Vittorio Hernandez

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Friday at the Asia Society dinner in Texas that the country should target to be a global affordable energy superpower. And the way to do that would be for the country to continue making available to the world as fuel.

Scott Esk, a Tea Party candidate in Oklahoma for the 91st district in the state house, appears to be endorsing an Old Testament Biblical practice of stoning gay people to death.

Prior to the surprise loss of his junior welterweight on Saturday night in New York to Chris Algieri, Russian boxer Ruslan Provoknikov was considered a serious contender to be Manny Pacquiao's opponent in the Filipino boxer's bout on Nov 27 in Macau.

The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) fell by 0.45 per cent today, hitting a two-month low and sliding for the third day. Despite some better than expected Chinese economic news late this afternoon, the Australian sharemarket finished lower with continued unrest in Iraq pushing both oil and gold prices higher while base metals fell in unison.

The Australian sharemarket is losing ground for the third straight day and is at a two-month low due to a renewed focus on Iraq. President Obama hasn't ruled out the possibility of military action in the troubled nation. As expected sharemarkets and commodities have been pushed lower by the uncertainty. Looking ahead, plenty of Chinese data in the dying stages of the session will be in focus at 3.30pm (AEST) this afternoon.

It is Friday, the 13th, today and along with the creepy combination of that day and date mix long associated with horror and macabre events is the threat of a solar flare that could affect GPS and communication signals.

The near-term pullback in equities continued overnight, with investors focussing on developments in Iraq and a round of surprisingly weaker-than-expected US economic data. Tension in Iraq escalated, while US unemployment claims and retail sales came in below expectations. This gave investors an excuse to sell equities with sentiment relatively risk averse.

In US economic data, retail sales rose by 0.3% in May, short of forecasts for a 0.6% gain. But the April reading was revised up from +0.1% to +0.5%. Import and export prices rose by 0.1% in May. New claims for unemployment insurance rose by 4,000 to 317,000 in the latest week, above forecasts for a reading of near 310,000.

Mineral Resources acquired a 12.8 per cent stake in Aquila Resources, beating China's Baosteel Group in acquiring a bigger stake in a large-scale iron ore project that would develop a $6.9 billion port, rail and mine.

Malaysian Deputy Foreign Minister Hamzah Zainudin disclosed on Thursday that the insurer of Malaysian Airlines has started to pay families of the 239 passengers and crew of the ill-fated Flight 370 $50,000 each.

Weeks after unbeaten American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr and rapper T.I. had an ugly encounter that resulted in exchange of blows, it seems the situation has eased and Money May appears ready to end their fight.

With just two fights that lasted 72 minutes, unbeaten American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr earned a net income of $105 million. These are purely for his bouts with Canelo Alvarez in September 2013 and Marcos Maidana in May 2014, unlike other athletes whose income are boosted by endorsements.

About 15,000 union members and construction workers showed their dislike for the Abbott government's first federal budget by a protest on Thursday in Melbourne.

A letter by an 11-year-old Australian boy chastising Prime Minister Tony Abbott for his pathetic stand on gay marriage has gone viral. It was initially posted on Facebook, including the reply of Mr Abbott, and is reposted in various Web sites in different parts of the world, reports News.com.au.

The ASX 200 ended lower for a second day on Thursday with sellers showing preference for the materials sectors, although most sectors ended in the red. The only sector to resist the efforts of sellers was the healthcare index which ended with a gain of 0.1%. Value today was solid with $4.3bln in shares changing hands.

The Australian sharemarket is easing for the second day, with worse than expected job statistics, global market weakness and a World Bank forecast dragging stocks lower. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 0.5 per cent, with only the utilities managing to rise slightly at lunch.

The Australian Navy will impose sanctions on eight sailors from the HMAS Ballarat who were involved in 2013 in hazing rites with sex assault. Some of them are in danger of being kicked out of service, said the Ministry of Defence in a statement.

Equities unwound overnight in a move that started in European trade. Data in the US was limited and as a result investors just chose to focus on a couple of negative headlines. The World Bank lowered its global growth forecast for 2014 to 2.8% (from 3.2%) and the shock Eric Cantor loss was among some of the headlines investors focused on.

In US economic data, the Federal Budget was in deficit by US$130 billion in May, in line with market expectations. New mortgage applications rose by 10.3% in the latest week with the purchase index up 9.3% and the refinancing index up 11%.

It seems that Nelly, the Elephant, has competition when it comes to predicting results of the 2014 World Cup that will open on June 12, Thursday.

The watercress topped the list of powerhouse fruits and veggies in a new study by U.S. researchers that ranked the fresh produce based on their nutritional value.

Even if Novak Djokovic lost to Spaniard tennis ace Rafael Nadal in the French Open final, the Serbian sportsman was still in a partying mood.

Another Mayweather is in trouble with the law for stabbing her boyfriend with a butcher's knife. Kenyia Townsend, 35, and cousin of undefeated American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr, waived on Tuesday her right to a probable cause hearing.

Students falling in love and having sex with their teachers is quite commonplace. However, a BBC documentary to be shown next week features a male dolphin named Peter falling in love with his human female teacher who was tasked to teach the mammal to speak English.

A green paper prepared by the Australian federal government proposes expanding the crocodile meat industry in the northern part of the country to have a larger cut of the global market.

The Australian share market was sold off today, as data revealed Australian consumers have the winter blues and following a lacklustre offshore lead. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) closed down 16 points or 0.3 per cent to 5432.5 points.

The Australian market is under pressure at lunch, wiping out yesterday's modest gains. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 0.3 per cent, with weakness from the miners, industrials and energy stocks most substantial. Gains from two of the four major banks are helping minimise today's losses. Markets overnight ended flat, providing an uninspiring lead for local stocks.

Global markets were in a holding pattern through European and US trade, with limited activity on the economic calendar. Perhaps the highlight was a further slide in the single currency, which helped keep equities afloat in Europe. However, emerging markets remain buoyant on the back of the measures China is taking to stimulate the economy. China's move to cut reserve required ratios for a number of regional and agricultural banks saw Asian equities mostly enjoy gains yesterday with the excep...

In US economic data, wholesale sales rose by 1.3% in April, above forecasts centred on a 0.8% gain. Inventories rose by 1.1%, ahead of forecasts suggesting a 0.5% gain. And weekly chain store sales were up by 3.3% on a year earlier, down from the 3.5% gain in the previous week.