Vittorio Hernandez

A viral video of dead mermaid making the rounds of social networking sites is likely another hoax story on the Internet that netizens would still be interested in despite all signs the carcass is an art work only.

Did Elizabeth Raine, the alias of a pretty 28-year-old medical student who caused furor on the Internet by auctioning her virginity to the highest bidder, had second thoughts about her decision not to push through with the 12-hour date with sex and instead concentrate of her medical studies?

A 49-year-old woman from New South Wales is the 2014 Mother of the Year awardee in Australia. Gloria Nascimento was recognised on Friday by the children's charity Barnardos for her selfless love for her cancer-stricken daughter as well as another male cancer patient whom she treated like her own child.

Despite a 0.75 per cent slump this morning, the Australian sharemarket managed to steadily improve to only finish 0.25 per cent weaker by the close of trade. ANZ Banking Group (ANZ) was the biggest loser as the major bank traded ex-dividend. Its 3.2 per cent slump wiped out 10pts from the All Ordinaries Index. The other majors managed to improve modestly.

Yesterday's improvements are being eaten away, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) slipping by 0.3 per cent at lunch. Local shares are now falling for the second time this week as investors shrug off last night's gains in the U.S.

Janet Yellen was again testifying to an economic committee overnight - this time in the Senate. However, unlike yesterday's Congress facing testimony, last night's meeting was a complete regurgitation, meaning the kick the US markets saw from the 'high degree of monetary accommodation remaining warranted' statement was already factored in and left markets flat and unresponsive.

In US economic data, jobless claims fell by a larger than expected 26,000 to a seasonally adjusted 319,000 last week.

Coaching top football teams is rewarding financially. A list of the 10 highest-paid coaches by Forbes found that the average salary of a soccer coach is $11.3 million per year.

Eight-division title holder Manny Pacquiao appears to be paving the way for his retirement from boxing after regaining the WBO welterweight title from erstwhile unbeaten American boxer Timothy Bradley on April 12.

Portuguese Helena Costa made sports history on Wednesday by being hired as coach of the French second-division soccer team Clermont Foot. She replaced outgoing coach Regis Brouard and is the second female coach of a male soccer team.

Queensland approved on Thursday the $16-billion Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail project, the largest coal mine in Australia and possibly in the world. By using open-cut and underground coal mining, Carmichael is expected to produce 60 million tonnes of thermal coal yearly for export.

Former Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Wayne Swan may be out of power for almost a year now since PM Julia Gillard lost in a party coup, but his voice is heard once again in response to the much-hated proposal of the Coalition to impose a deficit tax.

A female American medical student who auctioned her virginity to the highest bidder officially closed the bidding at 8 pm on Wednesday night, May 7. Hiding the alias Elizabeth Raine, she posted in her Web site that the highest bid received was $801,000.

The ASX 200 ended comfortably higher on Thursday although in broad terms it remained in the holding pattern that has been occupied in recent weeks. More so than recent years, the looming Federal budget hangs above the market as a hurdle. The bottom line will be to assess the extent to which spending is cut and the degree to which households will be impacted by the curtailing of payments. Most controversial of all is the possibility of a deficit levy.

The Australian sharemarket is partly making up for yesterday's slump, driven by a strong lead from Wall Street overnight. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 0.6 per cent at lunch.

Janet Yellen has certainly jump started the markets, with the DOW and S&P adding 0.7% and 0.5% overnight respectively.

In US economic data, consumer credit rose by $17.5 billion in March to $3.14 trillion - this was the largest increase since February 2013. Revolving credit -which measures credit card usage - rebounded by $1.1 billion in March.

While WBC and WBA welterweight title holder Floyd Mayweather Jr has taken the challenge of his last ring opponent, Argentinean boxer Marcos Maidana, for a rematch possibly in September, Money May appears to be hinting that he would also take the dare of British pugilist Amir Khan.

Eight-division title holder Manny Pacquiao has responded to the Sunday tweet of former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali addressed to unbeaten American pugilist Floyd Mayweather Jr for Money May to give in to fans' clamour for a Pacquiao-Mayweather match.

It is just a few hours to the May 7 deadline for all bids for the virginity of 28-year-old medical student who goes by the alias Elizabeth Raine. Followers of the story would surely want to know who would be the lucky and rich chap who would get to have sex with her on a 12-hour date in Australia.

Fans of actor James Franco who were fast enough probably saw the selfie of the celebrity almost naked, except for a yellow underwear that he was even pulling down in a teasing manner, showing hints of his bush down under.

China's Alibaba Group Holding filed on Wednesday papers for the e-commerce giant to go public in the U.S.

The much-despised deficit tax to be imposed on Australians is almost a done deal, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said on Wednesday after emerging for a federal cabinet meeting.

The Australian share market was sold off today following falls on US and European markets on fears some stock market valuations are too high.

Forbes reports that cassette players such as Sony's iconic Walkman may soon be fashionable again and it might be the turn soon of the iPod to become a technology relic. The reason is Sony's announcement of a new method of data storage that uses magnetic tape that could hold 1498GB per inch.

The Australian sharemarket is recording its most substantial losses in close to a month, with a weak lead from the U.S. last night and worse than expected local data not helping. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 1 per cent and is flirting with the key 5400pt mark.

The breakdown of high price momentum trading is an interesting thematic that has been developing over the last six to eight weeks.

New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne, the stage name of Dwayne Michael Carter Jr, 31, and a friend of American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr and Canadian pop icon Justin Bieber, shared on Monday that he figured in a fight with members of Argentinean boxer Marcos Maidana's crew.

Rich men who want only sex from a pretty woman and not a relationship have barely a few hours left to meet the May 7 deadline of an American female medical student who is auctioning through an online bidding her virginity. They too must top the current highest bid for a 12-hour date with the "virgin whore" - who uses the alias Elizabeth Raine - of $800,000.