Lawrence Villamar

In a report released yesterday the sale of new homes for the month of July declined 5.6 percent, emphasising that the housing segment remains one of the weakest links of the local economy.

Investment banks in London have been forced to offer more competitive salaries to attract this year's top graduates who industry players say have been deterred by the recent banking scandals.

The number of counterfeit notes detected by private banks in India grew by 23 percent from 2010-2011 to 2011-2012, reported the Reserve Bank of India on Sunday, with the Indian government set to introduce plastic notes across five cities by the end of this year in an effort to reduce forgery and thwart other illegal activities related to fake currency.

Recent risk appetite has cooled slightly so far this week, pulling the Australian dollar lower to its weakest level against the Greenback in over a month.

The Chinese government has set aside up to 2.37 trillion yuan ($373 billion) for investment into energy conservation and anti-pollution projects over the next three-and-a-half years, claimed a report by Reuters on Wednesday, with $155 billion of the money already earmarked for energy efficient projects that could reduce the nation's reliance on coal.

Japanese finance minister Jun Azumi has hinted that his government may renege on a deal to purchase bonds from their South Korean counterparts, reported the Wall Street Journal on Friday, after bilateral tensions erupted earlier this month following South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's visit to a group of islands claimed by Japan.

The Australian dollar finished last week overall weaker after falling to its lowest level in four weeks against its US Counterpart on Friday.

The Aussie Dollar found a little momentum early on in its local session and rallied from support at 1.0500 to highs near 1.0540 by lunchtime.

The cost of tuition is soaring, outpacing the cost of living in most countries. Last year, tuition and fees at US public universities soared 8.3 percent, twice the rate of national inflation.

A study by the Natural Resources Defense Council has found that Americans throw away nearly half of their food each year with the waste worth approximately $165 billion annually - equivalent the size of Ukraine's GDP.

The Australian dollar has broken back above $1.05 overnight as the US Dollar weakened following the FOMC minutes which highlighted the Fed’s willingness to act on quantitative easing should the need arise.

Legal experts on both sides of the Atlantic argue that the SFO is too weak to live up to its promises; and say that the more aggressive U.S. system could be a far likelier source of prosecutions.

According to a recent study, obesity may indirectly cost the U.S. economy over $450 billion a year. Furthemore, a recent poll by Gallup also estimated that U.S. businesses lose nearly $113 billion each year due to obese American workers.

Oil giant spent $383m to protect oil installations and staff in Nigeria, reveals London-based oil watchdog Platform.

The Australian Dollar opens around 20-30 point higher this morning when compared with 24 hours prior, as risk sentiment remains supported ahead of European meetings this week.

The baby boomer generation in United States currently stands around 80 million Americans, contributing to nearly half of America's total consumption.

Suicide rates in a country may rise anywhere between 8-15 percent during times of economic downturn, said a study by the BMJ Medical Journal on Wednesday, after nearly 13,000 U.K. citizens took their lives between 2008-2010 alone - 1,000 more suicides than expected.

The Australian dollar finished the week lower on Friday, posting a 1.3% loss overall as encouraging economic data from the United States helped reduce speculation the Fed will intervene with further stimulus.

Gold is one of the most precious and expensive metals and is often used as a safe hard asset - an alternative investment to fiat currency. With that in mind, this infographic takes a look at global gold mines and deposits, and how they all rank up.

A study by the Institute for Policy Studies has found that twenty-six big US companies paid their chief executive officers more last year than they did in federal taxes.

The battle with $1.05 has continued for the Australian dollar over the past 24 hours and a lack of momentum saw 1.0475 banked in local hours before a switch offshore improved the mood.

"The Dark Knight Rises" star Joseph Gordon-Levitt warns his fans against falling in love with an "idea of the person".

The world will be a much better place if paparazzi aimed their lenses on billionaires and bankers, claimed "Cosmopolis" star Robert Pattinson in an interview.

Reddit, a popular social news Web site, nabbed a spot at the Guinness Book of Record. It announced that its quest, launched in November last year, to be immortalized with a record for "the largest online Secret Santa game" has ended successfully.

The Australian Dollar opens back above 1.0500 this morning, albeit by the finest of margins after earlier Greenback strength took the pair to levels below 1.0460 in European hours.

Three of Brazil's largest telecommunication companies will have to spend more than $9.8 billion to upgrade their internet and mobile access services ahead of the upcoming football World Cup in 2014, reported the Financial Times on Monday, after the Brazilian government threatened to punish the companies unless they did so.

The German and French economies showed signs of resilience as the two eurozone countries performed slighter better than expected.

Recent shedding of the Aussie continued yesterday and by early afternoon in Asia the local unit was looking heavy just above 1.0500, despite NAB’s survey showing business confidence improved slightly throughout the month of July.

"Chasing Mavericks" star Jonny Weston will continue to surf, but he knows it will take an immense amount of training to prepare a surfer for the big waves.