Vittorio Hernandez

The story that a Chinese man is allegedly stuck in South Korea because his four-year-old son drew on his passport is a hoax, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull stressed on Thursday in an interview with 2GB radio host Alan Jones that he "support unreservedly and wholeheartedly every element in the Budget."

The Australian share market closed lower for a third consecutive session today, with gains in mining players unable to help lift stocks into positive territory. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) closed down 7.1 points or 0.1 per cent to 5419.7 points. Investors also elected to stay on the sidelines ahead of an interest rate decision by the European Central Bank later tonight.

After a flat start this morning, local shares are now firmly in the red following a bigger than expected trade deficit recorded in April. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down for the third day and for the fifth time in six sessions. It has been a busy week so far with the Reserve Bank keeping rates on hold on Tuesday, the Australian economy growing at a faster than expected pace according to a report yesterday and a big jobs report expected in the U.S. tomorrow night.

It was another mixed session for European equities, while US markets stormed to another record high. The S&P 500 printed an intraday record high of 1928.63 and closed just a touch below this level. Driving the gains was yet another encouraging round of economic data as many had predicted for this week. A much better-than-expected ISM non-manufacturing PMI print actually set the tone overnight, along with more encouraging comments from the Fed's Beige Book. The employment component of the ISM ...

In US economic data, the ISM services index lifted from 55.2 to a nine-month high of 56.3 in May, ahead of the 55.5 consensus forecast. The ADP national employment index showed that 179,000 private sector jobs were created in May, short of the 210,000 consensus forecast. And the trade deficit rose from US$40.4 billion to US$47.24 billion in April, above the consensus estimate of US$40.8 billion.

Due to the slower domestic capacity growth of both Qantas and Virgin Australia, Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said it would translate into higher fares, fewer discounts and higher load factors.

Even if Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is out of the country, former PM John Howard did not spare him from a rebuke for Mr Abbott's alleged heavy reliance on slogans and the belief that Aussies would support changes if they perceive these to be fundamentally fair.

With his next fight still about 6 months away, Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao is taking the lull in training to sell one of his numerous assets - a Hancock Park mansion in Los Angeles, California.

Take-up rates of condoms is still relatively low because many men find the rubber sheath that cover their penis affecting their sexual pleasure during intimate moments with their wives, girlfriends or partners.

Like the Reserve Bank of Australia's overnight cash rate decisions, the Fair Work Commission's (FWC) announcement on Wednesday hiking the minimum wage by 3 per cent or $18.70 per week was a damn if you do, damn if you don't situation for the federal government. Labour unions are not happy at the increase they consider measly, while employers warn the new minimum salary of $640.90 per week by July 1 would lead to job cuts.

The powerful Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) sought on Wednesday to ban the popular boy band One Direction from the Philippines in the light of the scandal involving the group, reports Pep.ph.

The Australian share market was sold off again on Wednesday, despite solid economic growth figures for the March quarter.

Indonesia's Mount Sangeang Api continues to spew ash clouds, but it had dissipated to levels considered safe for planes. According to Kristianto of the Eastern Indonesian division of the geological agency, Sangean Api spewed white ash to heights of one kilometre on Monday.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) announced on Tuesday the result of its yearly review of Australia's minimum wage. The commission increased the minimum wage by 3 per cent or $18.70 per week, ABC reported.

The Australian sharemarket is falling for the second day and for the fourth time in five trading days. U.S. stocks snapped a three day win streak, giving the market a negative lead today. Despite a 0.5 per cent rise in the iron ore price, the metal's recent weakness has made the miners less attractive to investors.

Australia's economy is back on a growth path after it registered a 1.1 per cent gross domestic products (GDP) growth rate for the first quarter of 2013, The Australian reports.

US equities were flat overnight, with investors non-committal heading into the business end of the week. The S&P had to come from behind and even managed to test an intraday record high before a minor pullback into the close. With US economic data starting to ramp up, beginning with the ADP non-farm payrolls, trade balance and the GDP reading, some investors feel this warrants a bit of caution. The market certainly seems to be pricing in a strong set of data from the US this week, which puts ris...

In US economic data, factory orders rose by 0.7% in April, above the forecast 0.5% gain. Chain store sales in the latest week were up 3.5% on a year earlier, up from 3.2% in the previous week. And the ISM New York index rose from 627.4 to 630.1 in May.

November 2013 looms as the month of the rematches for two Filipino boxing champions - Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire. Top Rank Promotions boss Bob Arum announced on Monday that Donaire, who was declared winner over South African boxer Simpiwe Vetyeka, would serve as the undercard for the fight of Manny Pacquiao on Nov 23, ABS-CBN reported.

A device tester who goes by the name TechRax decided to try dousing his Samsung Galaxy S4 with half a bottle of Pepsi in a unique kind of torture test. The result is quite surprising because after pouring half the big bottle of soda on the made-in-South Korea phone, it was still working.

Athletes are used to seeing each other's naked bodies, and it isn't a big deal for sportsmen to strip all their clothes off and take a shower together in an common shower area after a game.

Australian air carrier Regional Express (Rex) was named on Monday the best performing airline in the country during the Aviation Week and Space Technology's yearly Top Performing Airlines awards.

The losses steadily accelerated today, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) finishing close to the lows of the day; down 0.7 per cent to 5460.5. Worse than expected Chinese date and softer than forecast retail spending numbers kept investors uninspired.

Tyrone Bowd, the 24-year-old Queensland resident who is suffering from a swollen scrotum would no longer need to fly to the United States for a life-saving surgery. The enlarged testicles are the size of a watermelon.

The Sangeang Api Volcano in Sumbawa Island, Indonesia, continued to spew ashes on Tuesday since its initial eruption on Friday, causing the cancellation of more Bali flights as ash plume covers the regional sky.

The Australian share market is slightly weaker at lunchtime in the East, despite positive offshore gains. Yesterday the Australian share market gained 0.5 per cent.

US equities printed a record high yet again, but this time with not quite as much conviction as we've seen in recent sessions. Meanwhile, a shocking German CPI print kept the stimulus camp happy in Europe, especially after the ECB flagged inflation as one of its key concerns. Data out of the US was quite encouraging with the final manufacturing PMI print mildly ahead of consensus, while the ISM manufacturing PMI was relatively in-line with consensus. There was a bit of drama with the ISM prin...

In US economic data, the ISM manufacturing reading was initially released showing an unexpected dip from 54.9 to 53.2 in May. However according to multiple reports, ISM corrected itself by saying manufacturing activity actually improved to 55.4 in May. That helped ease concerns about the economy, and the Dow Jones industrial average quickly climbed back into positive territory on the altered result. US construction spending rose by 0.2% in April.