Jamelle Agbuis

Apple Inc. announced the grand opening of its iTunes Store in 56 countries, inter alia, Russia, India and Indonesia. In addition, Russia was chosen to hold a celebration event on the 4th of December. In several countries, including Russia, the Apple Inc.'s iTunes Store will also offer access to movies apart from music.

Starbucks Corp. informed that it started talks with the HMRC as the company has been facing growing criticism since it was revealed that the world's most known coffee chain paid only £8.5 million in corporation taxes in 14 years. In addition, Starbucks Corp. might pay more in the near future as it is reviewing its UK tax approach.

It's a bit Hong Kong. And a bit Dubai. With a little Gold Coast thrown in for good measure. But what are we doing on this bitty isthmus, anyway?

What a long, strange, boring, indecisive, inconclusive year it's been for investors. There are big problems which don't seem to have any solution. Yet collapse is not desirable and appears to be preventable, if you give a central bank enough room to cut rates and buy bonds through quantitative easing. Are we stuck in an endless rut? Or will things get worse, then better...or better, then worse?

It's not only gun sales that spiked after Election Day. So did the sale of Gold Eagles from the U.S. Mint.

In yesterday's Daily Reckoning we promised to tell you today why people stop believing what they believe. We believe what we're going to show is bound to offend you, or at least some of you. But it's a big, bad world and a challenging idea never hurt anyone's feelings. Or if it did, that's too bad. The free world is a rough and tumble place, and you don't have the right to not be offended.

Nokia Corp. informed on the 4th of December that it signed an agreement to sell and lease back its headquarters located in Espoo, Finland. The Nokia Corp.'s decision to sell the headquarters comes as the Finish mobile maker is struggling due to tough economic conditions and strong competition in the market.

Rose has been making the rounds of media outlets, announcing her intention, promoting what can only be called the medically-assisted culture of self-mutilation.

On the 30th of November, the ministry of statistics informed that India saw GDP growth slow to 5.3 percent in the quarter ended in September. The economy of India slowed more than analysts initially expected. It is likely that the Asia's third economy is to see its worst year in a decade as analysts underline the importance of implementing difficult reforms that could revive the economy of India.

Is it laughable, or lamentable? The market, that is. In the past few years, it has become a joke...a tool of manipulation, an unreliable source of information. Despite the outperformance of the US equity markets this year, ordinary investors (presumably people with savings they would like to invest in productive and attractive businesses) are not interested.

Recognition of gluten sensitivity and the consequence of Celiac Disease if that sensitivity is ignored is not so easy to determine early. Medical tests fail often enough, turning up negative while people who are gluten intolerant continue to suffer a plethora of symptoms.

Scientists co-funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) have discovered a patient-friendly and efficient way to make stem cells out of blood, increasing the hope that scientists could one day use stem cells made from patients' own cells to treat cardiovascular disease.

Behold a new damage assessment from the credit crisis: The net worth of the median American household plunged 47% from 2007-2010.

So we've decided to chronicle our attempt to join an Aussie Rules football team. The Daily Reckoning seems like as good a place as any to do this for your amusement. Thrilling, right?

Yesterday we discussed credit and credibility. Today we want to explore how this relates to currencies.

William Knox D’Arcy: The Greatest Australian You’ve Never Heard Of

While our political leaders push, shove and bicker like stupid kids in a playground, signs of a weakening economy continue to mount. Yesterday, Rio Tinto told investors it plans to slash $5 billion in costs by 2014. Mining services companies duly suffered more share price falls.

On the 30th of November, Osram informed that it would downsize another 4.700 jobs as well as sell its plants to better compete with Asian rivals. The job cuts at Osram will help the company save approximately €1 billion ($1.3 billion) and improve profitability as the market for traditional light bulbs shrinks significantly. Earlier this week Siemens AG announced to spin off Osram.

Two separate studies have emerged pointing to the conclusion that for all its popularity, Facebook is actually making people unhappy.

Asian-American children have been at low risk for being overweight or obese compared to other racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., but that may be changing.

When temperatures drop, we reach for the simple things: hats, gloves, scarves, socks and the like. When you're homeless, however, the simple things can be far out of reach.

America succeeded largely because it was a single, centralised nation... one of the largest, richest landmasses in the world... populated by one people. No trade barriers kept the Indianans from selling to the Texans.

Archibald Colquhoun returned from a trip to Myanmar (Burma) enthusiastic about the opportunities in the country. He wrote a book about it all: Burma and the Burmans: Or, 'The Best Unopened Market in the World'.

On the 29th of November, Japan's industrial companies Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd and Hitachi Ltd informed that they had reached a basic agreement to merge their thermal power units as they try to compete against global giants, including Siemens and General Electric.

On the 29th of November, Kingfisher Plc posted its third-quarter profit. According to a statement, the Europe's largest home-improvement retailer saw a 6 percent drop in the period ended October 27 as sales declined in its main markets in France and the UK, not to mention that the company's results were affected by unfavorable foreign exchange movements as well.

Babies born in Ontario to mothers from the Philippines have significantly lower birth weights than those whose mothers were born in Canada or elsewhere in East Asia and are twice as likely to be classified as small for their gestational age, a new study has found.

Unless you're a monk in a monastery or living in an ashram, the temptation to indulge more than usual may be too much to pass on all you're offered. After all, you don't want to be a spoiler among your peers as they celebrate with cakes, processed foods, and alcoholic beverages.

The back page of today's Australian Financial Review has an illustration of a roided out Kangaroo, the kind you see on a one Australian dollar coin, but with Schwarzenegger like muscles. The story is called, 'Leaps and bounds in $A demand.'

Hurricane Sandy has the undesirable distinction of being one of the ten most expensive hurricanes in US history. In the days before Sandy impacted, it was forecast to be 'large, slow-moving and no doubt very costly.'