BUSINESS

A number of US Fed members spoke on Friday and Saturday, with timing of stimulus withdrawal being the overarching theme. Philadelphia Fed President Plosser said the Fed could cut QE by larger than $10 billion increments if data improves, floating a hypothetical amount of $25 billion. He also commented that the FOMC is still debating possible rules for taper. Fed Chairman Bernanke said that the Fed was no less committed to accommodative policy despite recent announcements to slow its stimulus pro...

The huge blaze in October that killed seven workers and razed a Bangladeshi textile factory that made materials for known retail outlets found in Australia such a Kmart, Target, Big W and Just Jeans brought to fore not only the sweatshop conditions in these facilities.

Apple Inc shares dropped 1.12 per cent on Jan. 2 after receiving a "Market Perform" rating from a Wells Fargo analyst. Maynard Um downgraded Apple's stocks from an Outperform rating to Market Perform due to market concerns. He maintained the stock's valuation between $536 and $581. Wells Fargo has become skeptical of Apple Inc because of gross margin concerns.

The Australian share market joined Wall Street and other Asian markets to close in the red today, as profit takers moved in following a solid 2013 for investors.

The New Year's Eve Festival that was supposed to take place at the Wet 'n' Wild theme park on Dec. 31, 2013 was cancelled six hours before it was about to start and the theme park's management will reportedly refund tickets that were already sold for the said event.

There are a lot of amazing Android phones out in the market today and it gets better and better every year. In fact, there are a lot of options for Android phones now that are giving the Apple iPhones some stiff competition. Take a look at some of the best Android phones for 2014 including Google Nexus 5, Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One Google Play Editions (GPE).

The Australian share market is being sold off in early trade, after profit takers moved in on Wall Street on the first trading day of the 2014 year.

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...