BUSINESS

Origin Energy is waiting for the result of the federal government's review of Australia's 20 per cent renewable energy target launched on Monday. The anticipation is because of the potential impact of the policy on Origin's $900-million Stockyard Hill wind project.

Auckland, New Zealand's financial centre, is the third most liveable city in the world, according to the list released on Thursday by Mercier. Topping the 2014 Quality of Living list are Vienna and Zurich, 1st and 2nd placer, respectively.

The Australian share market ignored a weak finish on Wall Street and disappointing Chinese economic data to make it five wins in a row today.

China is gobbling up more and more of Australia's olive oil produce as the country gets more health-conscious.

Canada has announced on Wednesday the winning bidders of the 700 MHz wireless spectrum auction, which raked in a whopping total of C$5.27 billion ($4.76 billion).

For a second consecutive session local stocks have found the initiative locally in the absence of any offshore inspiration. U.S. stocks ended lower overnight influenced by disappointing housing data and the minutes from the last FOMC meeting.

Royal Dutch Shell is finally disposing its downstream assets in Australia with the reported sale of its Geelong refinery and petrol stations in the country for $2.4 billion. Newspapers identified the buyer as oil trader Vitol and Abu Dhabi Investment Commission.

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd jumped on Wednesday after the Oklahoma City-based oil and natural gas company Devon Energy Corp announced on the same day that the Canadian firm would acquire some of its assets.

Hampton Creek Foods Inc. raised $23 million in an effort to abolish eggs in food items.

Asian markets look set for a modestly weaker open, although if you look at a number of the momentum-focused indicators in Australia, dips should still present themselves as buying opportunities.

In US economic data, producer prices rose by 0.2% in January to be up 1.2% over the year. Analysts had expected prices to rise by 0.1%. US housing starts fell by 16% to an 880k annualised rate - significantly weaker than the 950k consensus, though the volatility was accounted for by the bad weather. Building permits also dropped by 5.4% to 937k.

Apple Inc's head of managers and acquisitions, Adrian Perica, has reportedly met with Tesla Motors founder and CEO Elon Musk at the company's headquarters in 2013. The meeting was rumoured to have taken place around the same time analysts suggested that the Cupertino tech giant should acquire Tesla, the maker of the Model S.

The rumoured Apple iOS 7.1 updates will come with a major overhaul to its Mobile Device Management; Google Translate with iOS 7 support will be free for 24 hours

The ASX 200 acquitted itself well on Wednesday in the face of a mixed picture for regional stocks the index was able to post a fourth consecutive day of gains.

Brand Finance listed Apple Inc as its no. 1 brand among world’s most valuable brands

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock downgraded to ‘Hold’ by Thomson Reuters; other analysts gave ratings

Chinese millionaires sought special investment visas, bringing their money with them to the country.

Local stocks continued to grind higher on Wednesday despite an indifferent lead from US markets overnight. Company results remain the overwhelming focus for local investors.

Chinese millionaires sought special investment visas, bringing their money with them to the country

Frequent Canadian air travelers may soon expect more direct flights between the country and Mexico following an expanded air travel agreement signed on Tuesday. Mexicans flying to Canada, however, still need to apply and secure visas.

US markets returned to trade on a fairly quiet note with the major bourses relatively mixed. Data out of the US was underwhelming to say the least, with the Empire State manufacturing index and the NAHB housing market index sharply disappointing. Weather continues to be blamed for some of the disappointing readings but at some point this could start to weigh on sentiment. The Nikkei had a big day yesterday, rising 3% on the back of the BoJ. USD/JPY spiked to ¥102.75 on the back of the BoJ but ha...

In US economic data, the Empire State manufacturing index eased from +12.51 to +4.48 in February. In December there were capital outflows from the US totalling US$119.6 billion, up from $16.6 billion in November. And the National Association of Home Builders index eased from +56 to +46 in February - the biggest one-month decline recorded.

In a tie-up campaign with Tourism New Zealand, Air New Zealand is enticing Japanese tourists to visit the country Down Under during the colder months by offering them hefty 30 per cent discounts on plane fare.

The federal government of Australia approved on Tuesday the master plan for Sydney Airport to meet the expected higher number of 74 million passengers the gateway would handle in 2033, up from the 38 million air travelers in 2013.

The Australian share market closed slightly higher today, as investors digested positive earnings reports from the likes of BHP Billiton (BHP) against numbers which missed the mark from companies such as Coca-Cola Amatil (CCL).

The Australian sharemarket is rising for the third straight day and for the eighth time in nine trading sessions. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 0.1 per cent and the index is back above 5400pts for the first time in three months. Strong gains within the mining sector is driving the broader market higher at lunch. Investors looked to Europe for a lead, due to the closure of the U.S. markets (Presidents Day public holiday). Shares in the UK jumped by 1.1 per cent.

Analysts based in London have likened New Zealand to Ireland in its state of pre-global financial crisis with an economy on the brink of collapse. In a Bloomberg report, SLJ Macro Partners Stephen Jen and colleague Faith Yimazn said it was only a matter of time before the New Zealand dollar will decline. Both analysts remarked that the reality is "quite different" despite the Kiwi dollar's strong performance as of late.

Chinese millionaires whose applications have been withdrawn after Canada scraped its Immigrant Investor Program (IIP) were hardly upset. They can always turn to the U.S. and Europe to expand and migrate anyway.

Mining giant BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) reported on Tuesday a first half profit of A$9 billion for its 2014 financial year. It is almost double compared to BHP's profit 12 months ago and better than most analysts' expectations.