2011 and full year net profit after tax of $1.5 million.

Doubt is being cast over the fairness in choosing the new seven wonders of the world as the organiser's costly requirements to win the slots meant that only natural places in countries that can afford the expenses are more likely to win the highly commercialized global contest.

Large Australian mining companies warned of the impact of worsening European debt crisis on their financial operations, particularly availability of credit.

Despite union opposition, Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said the national carrier still plans to push through setting up a hub in southeast Asia and to fast track plans to enter into closer alliances with other airlines.

Mindoro Resources Ltd (TSX VENTURE: MIO) (ASX: MDO) (FRANKFURT:WKN 906167) announced that it has received commitments for C$1.2 million in Australia under its Private Placement which was announced on 22 November 2011. Trading of the Company's CDIs on the ASX will re-commence today. The Lead Manager of the Australian component of the Private Placement is DJ Carmichael Pty Ltd based in Perth.

Owning an Android smartphone provides advantage to its owners because of the advanced features on the device such as applications to view all of email accounts in one page or social networking sites.

The Australian Retailers Association warned members Monday to brace for weak Christmas sales based on the performance of the retail sector for the last 18 months.

In reading the biography of "Steve Jobs" written by Walter Isaacson one gets to grasp the man is no god, he was quite human in all aspects that some readers would actually be disappointed of the truths revealed.

The international market for commodity products could be softening thanks to financial crises in Europe and the United States.

The cost-cutting measures initiated by Australians are affecting the bottomline of manufacturers. One of the food producers, Campbell Soup, admitted being hit by the weak consumer environment in Australia.

The mining consultant of Surbiton Associated doubts the Greens' estimate of the Australian gold industry in relation to how much the mining tax would generate if it would to apply to the gold industry.

Rio Tinto and Chinalco joint venture (JV) for exploration in China - Chinalco Rio Tinto Exploration Co. Ltd. (CRTX) - has been officially registered as a business in China.

The National Broadband Network (NBN) roll out is heading the right direction, according to NBN Co chief executive Mike Quigley and more will be accomplished once its $11 billion deal with Telstra Corporation gains approval from the competition watchdog.

Despite the cut in cash rate implemented by the central bank this November, Australian retailers are far from being optimistic as key players reported of discouraging numbers that are at best, descriptive of challenging trading situations.

Reports have emerged that Microsoft has rediscovered its interest on ailing search engine firm Yahoo, with tech news site Digital Trends confirming on Thursday that the two entities have agreed to commence preliminary procedures toward a possible deal.

Android smartphones have flooded tech stores worldwide and are distributed by a lot of vendors. In a way, it has somehow replaced the personal digital assistant (PDA) which originally has smart functions.

The City Central Police arrested on Wednesday a 35-year-old Australian woman who was the manager of a bank and allegedly defrauded her employer of $4.1 million in eight months.

Qantas assured its passengers on Thursday that the strike-prone flag carrier would not suffer from another industrial action for the next four years.

New Zealanders are planning to cut on their holiday travel plans in the next 12 months. A report by Roy Morgan Research, a market research and public opinion survey firm in Australia, explained the reduction in travel plans to the weaker consumer confidence.

Black Friday in the U.S. means a lot of human traffic due to the number of people taking advantage of certain deals in different stores. Stores are definitely interested to find out which stores have more human traffic and which attracts more customers.

Retail store Harvey Norman has finally succumbed to the inevitable and has launched an e-commerce site.

Apple is whetting shoppers' appetites for the company's Black Friday sale with a simple Web page that only announces a "one-day Apple Shopping Event".