BUSINESS

Deutche Bank has declared a "Buy" rating for Apple Inc shares due to the company's dominance in the smartphone and tablet market. The bank is also optimistic about Apple's launch of a bigger iPhone expected in the second half of 2014. According to the Deutche Bank analyst, Apple Inc products are the “gold standard” in the growing market of smartphones and tablets.

The Australian share market closed sharply lower on Friday, following a big sell-off on US markets on fears tech stocks are overvalued. The NASDAQ closed lower by almost three per cent in the US on Thursday while the Dow Jones Index was down 267 points or 1.6 per cent.

Lenovo has announced a brand new student's laptop called ThinkPad 11e. This is an 11.6-inch notebook targeting the education market.

Xiaomi, dubbed as "Apple of China," can be expected to launch its new flagship smartphone to give strong competition to the market leaders in the next few months.

Recent downturns like the Ukraine crises and a possible China slowdown have led to growing fears of another recession in 2014 and a possible stock market crash.

After two straight days of gains and almost reaching a six-year high earlier this week, local stocks are falling for the third time in five sessions. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 0.9 per cent, with almost all sectors in the red. The weakness can be partly blamed on significant weakness from U.S. stocks overnight, particularly in the technology space. Investors are perhaps questioning the value of some market darlings in recent times.

In US economic data, new claims for unemployment insurance fell from 332,000 to 300,000 in the latest week, well below forecasts centred on a result near 320,000. Import prices rose by 0.6% in March with export prices up 0.8% - both results above expectations. And the Federal Budget was $36.9 billion in deficit in March, around half economist forecasts.

Work-life balance was given a stronger boost in two European countries with changes to work hours that would surely be the envy of many overworked and underpaid employees around the world who often neglect family life or personal pursuits because of too much time spent on the job.

Two companies that manufacture products for women are under criticism for the advertisements they recently released supposed to be female-oriented.

Instead of an 11-year record high unemployment rate of 6.1 per cent that economists forecast on Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics surprised Aussies with a different figure. The number of jobless Aussies actually went down, rather than up, as 18,100 new jobs were created in March.

As Apple prepares to release its latest products for 2014, investors and Apple observers may focus their eyes on the company of CEO Tim Cook as he takes center stage.

Local stocks continued their upward trajectory today, consolidating at the best levels we've seen since June 2008. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) added 17.2 points or 0.3 per cent by the close to finish at 5477.5 points.

The recent World Economic Outlook from the International Monetary Fund has seen a significant growth from the advanced economies based on global activity.

Toyota Motor Corp announced on Wednesday of a massive recall involving 6.4 million vehicles worldwide after at least five defects were found, ranging from faulty airbags and seat rails to defective windshield wipers.

Veet has pulled out the series of ads that were called “sexist” by disgruntled viewers. The hair removal brand’s newest campaign, “Don’t Risk Dudeness,” has outraged women around the world for implying women who have hairy legs and armpits can be mistaken for men.

The Australian sharemarket is continuing to improve, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) 0.5 per cent firmer and near a six-year high. No sectors are escaping the gains, with at least modest improvements felt across the board. So far this month, local stocks have improved by 1.65 per cent.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday urged global governments as well as the world's numerous pharmaceuticals to lower down and make affordable the prices of cure pills for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) as the agency released its first ever global Hepatitis C treatment guidelines.

KGI analysts Ming-Chi Kuo notes Apple Inc’s Q3 product launch

Tokyo Electric Power has started pumping radioactive groundwater from the crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant as a preventive measure to curb further leaks in the facility.

We witnessed more green on screen for the US equity markets overnight as the FOMC minutes beat down any thought of an early rates rise in the Fed funds rate.

In US economic data, wholesale sales rose by 0.7% in February with inventories up 0.5%. The sales data was short of forecasts centred on a 1.0% increase. The weekly index of mortgage activity fell 1.6% with purchases up and refinancing down.

Interest in the medical marijuana business continues to grow after two U.S. states and a few countries had legalised the trade. Also expected to expand as a result of that development is the physical space to legally cultivate cannabis.

The resumption of pings received by the Australian ship Ocean Shield has provided a ray of hope in the month-long search for the missing Malaysian Airline Boeing 777 jet which mysteriously disappeared on March 8 with 239 people aboard while on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur.

Did Australian voters made a mistake when they elected the Coalition to power in September 2013? Aussies who found themselves jobless the past six months since Tony Abbott became prime minister are probably asking that question as the jobs market became tighter.

The Australian sharemarket had its best day in two months, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) ending 1 per cent firmer by the close. The ASX200 Index finished not too far off a six-year high and is 75 per cent higher than the lows hit in March 2009. At its best, local stocks were up 1.2 per cent today and the low was hit on the open, with the XAO up 0.6 per cent. All sectors improved, with some solid gains from the miners and banks helping most.

Australian retailer David Jones Ltd has agreed to be bought by South Africa's Woolworths Holdings Ltd. for A$2.15 billion ($2 billion), ditching a way higher offer lodged earlier by rival Myer Holdings Ltd at A$3.4-billion ($3.09-billion).

Exactly a month after it went missing, Malaysia Airlines MH370 still has yet to be found. The combined forces of 26 nations still have yet to find definite pieces of evidence leading to its possible wreckage site. All that remains conclusive is the millions of dollars thrown into the search and retrieval operations.

Finnish security experts, with Google researchers, warn netizens of a bug exposing users’ passwords

The Ebola virus outbreak now enveloping West Africa could take months before it gets totally eradicated, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.