BUSINESS

The central banks of Japan and the US are killing the private market for government debt. The massive and unprecedented bond-buying programs for Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs) and Treasuries have driven yields so low that investors are now simply stepping aside from involvement in that market entirely.

Yesterday we promised to take a look at the Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory (WCB) takeover. It's one of Australia's largest listed dairy companies and it's the subject of a bidding war between Canadian, New Zealand and Australian dairy interests. (Nick Hubble's Money for Life Letter did quite nicely out of a pre-bidding war WCB tip.)

BlackBerry officials seem not to have learned the lessons of the past by continuing to push for their unpopular smartphones. The latest was the unveiling on Tuesday of the ultra high-end version of the Z10, which caused the share price of the embattled Waterloo, Ontario-based firm to go down below $6 at one point.

Blurred language out of the Fed has again poured cold water on the markets understanding of where it stands on the monetary stimulus component of its quantitative easing policy.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 66 points or 0.4% while the S&P lost 0.4% to 1781 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.3%.

In US economic news, advance retail sales rose by 0.4pct in October, ex autos, gas & building materials sales lifted by 0.5pct. Headline CPI inflation dipped 0.1pct in October to be up just 1.0pct over the year - the smallest rise in four years. Core CPI inflation held steady at 1.7pct over the year. Existing home sales fell by 3.2pct in October, weighed down by higher mortgage rates and tight supply. But the median price of a previously owned home was up 12.8pct on a year ago.

Unlike in the U.S., German companies have a two-tier board structure, with a management board around the chief executive that runs the day-to-day operations and a supervisory board that is similar to a U.S. board of directors.

British Petroleum (BP) is firing up to 300 employees from its office in Melbourne, Australia. The sacked workers comprise about 24 per cent of the total 1,250 staff in Melbourne, although across Australia, BP has 7,500 workers.

Guide:The Short Report draws upon data provided by the Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) to highlight significant weekly and monthly moves in short positions registered on stocks listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

Novelty online shop KlearGear has gone into social media hiding after being bombarded with criticisms online. The whole fiasco started when it charged a customer USD3,500 for leaving them a negative feedback.

Apple has reportedly acquired PrimeSense, the Israeli fabless semiconductor company behind Microsoft Xbox Kinect Sensor, for $345 million. Israeli financial news Web site Calcalist reported that Apple has already finalized the acquisition, with plans for an announcement within the next two weeks.

The Australian sharemarket lost ground once again, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) easing by 0.8 per cent. This takes the losses for the week so far to 1.7 per cent. The OECD cut its growth forecasts for the Australian economy from 3.2 per cent to 2.6 per cent for 2014. The DOW fell back from 16,000 points, after cracking through on Monday.

In a Pfeiffer’s report titled "2013 App Store Maturity Shootout”, Apple iOS App Store, Google Play (Apps) and Amazon Appstore were compared side by side

A $1 billion stock fraud causes former Apple Inc. (AAPL) trader to serve 30 months in prison

Shares of Air New Zealand dropped on Wednesday when it resumed trading, following the government's divestment of 20 per cent to the tune of $NZ365 million ($324 million).

Indonesia has been hit by a powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. No immediate reports of fatalities and damages have so far been reported on the temblor that struck off eastern Indonesia. The Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency ruled out any potential tsunami occurrence.

The Australian share market is being sold off for the third time this week, down 0.8 per cent at lunchtime in the East despite only modest falls on the US Dow Jones Index overnight.

Canadian firm Ferus Natural Gas Fuels on Tuesday announced it has entered into a joint venture with a Chinese-owned liquid natural gas (LNG) distributor to build two liquefaction plants in Edmonton and Vancouver in Western Canada for $100 million.

Williams reckons there is only one outcome possible: hyperinflation. A year ago, he expected it in 2019. Now, he's moved up the schedule. He now expects hyperinflation to begin in 2014.

As the melt-up in global asset markets continues, today we ask the question: Are central bankers' egotistic hooligans blinded by their own intellectual arrogance? You can probably guess the answer to that one.

The relative strength of the US dollar is one of the great mysteries of the financial world. It has defied predictions of collapse for years, despite copping severe abuse from its managers, the US Treasury and their henchman at the Federal Reserve.

The Australian Institute report “Hard to get a break” reveals that Aussies are either overworked underpaid or out of work.

YouTube users were surprised on Tuesday, Nov 19, when they could not access the popular video sharing site. The 30-minute downtime occurred between 5:20 and 5:40 pm Eastern Time.

By Peter Switzer, Switzer Super ReportIn December, I always try to work out if a Santa Claus rally is in train for the festive season.

The global pullback looks to be starting; European markets are moving back from five year highs, the S&P continues to shift away from its intraday all-time high as the DOW continues to shift sideways.

The OECD cut its global growth forecasts for this year and next as emerging-market economies including India and Brazil cool. The world economy was expected to expand by 2.7pct this year and 3.6pct next year, instead of the 3.1pct and 4pct predicted in May. Australian economy growth was expected at a sub-trend pace of 2.5pct and 2.6pct in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

As Apple Inc continues to look forward to higher sales for the new versions of the iPhone and iPads in the holiday quarter, the company's stocks may be on its way to reaching $700 in 2014.

Google and Microsoft have announced a series of measures that will erase indecent and abusive images of children online. The Internet giants, which cover 95 per cent of the online market, are making the online world a little bit cleaner and safer for children.

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares is now worth less than a Bitcoin.