It was a strange old session on Wall Street and in Europe; however the end result should be weakness in global cyclicals in Asia today.
In US economic news, jobless claims fell for the second consecutive week down by 2,000 to 339,000 last week - suggesting labour market continued to steadily improve. The US Markit PMI lifted from 54.7 to 55.0 in December - the fastest pace in 11 months. Across the subindices a solid increase was recorded in output and employment. US ISM manufacturing factory activity eased marginally from 57.3 to 57.0 in December. US construction spending rose by 1% to a five year high.
Americans and Canadians will soon have liquid Indian milk at their breakfast tables.
Companies have not learnt the lessons of the Occupy Wall Street and other Occupy movements that hit major global cities in 2011. One of the key points of these protests was the income inequality and wealth distribution between the wealthiest 1 per cent and the remaining 99 per cent.
Australian oil and gas firm Woodside Petroleum just lost a lucrative $2-billion supply deal on Thursday to sell 1.5 million metric tonnes of liquefied natural gas yearly to a Japanese consortium due to a 2-year delay in Woodside's Browse project.
30 Hurricane Katrina homes that were built by Brad Pitt's Make It Right charity in the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans, Louisiana (LA) are now reportedly rotting from the inside out.
Apple Inc's iOS7 now runs on 78 per cent of iPhones, iPod touch and iPads based on official data on the company's latest mobile OS version. The number of devices running on iOS7 has increased from 74% earlier in Dec. 2012. Apple smart phone owners were hailed the smartest, based on a Test of Wits sponsored by British betting company, Ladbrokes.
The Australian share market has started 2014 on the right note, closing higher by 0.3 per cent, following a 15 per cent annual gain in 2013.
The New Year 2014 seems like a much better time for tech gadgets than 2013. For starters, there are a lot of exciting gadgets planned for release on 2014. Check out the 2014 tech gadget predictions featuring smarter smart watches including the Apple iWatch, wearable television (TV), drones and 3D printers.
The Australian share market is trading higher on the first trading day of 2014, gaining half of one per cent in the early session albeit on low trading volumes.
If history is to be any sort of guide then January, and specifically today, should be a good one to be long on global indices and risk assets in general.
In US economic news, S&P Case Shiller composite house price index rose by 1% in October against expectations of a 0.8% rise. Compared to a year earlier house prices were up 13.6%.
Due to the poor performance of the Apple stock in the 2013 fiscal year, the tech company's board removed almost $4 million in stock vesting restrictions on the pay package of Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014! The predictions are up and it's a mix of good and bad but everyone should pay attention as this New Year will bring fortune and misfortune in all parts of the world. 2013 has been a rough year when it comes to economy and natural calamities and 2014 is going to hand another series of calamities and economic concerns that will test everyone's resiliency.
Apple Inc has confirmed the opening of its flagship store in Brisbane, Australia. Apple's retail store is expected to open in the historic MacArthur Chambers building. Signs have been placed outside the building advertising the long-awaited opening of the first Apple character flagship store in Australia.
Myer is trying to placate frustrated online shoppers with a free postage offer. The Australian up-market department store chain’s online crashed on the biggest shopping day of the year, not only upsetting buyers, but also hurting its executives financially.
Gift cards are a popular present but they are also a rising cause of complaints, with Consumer Affairs Victoria receiving more than 60 complaints about gift cards between 1 January and 30 June 2013, doubling the 30 complaints received for the whole of 2012.
Apple Inc and billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn are expected to battle it out in the company's annual shareholders meeting. Mr Icahn is expected to submit his $50 billion buyback proposal in the February 2014 meeting. Apple Inc's shareholders will be voting on whether or not to accept Mr Icahn's stock proposal to increase the company's buyback program to $50 billion.
The next battle arena for Google appears to be automobile space as Google in partnership with Audi is rumoured to make a new in-car entertainment and information system next week at Consumer Electronics Show as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
New Zealand's economy will prosper in 2014 as financial experts predict it will be a "golden" year for the country. All signs point to a stronger economy in 2014.
Aside from the delicious food, dazzling decorations, beautiful clothes and gifts, the holidays also bring about numerous sales from stores that want to cash in on the consumers' fat wallets and generous spirits. Unfortunately, it is also during this time that a lot of counterfeit products are being sold alongside the real ones. To avoid getting duped into buying fake products, especially electronics, check out some tips on how to spot fake electronics
The new "Lara Croft: Reflections" will reportedly be a free-to-play (F2P) collectible card game and is currently being tested in Australia and New Zealand. However, it is still unclear if the said game will also be available in the U.S. and in other parts of the world. But, if it turns out that it will be made available worldwide, then it is predicted to be released in 2014. As a free-to-play (F2P) card game, "Lara Croft: Reflections" can be downloaded for free, but gamers might be c...
Shares in the Commonwealth bank, Westpac, NAB and ANZ surge after four major banks respond to increased capital reserve from APRA
A Galaxy research surveyed that two-thirds of all customers across all service providers are expected to use more data over the Christmas season. Data usage is higher among Gen Y's with almost 75 per cent of younger people saying that Christmas causes their usage to go up.
Rumours are going around the tech industry that Samsung will release a Galaxy Band Fitness Tracker to debut at the 2014 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain. The 2014 MWC will be held at the Fira Gran Via from Feb. 24 -27, 2014.
Apple Inc shares climbed 3.8 per cent at $570.09 after the company has officially announced and confirmed the deal with China Mobile, the biggest mobile carrier in the world. Now Apple Inc is one of the tech stocks to watch out for in 2014 with analysts optimistic of bigger iPhone sales in the Chinese market.
Beyonce handed out $50 gift cards to 750 Walmart customers on Friday, Dec 20, 2013, after Amazon and Target refused to stock her new CD because she released it in secret on iTunes just minutes before midnight EST on Friday morning, Dec 13, 2013.
For people who prefer tablets that are smaller than the standard 10-inch tablets, these three new tablets in the market are now under this category: Nexus 7 2013, Amazon Kindle Fire HDX and the Apple iPad Mini 2 with Retina display.
Apple Inc has officially announced a deal with China Mobile on Dec. 22 which signaled the end of a 6-year negotiation. Apple's bestselling iPhones will be available on the world's largest mobile carrier on Jan. 17, 2014.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., an American Southern country themed chain of restaurants and gift stores founded in 1969 in Lebanon, Tennessee (TN), announced on Dec. 22, 2013 that they will bring back selected "Duck Dynasty" products that were deemed "offensive" in its stores' shelves just a day after announcing that it was pulling it out.
![Cancelled New Year's Eve Festival at Wet 'n' Wild will Refund Tickets [WATCH]](https://d.ibtimes.com.au/en/full/1231685/cancelled-new-years-eve-festival-wet-n-wild-will-refund-tickets-watch.webp?w=400&h=400&f=12b99d2da2bad2637cce3509179967fe)
