BUSINESS

It is not just the Wolf of Weed Street who made a lot of money on trading medical cannabis stocks. Early traders of Tweed Marijuana (TWD) shares on Friday, when the company became the first publicly traded producer of medical weed at the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada, also got a financial high.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott signed on Monday evening in Tokyo the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The multi-billion dollar agreement would cover the next 20 years and open doors for both Australian and Japanese markets for each others' products.

Amazon introduced its Fire TV last week to a very positive review but now Google is rumored to launch its own set-top box. The competition is already rife with Apple TV, Roku, Google’s own Chormecast and Amazon’s Fire TV ruling the roost.

The Australian sharemarket kicked off the week a touch lower, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 0.2 per cent; remaining modestly above the 5400pt mark. Tomb sweeping day in China is being observed today, resulting in the closure of China's markets. Last week, the XAO rose by close to 1 per cent, making it the third straight week of improvements.

The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia reportedly will bring in $44m in domestic and international sales

Boeing has debuted over the weekend to the global aviation industry Air New Zealand's first ever 787-9 Dreamliner. And it's painted black all over with the official New Zealand Fern Mark the only colour contrasting it in white emblazoned across the rear of the plane.

Humility and simplicity are Pope Francis' leadership mantras ever since accepting the post as supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. These should no longer come as a surprise on the set April 27 canonization of Popes John Paul II and John XXIII.

The royal tour of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge of New Zealand will bring many benefits to the country. The New Zealand government said the royal couple's visit is good for the island nation. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are set to begin their nine-day tour of New Zealand. The government has promised that the money used will be going back to the economy as the royal tour highlights the country's business and tourism industry.

An email from the late Steve Jobs revealed Apple Inc. product line up as far as 2015

The Australian share market has started the trading week in the red, following weakness on Wall Street on Friday.

James Packer's Asian gaming joint-venture Melco Crown wants to build a casino in Tokyo in time for the 2020 Olympics, according to The Australian.

The line-up of digital personal assistants got a new debutant in Cortana when Microsoft announced its Windows Phone 8.1's most intriguing add-on during the Developer Conference on Wednesday.

We saw an interesting reaction to the non-farm payrolls on Friday night, with a read of 192,000 - short of the consensus read of 200,000. However, it was the first time the ADP read and the official read had been with in 2000 of each other in over two years. It was also interesting considering the consensus print had been bid up on some calling for the possibility of 300,000 jobs to be added.

In US economic data, non-farm payrolls (employment) rose by 192,000 in March, just short of the median forecast tipping a rise of 200,000 jobs. The unemployment rate was steady at 6.7%. Average earnings were flat and the work week rose from 34.3 hours to 34.5 hours.

A 35-year-old disaster consultant quit his job in December after making $515,000 so far in trading marijuana stocks. Thanks to the legalisation of cannabis in some states, trading in the once-prohibited drug - both in real leaf and on paper - is becoming a growing subsector in international stock trading.

With the brand new Fire TV, Amazon is entering the streaming video player market with Google Chromecast, Roku and Apple TV as prime competitors.

A viral video of Russian factory workers kneading cheese while shirtless with a dirty looking production area has logged more than 300,000 hits on YouTube, leading investigators to probe the unhygienic practices in the plant.

One thing that Android users are missing out to Apple users is the premium customer service experience that Apple provides to its customers via Genius Bar Support.

Australia is the top place to be a teenager, according to a study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the International Youth Foundation. The two organisations drew a Global Youth Wellbeing Index that it released this week.

WhatsApp, a mobile messaging platform, has recently experienced a service disruption.

Bloomberg compiled data showing Apple Inc (AAPL) options are the cheapest in more than two years

The Australian sharemarket rose modestly for the third time this week, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) edging 0.1 per cent higher by the close. The XAO finished above the 5400pt mark, helped by the fourth consecutive record close for U.S. markets last night.

Australians who want to fly directly to London have now an option with the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner that kicked off from Royal Brunei Airlines.

‘Plain Packaging’ debate went to ambiguity as Australia refuse to release government data.

A new survey released by the Pew Research Center has revealed that 69 per cent of Americans believe that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol to one's overall health, while 63 per cent believe alcohol was more harmful to society than marijuana.

Russia has implemented a ban against beef imported from Australia which will take effect from next week. Russia claimed the ban was instituted because of growth hormones. Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce belied the allegations.

The Australian sharemarket is treading water ahead of the all-important non-farm payrolls report out later this evening. This is the most important piece of insight into the state of North America's employment market.

In US economic data, the ADP Private Employment report showed job gains of 191,000 for the private sector in March mostly in line with forecasts. The February result was revised up from 139,000 to 178,000. US factory orders jumped 1.6% in February. Shipments of new orders lifted by 0.9% in February - the biggest gain in seven months. However the prior January result was revised to show a larger fall of 1%.

The EUR has crossed below its 50-day moving average for the first time since February, as Mario Draghi and the ECB board uses much grittier and direct language, giving the market a real sense that QE is coming.