Erik Pineda

Mining activities on seven Queensland coal mine sites owned and operated by BHP Billiton virtually ground to a halt on Wednesday as workers stopped toiling to commence what could become the nation's biggest industrial disruption in years.

Networking specialist Cisco has decided to mount a challenge on Microsoft's takeover of Skype, lodging an appeal before the European Commission earlier this week.

Australian reaps more benefits from the ongoing resources boom despite its two-speed effect on the domestic economy.

Initial assessment by the chief of the independent labour group reviewing Apple contractors' factories in China portrayed a serene and sane working environment for thousands of Chinese workers tasked to assemble Apple gadgets.

Global mining giant Xstrata reportedly plans to offer part of its stakes on the Australian coal mining project in Wandoan, Queensland, which the Swiss company co-owns with Japanese firms Itochu and Sumitomo.

Doctors have been prescribing the therapeutic use of aspirin to keep heart attacks and strokes at bay but a new study by Australian scientists now suggests that the drug could also serve as the human body's firewall against cancer cells.

Fresh from the hold on cash rate implemented by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) last week, consumer confidence appeared to have gained in the past two months, according to the latest Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ordered on Tuesday giant telco Telstra Corporation to reduce the wholesale pricing of its asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) service.

Australia has further improved on the social condition of its indigenous population four years after the country expressed its deep regret over the disadvantages suffered by the nation's original settlers.

Australians appear to be developing closer affinity with tablet computing with a new report showing that the now ubiquitous mobile device is currently owned by close to 3 million users in the country.

As Apple shares zoomed up and breached the $500 mark on Monday, company officials revealed at the same time that independent inspectors from the Fair Labor Association (FLA) have begun their probe on Apple assembly facilities in China.

Despite the prospect of defeat meeting their initiatives, two Australian lawmakers introduced separate bills on Monday supporting the federal legislation of gay union in the country.

Google inches closer on its quest to formally acquire Motorola Mobility with two clearances it received Monday from government regulators in the United States and the European Union.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard insisted on Tuesday that her acceptance speech was not prepared two weeks before she assumed the post vacated by Kevin Rudd, belying an earlier interview that suggested otherwise.

Rising funding costs prompted major Australian banks to lift their mortgage rates despite the freeze on cash rate imposed last week by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

Boeing admitted this week that yet another issue hit its Dreamliner production line but one high-ranking executive has assured that no more delays will hamper its delivery calendar in the current year.

A looming trade war between China and the European Union over the latter's carbon pricing scheme is the least that the world needs at this time, with major economies already reeling from the effects of the widespread debt crisis in the euro zone, according to the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Apple has renewed its legal tussles against Samsung with a court filing last week that sought to prevent the South Korean from introducing its new Galaxy products to the American market.

All is well with BHP Billiton, this according to BHP chief executive Marius Kloppers despite the 5.5 percent profit slide the mining giant had recorded in the first half of financial year 2011-2012.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard appears to be losing her sheen in the money department as new data released by Newspoll showed that Australians now lean heavier on the Coalition bet, Tony Abbott, as the better economic manager.

Video clips of a former Afghan Army soldier emerged this week, containing his admission of attacking members of the coalition forces serving in Afghanistan last year.

The Australian High Court ruled in favour of mining workers this week and threw out a Rio Tinto appeal that requests for the reversal of an earlier decision that requires the giant mining firm to honour collective bargaining agreements.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard issued on Friday a new directive that requires members of the cabinet to secure clearance with her office prior to their appearance on Australian newspapers.

Hit television series in the United States and record global gross collected by Fox-produced movies in the final months of 2011 delivered the good for News Corp in the last quarter amidst the controversies in the United Kingdom and its dwindling revenues coming from its Australian media operations.

No more European made Nokia phones in the near future as the company, once the industry leader, revealed its plan of further reducing its workforce by at least 4000 this year, a move that will affect mostly Finnish and Hungarian workers.

Telstra Corporation's investments on new technology started paying off as the company reported on Thursday a significant boost of more than 22 percent on its half-year net income for fiscal 2012.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has reaffirmed her commitment of protecting Australia's workforce, which she said can only be effectively done by focusing the energy of the government in running the economy.

The government of Western Australia has included Methylenedioxypyrovalerone or MDPV to its list of dangerous drugs, following the lead of two earlier states that banned the synthetic substance earlier.

Iran has started feeling the pinch of economic sanctions against its government even before U.S. President Barack Obama formalised this week anti-Tehran measures that would further restrict economic dealings with the Islamic Republic.