Christine Gaylican

Oral sex is no longer the safest way in getting or giving pleasure, it is also now one of the leading causes of oral cancer, according to a study done by American scientists.

Australian businesses and households are urged to prepare for escalating electricity and gas prices beginning next year as the country struggles for environmental concerns.

Another US- based market operator BATS Global Markets has entered a definitive agreement to acquire another market trader Chi-X Europe to create the largest pan-European trading centre in terms of market share and notional value traded.

Passengers of Virgin Blue Airlines were distraught yesterday as about 150 flights were significantly delayed in key cities of Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, as a power outage caused its data centre to breakdown.

TELSTRA has announced it will shift its focus on online marketing and plans to open a new bath of 100 retail stores adding to the existing 300 allover the country.

Top global miner BHP Billiton is still keen on new mergers and acquisitions in the near term as changes tend to unwind in the world mining industry.

The Australian Parliament is implored to veer away from its "populist approach on economic and other business policies especially on taxation that have been discouraging to both local businesses and foreign investors alike.

Australian consumers must brace for higher commodity prices as the extensive damage of the torrential rains and storms would impact on the domestic food supply in the coming months.

Energy and mining projects of Australian companies, including that of the Rio Tinto Group Group and Woodside Petroleum Ltd and Fortescue Mining, are threatened by two cyclones headed north of the country, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

An Australian tourist is one of the nine survivors of the Halong Bay tour boat accident in Vietnam that killed 12 others on Thursday morning, reports said.

The Australian Union Movement has thrown its support behind a campaign to improve wages, conditions and workplace rights at Rio Tinto's aluminium operations in Australia.

Customers and communities who have been affected by the recent natural disasters in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria will get additional measures from the National Australia Bank to rebuild their homes and businesses.

The world’s fifth largest mining (in terms of capitalisation) firm BHP Billiton reported a 72 percent increase in its first-half net profit today and revealed plans to return some $US10 billion to shareholders through a buyback.

Emerging market equities have lost their lustre to US equities this month, according to a February survey of financial managers world-wide conducted by a BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research.

A cyclone warning is now up in the Northern Territory coast and residents are urged to prepare and not be complacent.

In spite a slight decline in its first quarter earnings by 3 percent to $1.55 billion, Westpac Banking Corp does not intend to follow National Australia Bank's new tact in attracting bank clients.

India's state-owned metal and energy firms will decide this week whether they would combine their arsenal to counter the bid to Rio Tinto's $3.9 billion offer for Riversdale Mining Ltd.

The devastating mine accidents in the recent months have prompted Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) to further pursue new innovative means of safety for its miners. Australia's Rio Tinto will be investing some C$10 million for research to create a Centre for Underground Mine Construction.

Four of the unions at the desalination plant at Wonthaggi, in southeast Victoria have urged their co-workers on strike to return to work today.

Australia's largest coal hauler and transporter QR National stabilised at $2.55 per share at its mid-day introductory debut at the Australian stock exchange and so far raised some $4.6 billion for the Queensland government.

The Pike Coal Mining rescue team in New Zealand are preparing to send a robot to assess the situation of the 29 miners trapped underground for the last three days.

Employers' organisations in Australia have warned the government and the public of the fast rise in wages in all territories that are not well supported by an increase in labour productivity.

Queensland-based Macarthur Coal Limited (ASX:MCM) has seen profits tripling in fiscal 2011 as the higher demand for steel-grade coal grows and supply situation tightens further.

Wage increases for Australia's workers have been the predominant occurrence in the quarter ending September, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said Wednesday.

The planned asset sale of New South Wales of its electric power assets will easily fetch some A$8 billion in investments for the state, the Citigroup Inc. said in a report.

A jostle for stability and sustainable growth had been the direction of Australian businesses whether big or small in the last nine months, two separate research surveys conducted by the Westpac Banking Corp. and the National Australia Bank had shown.

Australia's logistics and supply chain management solutions provider Brambles (ASX: BXB) has announced its bid to acquire IFCO Systems NV for $US1.255 million ($1.27 million) to expand the company's supply chain business in the US and Europe.

Australia's Treasurer Wayne Swan is not in favor of restricting banks from raising interest rates as this may lead to loan rationing that could peril the growth of local businesses.

The Australian government is urged to consider raising its current tax levels, which at present are below the international levels, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said.