BUSINESS

Facebook, Inc. is very interested in Snapchat, a photo messaging application, and is offering $1 billion to acquire it.

Northeast Syria is now under threat of a polio outbreak. The UN's health agency World Health Organisation on Tuesday said there are now at least 10 confirmed cases in the country, which has a very big potential to spread and encapsulate the entire Middle East region.

After a 0.5 per cent fall yesterday, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is now up by 21pt or 0.4 per cent. Local stocks have only fallen on two occasions over the past 12 trading sessions; rising by 4.5 per cent since mid-October.

The embattled Canadian phone maker BlackBerry may have found a financial saviour in Facebook, the world's largest social media company. Reports said that BlackBerry and Facebook officials met last week to discuss a possible buy-in.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares slide after fourth quarter earnings report

The gods are angry. In this case, it is the Filipino conservationists versus professional wakeskater Brian Grubb who claimed he was able to conquer the Banaue Rice Terraces because he had been given permission no less than by the tribal leaders guarding it.

At least 139 of the artworks seen in various Dutch museums were determined to have been stolen from the Jews during the 1933 to 1945 World War II invasion by the Nazis.

By Peter Switzer, Switzer Super ReportLast week, Investor Mutual's Anton Tagliaferro was quoted saying he was expecting a correction, which, given our 25% plus rise since November 2012 on the stock market, does not look outlandish.

Choice’s Shonky Awards had named and shamed SimCity producer EA Games, Kleenex's Mansize tissues and Qantas Frequent Flyer Toolbar among Australia’s dodgiest products.

In US economic news, retail sales fell 0.1pct in September, but excluding autos, sales rose 0.4pct, in line with forecasts. Producer prices fell by 0.1pct in September, but excluding food and energy, prices rose 0.1pct, in line with forecasts. Consumer confidence fell from 80.2 to 71.2 in October. And the Case Shiller home price index rose 0.9pct in August to stand 12.8pct higher than a year ago.

There was no surprise on Tuesday when IDC released its smartphone market report for Q2 2013. As expected, Samsung dominated the top spot, followed by Apple with market shares of 35 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively.

Samsung rules in the global smartphone market. While Apple reported on Tuesday impressive 4th quarter results of $6.9 billion earnings, broken down into $31.2 million for the iPhone, $14.6 million for iPads and $3.8 million for Macs, the South Korean tech giant easily trounced the Cupertino-based firm's accomplishment.

Sellers continued to hold sway over the 2nd half of Tuesday's session. The weakness seen in the morning refocussed on the bank stocks which were outperforming in a falling market in early trade.

In the latest attack by Chinese media on global companies, Starbucks and Samsung have both come under fire for allegedly bullying Chinese customers and over-charging them. Leading the charge China Central Television (CCTV) and the China Daily. This comes after iPhone maker Apple was blasted by CCTV earlier this year for not repairing customers' iPhones for free.

Despite a dearth of educational institutions, the government of Bohol, stricken by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on Oct 15, has announced it will resume classes on Nov 5.

On the heels of a strong start to the week sellers got some modest traction at the outset of trade on Tuesday. One of the factors helping sellers was the weakness in US futures the start of the Asian session after the Apple result, post the close of Wall St.

The energy demand of the world's second-largest economy has been forecast to slow down by 1.8 per cent as China strives to tackle the cleaner, greener road.

The V-Tex Technology Drink Chiller which cools drinks in just 45 seconds was recently unveiled by Enviro-Cool (UK) Limited (Ltd). It is designed to reduce energy consumption by 90%.

After a full-packed schedule last weekend, the 86 Miss Universe contestants are gearing up for another ride as they race around the track test driving the Mercedes Benz AMG cars.

The ASX is now up 5.81% in the last 14 days and October looks like it will be the third best month of the year, and well ahead of the average monthly rise in 2013 of 1.3%.

Apple Inc. FY 13 Q4 Results announced iPhone sales growth at 26 per cent, Cook hints retina iPad Mini supply shortage and dividends payable to shareholders on Nov 14

In US economic news, industrial production rose by 0.6pct in September, above expectations for a gain of 0.4pct. But the pending home index fell by 5.6pct to 101.6, weaker than the 0.1pct expected gain.

By Greg PeelA month ago there appeared to be some building interest from buyers in the short-term uranium market, and sellers were thus encouraged to hang back rather than let product go at low prices.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 1 point while the S&P gained two points to 1762 and the Nasdaq lost one point.

By Greg PeelProperty has become the investment buzzword for 2013. Stock markets continue to rally on central bank stimulus yet the bulk of investors remain on the sidelines, still fearful of the volatility that has been a feature since the GFC.

Local participants showed few signs of doubt on Monday ahead of a busy week for market moving events. The ASX 200 has risen more than 4% this month, notwithstanding that result buyers continued to keep the upper hand over most on the session.

Apple Inc.’s stock is under radar as FY 13 Q4 iPhones and iPad results can make or break AAPL’s stock

Apple's newest iPhone models, the 5S and the 5C, became available in Russian store shelves on Friday, Oct 25. However, Bloomberg notes that because of its high price tag, there is slim chance that it would be a hit among Russian consumers.

The gains are continuing, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up by 60pts or 1.1 per cent at lunch. With nine of the past ten sessions being up days, this makes it the second best winning streak for local shares of 2013. The gains are partly being fuelled by greater political certainty in the US (for now), Chinese manufacturing figures out last week and a better finish to the week for US equities on Friday.