Erik Pineda

Megaupload users may never be able to re-access their files following the U.S. government's announcement late Monday that digital storage firms contracted by the shuttered company will begin deleting files Thursday this week.

Australia's retail sector will witness more shopping activities in the first quarter of the current year, according to the latest indicators summing up the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) CHEP Retail Index.

Reading the latest Newspoll numbers could embolden Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd to ramp up his challenge on the leadership of Prime Minister Julia Gillard, which painted the latter as gradually losing her grip of power, at least as far as Australian voters are concerned.

Tech companies have earlier forged an informal agreement that allows them to cap employee's salary through an invisible protocol that prohibits the hiring of workers still on active roll of each firm, reports said.

The Euro crisis has spawned grave fears among Australian companies that many are too cautious to gamble on expansion and generate more jobs in the process.

The past year proved as the year that Apple and Samsung intensified their rivalry, while former mobile phone leader Nokia further slid down and continue struggling, reports said.

Despite intense calls of investigation coming from the Coalition, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said on Monday that the information leak which preceded the Australia Day controversy did not merit a criminal investigation.

Voters' support for the Australian Labor Party surged over the past three months, according to the latest Galaxy Poll commissioned by News Ltd, but Prime Minister Julia Gillard still faces the spectre of defeat if elections were held today.

Spending alone coming from the federal government will not shore up the economy in the immediate quarters ahead in light of the difficulties predicted this year by many economists.

As hard as it may be, former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett suggested this week that Australia is not cut out to compete with the United States, Japan, South Korea and lately, China.

The office of Prime Minister Julia Gillard confirmed reports that the staff blamed for leaking her presence and that of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott during an official function for the Australia Day has resigned.

Australia and the United Kingdom signed on Tuesday a pact that would allow the two nations closer cooperation on information sharing and a host of other collaborative efforts, underscoring the two governments' improving relationship.

Giant global miner Rio Tinto Group bought additional shares of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd for $283.71 million, giving it 51 percent stake on the mining firm that only a month before had maneuvered to thwart Rio's takeover initiatives.

Production is the key for the Australian automotive industry to improve its current situation, according to former Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Bernie Fraser.

Australia announced on Tuesday that it will support the new economic sanctions passed by the European Union against Iran, calling member nations and other countries to stop trading with Iran.

Nokia's gambit may be paying off as reports came out this week that its Lumia product lines breached the one million mark by the end of December last year, boosting the company's efforts to recover its lost ground soon.

Flags normally carry with them nationalistic and patriotic fervor but a recent study showed that display of the same symbol could also mean underlying racism.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has reiterated this week his view that sending refugee boats to Indonesia is the best way to deal with asylum seekers wishing to reach Australian shores.

Research in Motion, maker of the struggling BlackBerry smartphones, announced on Sunday the resignation of the company's two CEOs following series of disappointments that saw the once leading firm lagging behind from competitors.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard could be forced out of office base on her previous links to the alleged wrongdoing committed by New South Wales MP Craig Thomson.

PayPal and Office Depot are reportedly testing the former's new payment method, called by experts as 'wallet in the cloud', that allows consumers with PayPal account to actually make in-store purchases, reports said.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued advisories to a number of airlines around the world to immediately implement check ups on their Airbus A380 fleets after the reported detection of cracks on the wings of some of the passenger plane.

Gina Rinehart earned close to $10 billion last week when South Korean steel maker Posco sealed a deal with her Hancock Prospecting, reports said.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has maintained that turning down the proposed gambling reform bill espoused by Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie was the right thing to do at this time, despite the latter's decision to cut ties with the Labor-led government.

Rolls Royce said on Thursday that it has implemented measures to correct the manufacturing errors seen on its engine components that nearly caused a Qantas Airways flight to explode while in mid-air in November 2010.

Thousands of Australians lost their jobs in December, underscoring what experts said could be the biggest loss the local economy had seen in the past 20 years.

Four of the biggest Australian banks netted together closed to $24 billion in the financial year 2010-2011 and market analysts are forecasting that the growth will continue on this year, by as much as nine percent, according to reports. Nonetheless, why is fear still hounding the country's biggest banks?

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd called on China to consider halting its oil purchases from Iran in deference to efforts by the international community of pressuring Tehran to abandon its nuclear program.

Retailers' sentiments were confirmed by the latest sales indicator released on Friday by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), which showed that the sector struggled to achieve sales targets last year. Nevertheless, although the numbers are disappointing, they revealed that with some creativity and technological savvy, more sales can be achieved.