BUSINESS

The Australian share market remains flat in early trade on Thursday, as investors weigh up profit results against a triple digit loss on Wall Street overnight.

As the New Zealand government prepares to hold its own inquiry into Fonterra's botulism scare, a farm consultant who is also a veterinarian is casting doubt on reports that the bacterial contamination was due to a dirty pipe. Frank Rowson, a farm performance consultant and Matamata veterinarian, said he has acquired material that will cause more shame to New Zealand's dairy giant.

Microsoft will release this week its latest version of keyboard called Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop keyboard.

By Jonathan BarrattSentiment in the gold market is turning. As we have mentioned a few times, do not lose faith in the trade.

Angry Hunter Valley residents in the Australian state of New South Wales protested on Tuesday the coal mine expansion plan of mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO). The anti-mining protest was held on the day that the NSW Supreme Court heard arguments about the future of the Mount Thorley Warkworth coal mine.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 113 points or 0.7% while the S&P lost 0.5% to 1685 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.4%.

There was a bit of everything for investors today. Some gains, some losses and then the end result - a flat finish.

Billionaire and activist investor Carl Icahn said he has acquired a large position in Apple Inc' which could drive stocks to as much as $700 per share if Apple CEO Tim Cook will decide to approve a bigger stock buyback.

A couple from Houston, Texas warned parents of sexual predators lurking through baby monitors.

Unless China radically implements measures and steps to salvage what remains of its environment, it may have to expect and get used to dwindling tourist numbers.

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL) Budget iPhone, iPhone 5C, comes with cheaper specs and less high-end iPhone features

Auckland company E-Advance Limited is accused of exploiting migrant workers. The alleged victims claim that the employer, which helps migrants to find jobs in New Zealand, has been causing them “emotional and psychological stress.”

Investors tried it all this morning, with the Australian sharemarket a little higher on the open, in the red around an hour into trade and completely flat at lunch.

'I get calls weekly asking if I will sell my home. I finally stopped one to ask, 'Does anybody actually say yes?' And he said, 'Of course. Otherwise, why would we do this?''

Students wanting to study overseas, particularly in Australia, either need to have been able to have saved a lot or at least able to maintain two jobs to be able to afford paying for their tuition costs and other expenses. According to a new research HSBC, Australia ranks the list of most expensive countries for oversea students, followed by the United States, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Canada is cheaper.

There would be lesser flights by Australian flag carrier Qantas to the Middle East in 2014 when the Dubai Airport undergoes runway repairs for three months. Dubai Airport authorities advised Qantas in April for the air carrier to reduce by 50 per cent its flights to the second-busiest international airport in the world while two runways would undergo maintenance.

The U.S. Department of Justice said on Tuesday that it filed stock fraud charges against four Canadians and five Americans who cheated $140 million from thousands of investors from the U.S., Canada and other countries using a penny stock scheme.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 33 points or 0.2% while the S&P gained 0.3% to 1694 and the Nasdaq added 0.

The Australian share market performed strongly again on Tuesday, as buying in key stocks the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and CSL Limited (CSL) ahead of their earnings results tomorrow fuelled a rally. Positive sentiment across Asia also helped while Treasury's release of its Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Outlook (PEFO) failed to inspire investors when it was released on market open.

The upcoming iOS gadget releases – from the iPhone 5S to the second-generation iPad Mini – doesn’t excite Oracle CEO Larry Ellison. He is simply convinced that without Steve Jobs, the horizon is bleak for Apple.

Canada's Capital District Health Authority in the province of Nova Scotia is about to get enmeshed in a potentially disruptive legal landmark case. A woman from Halifax is about to press charges against the health service provider after losing her breast due to a sickening hospital records mix-up.

A woman working as a poultry slaughtering worker in Boluo country in Southern China's Guangdong province has contracted the dreaded H7N9 avian influenza, prompting authorities to confirm the virus can be transmitted to humans.

The Dow fell 93 points yesterday. Gold fell $19 an ounce - closing below $1,300 an ounce.

Everything seems in order as we kick off another week of reckoning. Japan's national debt just exceeded 1 quadrillion yen for the first time as everyone celebrates the success of 'Abenomics'.

How times have changed. The front page of the Australian Financial Review says the 'RBA 'risks' house price bubble' now that it has pushed rates to a record low. They've got it wrong of course, on two counts.

The priciest house in Australia has a $60 million price tag.

By Greg PeelLast week an institutional buyer entered the spot uranium market looking for offers on one million pounds of U3O8, setting off a scrambling run on prices from their dreary depths.

By Peter Switzer, Switzer Super ReportThere is no better time of the year than September to ask the question ? is the market going up or down.

Just a few weeks ago, BlackBerry Chief Executive Thorsten Heins forecast the death of the popular tablet as he pushed for the newly launched smartphone models Q10 and Z10.