Vittorio Hernandez

Same-sex unions got a big boost on Friday from a major religious leader. The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Buddhists, shared his view on the controversial topic with American TV host Larry King.

The last 5 trading days have seen the local market progress as investor focus shifted from the concerns surrounding The Ukraine and Russia towards more encouraging news in relation to the domestic economy. As a result the market recovered from the 0.4% loss on Monday to be ahead by almost 1% for the week at the close of trade this afternoon.

The Australian sharemarket is firmer thanks partly to a surge in U.S. equities overnight and yesterday's better than expected retail spending and trade figures locally. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is rising by 0.3 per cent; making it the fourth straight day of improvements and a 5.5 year high for local stocks.

Gina Rinehart, Australia's richest person who just added another $700 million to her $17 billion wealth in the last 12 months, warned that Australia is living beyond its means.

Risk assets mostly extended gains overnight, with some positive US economic data and dissipating Russia/Ukraine concerns helping sentiment. The latest on the Crimea front is that it will hold a referendum on 16 March on whether to join the Russian Federation or not. That could be the next talking point as the international community seems to be against this move.

In US economic data, new claims for unemployment insurance (jobless claims) fell by 26,000 to 323,000 in the latest week. Economists had tipped a result near 338,000. And factory orders fell by 0.7% in January, a weaker result than the 0.4% decline expected by economists. Productivity grew at a 1.8% annual pace in the December quarter with labour costs down 0.1%. Economists had tipped a 2.5% lift in productivity and 0.9% fall in labour costs.

The telephone actually replicates two human body parts people use during a live conversation. But what if the gadget doesn't look like the high-tech devices that often wows consumers, but actually look like real mouths and ears. Would you still buy such a phone?

The tickets to the April 12 rematch between eight-division title holder Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley must be so hot that American actor and comedian Will Ferrell willingly paid $24,000 for two ringside seats.

Just a week after Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce confirmed it would slash 5,000 jobs over three years to cut costs by $2 billion, the embattled flag carrier started to yield its axe with 90 full-time check-in staff at the Sydney international airport its likely first victims.

The Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Banking Group said on Thursday that it would appeal the landmark Federal Court decision in February that declared late-payment fees on credit cards collected by the bank were illegal.

Cupertino-based tech giant Apple lost again its legal bid to prevent Seoul-based rival Samsung from selling its popular devices in the U.S. The Thursday decision by Judge Lucy Koh of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California covered 23 Samsung Electronics products that breached Apple patents.

The Australian sharemarket ended unchanged, following two days of gains. Despite the market's uninspiring finish, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is still trading at a five and a half year high. Better than expected retail spending and international trade reports briefly propped the sharemarket higher earlier today.

The ASX 200 was under pressure from the outset on Thursday. At its worst levels the index was down by 24 points. It didn't take long for prices to consolidate and move off the lows of the session. The catalyst for the morning session came in the form of the better readings on trade and retail sales at 11:30 AEDT.

With the Russia/Ukraine threat significantly downgraded, risk sentiment has remained steady in global markets, with major asset classes relatively unchanged. Discussions are now taking place among leaders and while there is nothing concrete yet, it is encouraging to see them working on a solution together. News that Ukraine will receive around $3 billion in emergency aid from the EU also helped sentiment, particularly in the emerging markets complex.

In US economic data, the ISM services gauge eased from 54.0 to 51.6 in February, short of forecasts centred around 53.5. But the rival Markit services index rose from 52.7 to 53.3. The ADP employment index showed that there were 139,000 private sector jobs created in February, short of forecasts for a gain of 160,000. And the Federal Reserve Beige Book notes that economic activity declined in two of 12 regions, largely due to harsh winter weather.

It was a double stab on the back for the family of deceased Canadian soldier Corporal Justin Stark, an Afghanistan War veteran who committed suicide in October 2011 at the age of 22. His seven-month bout in the Middle East was "rewarded" by the federal government with a one-cent pension which his family received a cheque a few days ago.

Some Australians could no longer afford the soaring cost of homes in their countries that they could end up as lifetime tenants. And they could partly blame the rich Chinese property investors who snapped up $24 billion worth of real estate Down Under the past seven years.

The female genitalia is the most integral part of a woman's anatomy, Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz told talk show host Chelsea Handler to promote her latest self-help book titled The Body Book.

British boxer Amir Khan may still be ranting about his being glossed over by unbeaten American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr for the May 3 bout, but the pound-for-pound king has analysts backing up his controversial decision to favour Argentinean boxer Marcos Maidana instead.

We all have heard of China's boyfriend-for-hire business for women who need a man to introduce to their family so the clan would stop bugging her during holiday gatherings about getting married. In Australia, a Friends for Hire enterprise will officially open on March 22. The Web site is the result of a three-month development effort by Wildside Group, a communications agency in Queensland.

The Australian share market has closed at its highest level since mid-June 2008, spurred on by better than expected economic growth numbers and a strong rally on Wall Street during Tuesday's trade.

Apple has tapped social media sites to push its unpopular iPhone 5C. Tumblr recently rolled out a blog called isee5c that features five 15-second video clips advertising the different colours of the Apple device priced at $99.

The Australian sharemarket is up by 0.6 per cent, thanks to easing concerns (for now) relating to an Eastern European conflict. U.S markets surged by 1.5 per cent while major European stocks jumped by as much as 3.5 per cent overnight. President Putin ordered troops near the Ukrainian border to return to their bases. As expected, this resulted in an outflow of money from 'safe haven' assets such as gold, the greenback and U.S. treasuries. Around a quarter of Europe's oil and gas supplie...

The beginning of the annual National People Congress in Beijing today will be the first major forum since announcing some of the largest policy changes in three decades at the Third Plenum in late October last year.

In US economic data, the ISM New York index rose from 622.6 to 626.1 in February. The IBD economic optimism index rose from 44.9 to 45.1 in March. And chain store sales fell 1.3% in the latest week to stand 2.7% higher than a year ago.

As May 13 fast approaches, more admissions and revelations are coming from the camps of undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr and opponent Marcos Maidana of Argentina.

Despite pleading guilty to rape, two counts of indecent assault and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, a Brit lad avoided custodial sentence and would soon go home. The 13-year-old was 12 when he raped his then 7-year-old sister after watching porn from the Internet using the family Xbox.

Among the Canadian provinces and territories, Alberta is the most attractive jurisdiction for mining investment in the province, the annual global survey of mining executives said.

Most of the world's billionaires get only richer by the day. The only thing that changes is often their ranking on the rich list compiled by publications like Fortune and BRW.