BUSINESS

Windows 8, according to a new Gartner report, essentially represents a big gamble by Microsoft and a necessary one.

The Australian share market finished lower yesterday, with the All Ordinaries Index off by 21 points to 4409.2, after big slides in commodity prices out of Asia hitting mining and energy stocks. The weakness in commodity related firms continued to impact the overseas markets. The European markets held back by concern over the Euro turn-around story and how long it will take to occur, and lower than excepted business confidence out of Germany.

After prices of coal and iron ore had dipped dramatically in the past few months, another major Australian export item is at the risk of falling commodity prices: liquefied natural gas (LNG).

By Andrew NelsonDespite a run of soft sentiment that's only worsened since the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, it still seems fairly clear that policy makers across the globe remain committed to nuclear power for the most part.

Australia's Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) just granted three local firms to export 190,000 sheep and 400 cattle indicating the resumption of the country's live export to the Middle East despite the unresolved problem over 21,000 Aussie sheep in Pakistan.

A baggage handler of Qantas caught last week a 60-centimetre crocodile at its cargo hold. The reptile escaped from its cage while mid-air on a Brisbane-Melbourne flight.

Virginia Australia is opposed to the agreement between flag carrier Qantas and Middle Eastern airline Emirates. It asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to withhold the grant of an interim authorisation until the two airlines could prove their tie-up would benefit Australian consumer.

Australian miner Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) is planning to axe jobs in the coal mines operation of Coal & Allied due to the drastic decline in prices of the commodity and the high currency.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 20 points, or 0.2%, while the S&P lost 0.2% to 1456 and the Nasdaq fell 0.

The Australian sharemarket has kicked off the new trading week in the red, with the All Ordinaries Index falling by 0.5 pct or 21.6 pts to 4409.2. Last week was a relatively uneventful one on the economic front, with a lack of market moving information released; however the XAO rose by a modest 0.5 pct over the week. On Friday, U.S equities eased a touch by 0.1 pct.

Foxconn Technology said on Monday that it will close down its Taiyuan manufacturing compound, located in the Northern Chinese province of Shanxi following a disturbance that broke out Sunday night involving the company’s factory workers.

Sichuan Airlines, majority-owned by China's provincial government of Sichuan, will now be flying direct from Chengdu to Melbourne three times a week, Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu announced during a recent trade mission to China.

After a strong close on the Australian share market on Friday, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) adding 11 points to 4, 430 points European market rallied. European index's up near 1% driven by gains in on news that Spain is heading closer to asking for an official bailout. This would be not great for global growth or the Eurozone recovery story, but at least we would know where we all stand.

Apple co-founder and tech icon Steve Wozniak has confirmed over the weekend that his application to become an Australian is now underway, reports said.

Western Australia (WA) Premier Colin Barnet warned on Sunday that the country risks losing the live sheep export trade in the Middle East unless the problem with 21,000 Aussie sheep under threat of culling in Pakistan is resolved soon.

In yet another classic example of excessive executive compensation while the rest of the nation is reeling from high prices and economic slowdown, officials of power firms in New South Wales are enjoying astronomical pay hikes while residents pay through the nose because of higher electricity rates.

The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) is proposing to impose a $1,000 fine on parents whose minor children enter pubs, clubs and bottle shops to imbibe alcoholic beverages. The current fine is $440 under the Liquor Act.

It's been a crucial two weeks. Germany's constitutional court ruled that the European bailout fund is legal. Ben Bernanke, Mario Draghi and Masaaki Shirakawa fiddled with the money supply in America, Europe and Japan. The result was impressive. Not much happened.

A US Senate committee has alleged that technology giants Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard avoided billions in US taxes over the past three years by transferring profits to offshore jurisdictions.

Starbucks Corp. has introduced its new single-serve brewer Verismo, which will be sold online this weekend for $199. The Starbucks Corp.

What does it mean? That QE3 will do nothing? Or that the market had already priced it in?

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has pledged to increase the transparency of the bank, suggesting yesterday that he was open to the idea of publishing minutes from its monetary policy meetings sooner rather than later.

The poor Republicans have their Mitt in the wringer. Everyone is ranting and raving against him. Why?

Sri Lanka's house price rises continue, as security issues get sorted out. There's no official house price data in Sri Lanka, but developers and homebuyers confirm there have been double-digit property price rises.

The Australian sharemarket ended the day a little higher for the third time this week, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rising by 0.2 pct or 11 pts to 4430.8. The defensive healthcare sector lost a little ground but all other regions of the market ended in the black. Overall however; this has been a very uneventful week for broad market movement, with the XAO gaining just 0.5 pct over the past five sessions.

The U.S.-based aircraft manufacturer said on Thursday that future roll out of its assembled planes will be designed to accommodate cellular connectivity, wireless broadband and live television feeds.

Tuesday next week is the slated U.S. debut of the trimmed down PS3 but Sony has insisted that the published prices for the new game console will stick amidst gamers’ complaints that the tags were way too pricey.

Local stocks are holding up relatively well in the early session, given a fairly subdued offshore lead. US and European investors were shaken by the weaker than expected manufacturing data out of China, however were also heartened by a successful Spanish bond auction. The Dow Jones Index finished up 0.1pct to 13596.9pts, while European shares were mostly lower. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 10.2pts or 0.2pct to 4430.

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.