BUSINESS

Now, this is sheer entertainment. The Chicago branch of the Federal Reserve has addressed the great monetary question of our day.

What do a Bacon triptych, a balloon dog, a Pink Star and the stock market have in common? They're very, very expensive.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 14 points or 0.1% to 15,976 while the S&P lost 0.4% to 1791 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.

Even at the age of 53, Jean-Claude Van Damme has it in him. The Belgian actor and martial art veteran is as impressive in his art as he must have been earlier in his life. Watch the new viral video wherein Jean-Claude Van Damme shows off his skills with a crazy split for a new Volvo Trucks Ad.

Apple Inc's iPhone 5S and iPad Air sales continue to grow stronger, according to recent global surveys and data from U.S. carriers. The sales growth is boosted by improving supply levels. Analysts have also observed steady sales in the iPhone 5C.

Despite improving gradually as the day wore on, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) still finished 0.3 per cent lower by market close. At its worst, the XAO was down by 0.78 per cent (at around 10.30am AEDT). All sectors eased, with the financials and energy stocks amongst the biggest drags.

Ian Somerhalder of the CW TV series “Vampire Diaries” is encouraging people to use Goodshop To-Go to support his foundation, The Ian Somerhalder Foundation (ISF). Goodshop To-Go is a Web site that reportedly allows online shoppers to earn up to 20% of each of their purchases for their chosen cause or charity. Plus, it gives more than 100,000 coupons for users which enables them to not only save some money but also to donate with every purchase. What’s great is that this service is free!

After releasing a vague and slightly disappointing communique last week, the end of the Third Plenum has seen the release of a 60 point plan that will see the largest sweeping reforms in China in over three decades.

This story was first published for subscribers only on November 5 but is now open to all readers.By Greg PeelIf one looks up the real time US "debt clock", one sees a national debt in excess of seventeen trillion (US) dollars.

FNArena is surveying investor sentiment in Australia in an effort to generate, over time, a guage similar to the AAII Investor Sentiment Survey in the US.

The weekly closed last week on an uptrend. The market has maintained the 5400 level for the last three weeks.

Typhoon-battered Philippines have felt the impact of super storm Haiyan (Yolanda) as the 315-kph Category 5 Hurricane-equivalent massively destroyed homes, crops and infrastructure in the central part of the country, particularly provinces located in the Visayas.

In US economic news, industrial production fell by 0.1pct in October, short of forecasts for a gain of 0.2pct. The Empire State manufacturing index fell from +1.52 to minus 2.21 in November.

BlackBerry released on Friday an update for the BlackBerry Messenger app, specifically for iOS devices. However, the move would not necessarily boost BBM users substantially from the current 80 million.

Samsung has shown the trend at recent times that it is all set to lead the smartphone industry all over the world. Now, according to reports, Samsung targets capturing Canada.

The Australian sharemarket made it two days of gains in a row, with the All Ordinaries Index rising by 0.8 per cent. Over the past two sessions, local stocks surged by 1.5 per cent, spurred by Janet Yellen's testimony before Congress. It seems very unlikely that the US central bank will be tapering its US$85 billion worth of stimulus in 2013, which has pushed shares and the Australian dollar higher.

Anchorage Capital Partners, the new owners of electronics retailer Dick Smith, is publicly listing the company and targeting $344 million for the initial public offering (IPO). They announced the IPO on Thursday afternoon.

Known as one of the world's famous action star, Jean-Claude Van Damme debuts Volvo TV commercial with his epic split. The 53-year-old Hollywood's stuntman and actor show that he's not at all expendable when it comes to gravity-defying stunts.

Apple Inc invested $10.5 billion in assembly robots, milling machines and other new technology to boost its supply chain and speed up production of iOS devices. The huge investment which Apple Inc has outlined in its fiscal 2014 capital-expenditure forecast indicates how Apple, recently named by Forbes as the world's most valuable company, is exploring deeper design concepts while inventing technology to improve the production process.

By Jonathan BarrattWe have been a expecting a lot more out of the copper markets. The litmus test for the global economy is not doing to well.

China is most likely to snatch the world's largest gold consumer title from India this 2013, according to the World Gold Council on Thursday.

In what could it be its biggest product recall, German automaker Volkswagen is set to withdraw a whopping 2.64 million cars worldwide to fix a number of problems that came with a number of different models. The biggest recall was in China at 640,309 cars and minivans.

After having set up the market for a dovish tone, it was one-way traffic at the Senate hearing as incoming Fed chair Janet Yellen re-emphasised the need for QE. While acknowledging the economy is significantly stronger and continues to improve, she said the US economic recovery is still fragile and as a result, prematurely pulling aid could derail the recovery. This was not really fresh news and traders didn't add to US dollar shorts. The market has known for a while that Janet Yellen's po...

Fed Governor Yellen's testimony to the Senate Banking Committee was a relatively dove-ish affair that was roughly in synch with the Fed's official view. Crucially she indicated that the "benefits of QE still exceed the costs" and that the Fed ´´must not remove support while recovery is fragile." This does not suggest any particular urgency to commence tapering and suggests that an announcement will only be made in 2014.

By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 54 points or 0.4% while the S&P gained 0.5% to 1790 and the Nasdaq added 0.3%.

Twitter announced that the users can now customize their timelines with the new feature custom-timeline within the TweetDeck. Here you will find a step by step guide to customize your Twitter timeline and embed it too.

The Australian share market staged a rebound today, boosted by another record high on Wall Street and after incoming US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen gave dovish commentary which investors took as a signal the current US economic stimulus plan would continue.

The Australian share market is making a solid comeback at lunchtime in the East, buoyed by expectations incoming US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will continue Ben Bernanke's path of cheap money until the US Central Bank is satisfied with unemployment and inflation levels.

For the first time in 18 years, the U.S.' crude oil production has exceeded the number of its imports, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.