Jamelle Agbuis

New figures released by SEEK today have revealed that job ad growth has increased across Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia - and HR is among the top industries experiencing jobs growth.

House prices in the country are rising again, as buyers become optimistic about the Philippine economy.

NAB Broker's John Flavell has defended the separate positioning of Homeside products and the bank's branch-based offerings.

Funding pressures mean non-banks won't be able to compete on price in 2012, but Firstfolio's Mark Flack has said this is nothing new for the industry.

A new trend is taking corporate Australia by storm, and is tipped to become a central problem-solving strategy in the future of business and society.

The global property markets are imploding, and fast. The strain that first found its footing in the U.S has now truly gone viral. From Dubai to Denmark, developers have been left reeling, while national exchequers struggle to hold ground.

The Asian Development Bank has trimmed its 2012 growth forecast for emerging East Asian economies including China, as the eurozone crisis threatens to further slow an already weakening global economy.

The market turmoil in November, ignoring the stellar final three days of the month, has had an impact on not only the performance of the market, but also on IPOs and other fund raising.

The RBA yesterday cut the cash rate to 4.25% from 4.50%, its second successive rate cut, a move that also has the whiff of being linked to the series of moves last week by major central banks, and this Thursday night's widely expected rate cut from the European Central Bank.

Unbelievable.That is the only word fit to describe the fact that the world's tallest, most luxurious, lavish and downright most expensive single-family home has been left lying empty for what is now more than a year since its completion.

Climate change policy led to the demise of John Howard, Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull – but not Julia Gillard, yet, as the carbon tax legislation was approved.

General Motors will buy back Chevrolet Volts from owners who are concerned their plug-in hybrid cars could catch on fire.

Monarch Airlines Limited has selected Goodrich Corporation to provide SmartDisplay® Electronic Flight Bags (EFB) for its Airbus A300, A320, A321 and A330 aircraft.

MINI and Lexus have been rated the top brands for sales satisfaction among new-car customers in the US.

Last week in The Daily Reckoning, Greg Canavan and Dan Denning wrote about how owning shares that pay you to own them will be key to your investment success in the coming years.

Honda has announced a global recall of 917,267 vehicles over an airbag defect that has caused at least 20 injuries. The action adds to previous recalls that were issued to address the same problem, resulting in a total of 2.8 million cars being affected.

Another indicator, the hedonic price index rose 2.0% y-o-y to August 2011 (-0.42% in real terms) according to Hypoport AG.

The world's housing markets had a weak third quarter of 2011, according to the latest survey of world-wide house price indices prepared by the Global Property Guide. During the year to end Q3 2011, house prices fell in 25 countries, of the 44 countries for which quarterly house price statistics are available, and rose in only 19 countries.

As the December social calendar fills up with Christmas parties, leading workplace consultants have warned that the risks presented by unregulated online chatter by employees should not be underestimated.

No matter how you may feel about IKEA's environmental policies, one thing's for sure: Eligible seniors in Shanghai simply adore the store's cafeteria where they descend, en masse, for weekly 'romance sessions.'

From biodegradable coffins to tree-sprouting urns, eco-friendly burials offer a way for those who live green to also die green.

Homeowners in financial stress are receiving advice from what may seem an unlikely source: the Australian Bankers' Association.

The administrator of Refund Home Loans has claimed the business could sell before Christmas.

Promoting wellbeing in the workplace and fostering a culture of understanding has well documented benefits for the business bottom line, namely by getting the best from employees, but according to workplace psychology experts effective management remains lacking in this area.

Refund Home Loans' administrator has assured franchisees that a wind up resolution will only affect a shell company, not Refund Home Loans' businesses.

As pointed out in the Diary (see below), the coming week is going to be crucial for the future of the euro and Europe's slumping economy.

World stocks edged higher on Friday, ending the best week since March 2009 as the great relief rally of 2011 halted for a breather ahead of the decisive week ahead.

The flow of economic data and decisions will perhaps be the most important week this year and for the early months of next year for the global economy, and especially Europe and Australia.

Recruitment agencies and employers reliant on overseas talent are facing tough times ahead after the announcement yesterday that the Living Away From Home Allowance (LAFHA) will be phased out for overseas workers on a 457 business visa.