BUSINESS

The Australian sharemarket is off to a positive start for the second consecutive session, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 0.2 per cent or 8.1 pts to 4753.8. Global markets overnight ended mostly higher, with the Dow up 0.14 per cent, while shares in Germany and France also improved modestly.

The new Sony Xperia Z packs all the right elements to deliver joy for the Japanese firm, long searching for a hero phone that will measure up with the mighty iPhone and Galaxy smartphones from Apple and Samsung, respectively.

There are hundreds of thousands of application that can be downloaded from Google Play and iTunes for their respective devices. Before, most of these applications are exclusive to either Android or iOS, but now, developers have optimised their applications to make them usable to both OS platforms, increasing their target market users.

The GooPhone is the Chinese nemesis of Apple because their products resemble iOS devices. If the Apple has iPhone 5, they have GooPhone i5.

Technology giant Samsung is slapped with legal charges from another big company, LG Display. According to Dow Jones Newswires, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10.1 OLED screen display violated LG patents which resulted to the conflict between the two Korean companies.

By Andrew NelsonAs the old curse goes; may you live in interesting times. And for the uranium market, last year contained surely some interesting times.

By Alexander Green, Investment U Chief Investment StrategistFriday, January 11, 2013: Issue #1946A powerful new bull market in stocks is just beginning to take off.

Someday, someone will fund an academic study identifying the crevice in the human brain that craves year-end predictions for the coming 12 months. Wherever it resides, it is undeniably strong and far more prevalent among the populace than the craving for news about, say, the 'fiscal cliff' or the New York Jets' quarterback saga.

iPhone's steady hold on the smartphone market is growing weaker as months go by in the never-ending battle against Android mobile devices. The signs of weakness begin to show as Apple cut the orders of screens and other components by 50 per cent.

Jacob Lew has been nominated to be the next Treasury Secretary of the United States. Mr Lew is an Obama Administration loyalist and insider, and is committed to the President's strategy of taxing his way out of America's $16.4 trillion deficit.

Based on his interests, eight-division title holder and Filipino boxing champion has seven likely career options once he retires from the ring. These are as politician, soldier, singer, emcee, actor, pastor and commercial endorser.

A $116 billion stimulus package has been approved as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is trying to get the Japan's economy back on track after the dark times. The steps introduced by the Japanese government are aimed at forcing economic growth.

Ford to Add 2.200 Salaried Jobs in US as Demand for New Cars Increases

A hair removal method that allows people to wear the tiniest bikini bottoms sans peeking pubic hair or unsightly leg hair is to be blamed for public lice becoming endangered species.

While Australian miners are happy with the strengthening of iron ore prices in the global market, their glee may be short lived. Reports said that in response to iron ore price rising to $158.50 a tonne from a low of $86 in 2012 has prompted Chinese steelmakers to prefer domestic supplies.

By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck, Editor FNArenaThe S&P500 closed at 1470.68, down 1.37 points, while the Dow Industrials closed at 13507.

By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck, Editor FNArenaA few years ago I spent my December holidays traveling through Zimbabwe, to study a widely unknown economy recovering from a decade of hyperinflation.

Local stocks edged higher in a session that delivered few insights, although the overarching tone for markets appears reasonably constructive. At face value it appears as though the main risk would be skewed towards investors being underweight (local) stocks as prices grind higher. This view will be put to the test later in the week with several key data releases locally and elsewhere, in addition to the 2nd week of the US reporting season and a Bernanke speech, all of which could have a durable...

Effective March 15, 2013, Microsoft will no longer be using Windows Live Messenger and instead advised users to log in using Skype.

Australian gambling critics are up on their toes after a virtual poker machine game has been named as the country's highest-grossing phone and tablet app.

Fans would have more reasons to snap up the Galaxy S3 Mini, following reports from Samsung operations in France that the smaller version of the hugely popular Galaxy S3 now comes in six colour variants.

An independent review that looked into cycling in Australia has urged to its governing body to implement stricter anti-doping testings in the wake of scandals that marred the sector in 2012, also relatively linked to those of U.S. cyclist rider Lance Armstrong.

The strengthening price of iron ore in the global market which resulted in share prices of three major mining companies go up has led to speculations that Australia's mining boom may be making a comeback.

Nexus 4 is almost the ultimate handset ladled by Google and LG into a mouth-watering single-plate serving. It is a beauty and a brute that is easy on the pocket, nudging the handset to phenomenal global acceptance barely two months after its debut on the Google Play store.

By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck, Editor FNArenaI joined Twitter. Not because I am curious what this celebrity has to say about her kids, or to read that another one is waiting for a connecting flight, impatiently.

By Peter Switzer, Switzer Super ReportBob Doll used to be chief equity strategist at BlackRock, the biggest fund manager in the world but now is at Nuveen Asset Management.

The Australian sharemarket has kicked off the week in positive territory, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 0.2 per cent or 10.6 pts to 4744.4 at lunch. Japanese markets are closed today for Coming of Age Day; a day which celebrates those in Japan turning 20. Mixed performances from global markets last week, with shares in the U.S (Dow) up 0.4 per cent, Australia's ASX200 slipped by 0.38 per cent while French and German shares slipped by 0.5 per cent.

Smartphones will only get bigger in the next few years because consumers are embracing the trend, Samsung said, hinting too that its current success rides high on the level of satisfaction the company delivers to global gadget users.

Dropbox for Android released an update to make sharing of photo or collection of photos easier. The feature allows the user to create new album from any image within the Dropbox and share it throughout the Android intents system. Dropbox can now share folders or individual pictures inside to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Gmail, and more.