COMPANIES

The investment traffic between Australia and its Asian neighbors is lopsided in favor of Aussies. Asian investments in Australia are 1.5 times that of Australian investment in Asia.

Environment Minister Tony Burke has approved the liquefied natural gas project proposed by Chevron in Western Australia’s Pilbara region following a rigorous assessment, he had approved Chevron’s proposed Wheatstone liquefied natural gas project under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, "with strict conditions."

Apple donated thousands of free iPads to Teach for America.

Social networking sites roll-out their new features to users.

SAB Miller, the world’s second biggest brewer, has been accused of tax dodging. Anti-poverty agency ActionAid Australia has sent a copy of a report detailing the allegations to the Foreign Investment Review Board.

SABMiller’s expected takeover of Foster’s will make Coopers enter its 150th year in 2012 as the largest remaining Australian-owned brewer.

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Amazon has launched its new service that allows U.S. based Kindle users to borrow ebooks from 11,000 libraries across America. The service is now in the Beta testing stage in two libraries in Seattle and will eventually be available on other libraries in the U.S.

Electronic Arts and PlayFish's "The Sim Social", has topped the list of fastest growing FaceBook games with more than 50 million users playing the social game last week. The game attracted 15.5 million new users to take the top spot with 51.5 million total monthly players.

Microsoft will start updating the Mango OS for its Windows Phone in a "week or two" according to a senior staffer.

Dolby Laboratories and Research in Motion have reached an agreement and has agreed to a licensing deal.Under the agreement, RIM maker of BlackBerrys and PlayBooks will pay Dolby licensing fees to use some of Dolby's technologies. In return Dolby has dropped its two patent infringement lawsuits against the manufacturer.

High-end Australian department store David Jones reported its profit after tax dropped 1.5% to $170.8 million and sales fell 4.4% to $2053.1 million. David Jones attributed the decline the strong Aussie dollar and reduced consumer spending due to the global financial meltdown.

Eric Schmidt, Google Inc.'s CEO, stood up to U.S senators Wednesday to defend his company against allegations that it skews search results in favor of its own online services.

Foster's Group had expressed high hopes that the takeover of SABMiller of its company will mean Australian beers getting the exposure it deserved from beer aficionados around the world.The Australian beer giant accepted on Wednesday an improved takeover package worth from $10.1 billion from British-based brewer SABMiller.

Nathan Tinkler is the richest young person in Australia below 40 years old, according to BRW Magazine, which makes the annual list. The 35-year-old mining magnate and owner of Newcastle Knights has an estimated fortune of $1.13 billion.

Apple board member Al Gore said that the company will announce their new line of products on Oct. 4 including the much anticipated iPhone 5.

Shakers and movers of the tech industry climbed their way to the dominant position of America’s wealthiest for the year 2011, with perennial frontrunner Microsoft Corporation co-founder Bill Gates heading the list again with his estimated net worth of some $59 billion.

Angry Birds mania continues to spread rapidly even beyond the techie world. Proof of this is that Angry Birds soft toys are also selling like hotcakes at the rate of one million pieces monthly.

Facebook is set to recruit a high-profile executive whose primary role is to make sure that the social network would establish solid ties in the film and music industries in a bid to boost its content.

Skype has been informed by a researcher it is vulnerable to information thieves online. In a Fairfax Media report, security researcher Phil Purviance of AppSec Consulting says a hole in Skype's system for Phone and iPod Touch devices.

The long wait for Diablo 3 may be almost over as Blizzard Entertainment has launched the closed beta version of the hack-and-slash game.

ERM Power has received environmental approval from the Western Australia government for its proposed $500 million Three Springs power station and 60 kilometer gas pipeline in Western Australia.

Commonwealth Bank today unveiled its landmark new office premises at Darling Quarter in Sydney’s western CBD fringe.

It ain't over yet. Beleaguered Qantas Airlines faces more turbulence ahead as the Transport Workers Union (TWU) pushes for successive work stoppages this and next week.

With an aim to provide high-end technologies to everyone, Microsoft will give one million students marked down PCs, software and internet to poor families.

Mining giant BHP Billiton spent close to $19 million in financial year 2010-2011 for executive salaries, which Chairman John Buchanan described as investments geared to reap more company earnings in the future.

The Heart Foundation, which grants the use of the health seal in license agreements, said it has asked McDonalds to remove the popular Tick sign, not as a criticism, but as a move indicating a change in the foundation's focus. McDonald's pays about $300,000 a year for the right to display the Tick seal.

In a bid to get a larger cut of the shrinking Australian consumer market, online department store CatchoftheDay rolled out on Wednesday it third e-commerce portal named Grocery Run. By its foray into grocery, the online seller challenges traditional supermarkets.

The two giant technology giants, Google and Facebook, upped their ante this week as they battle for supremacy in the cyberworld.