BUSINESS

The market responded positively with the Sundance Resources (SDL: ASX) announcement that it has accepted the lower and revised takeover offer of China's Hanlong Resources.

GM Holden has announced Monday the recall of more than 51,000 units of vehicles that the carmaker assembled and marketed in South Korea between 2007 and 2010, pinpointing faulty brake modules as the likely cause of the unprecedented move.

The global smartphone market has become more ‘exciting’ as an American jury found Samsung actually infringed on a number of patents exclusively owned by Apple, tech experts said.

In 2011, Australians lost a total of $4.8 billion to cybercriminals, according to a Norton cyber crime report released on Monday.

The Australian share market has regained some Friday´s lost ground today. On Friday night we saw the US market rallying higher on expectations the US Federal Reserve members stated they were willing to restimulate the US economy if needed and positive comment out of Asia. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) opened up 24 points higher, but by lunch had given back a bit of ground, holding on to a 15 point gain at 4,391 points.

The current price of iron ore at $100 per tonne is expected to drop further to $80 before the price would recover, experts said on Monday.

Japanese finance minister Jun Azumi has hinted that his government may renege on a deal to purchase bonds from their South Korean counterparts, reported the Wall Street Journal on Friday, after bilateral tensions erupted earlier this month following South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's visit to a group of islands claimed by Japan.

Perth residents trooped to shopping malls and other retail outlets on Sunday for the first time as Western Australia's amended Sunday trading laws took effect on Aug 26.

By Mike Kapsch, Investment U ResearchStrange happenings are afoot in the platinum market...Despite prices falling as much as 28% over the past year, investors are still betting heavily on further declines to come.

Great gobs of money continue to drain away from stock mutual funds.

Still in the Dog Days of August... and still the old dog is taking it easy... lying in the shade... panting in the heat of the day.

'Republicans eye return to gold standard' reads the headline in this morning's Financial Times.

BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) may have shelved expansion plans at the Olympic Dam, but the mining giant is still on an expansion mode in other areas of operations. BHP Chief Executive Marius Kloppers disclosed on Sunday that the company will boost its coal output in Queensland by 50 per cent by hiking production at 10 per cent for the next two years.

Despite the recent floods, an extraordinary change of mood has gripped the Philippines, the sense of a new beginning.

The Australian sharemarket maintained its losses throughout the afternoon, to end lower for the third time this week. Despite the pullback, the local market has still improved for seven of the past nine trading weeks. Shares have jumped by 2 pct so far this month and are adding to July's 3.7 pct gains.

Apple’s iPad has provided much of the leg for the global tablet market to march through incredible growth in the June 2012 quarter, gaining 77 per cent from the overall shipments of the gadget over the past 12 months.

Minister for Resources Martin Ferguson belied on Friday speculations that Australia's mining boom is coming to an end. While recent decisions by resource companies indicate a slowdown based on shelving or cancellation of multibillion-dollar projects, there are many ongoing ventures as well as newly approved applications that show the sector is still robust.

The Australian sharemarket is losing ground following yesterday's modest improvement. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 0.8 pct or 37.3 pts to 4374.5.

Following a quiet summer, gold has just risen to four-month highs. BullionVault founder Paul Tustain puts the action in context.

Gina Rinehart is having her sweet revenge on the Fairfax Media board, which rejected her bid to become director, by attempting to dump her shares of the financially challenged company.

By Peter Switzer, Switzer Super ReportNot surprisingly, we've seen a bit of cautious negativity on stock markets this week with the Dow Jones off three days on a trot.

Have we told you how much we love Argentina? It's a dream... at least for an economist with an 'I-told-you-so' bent and a sense of mischief. For everyone else, it is a nightmare.

What central banks are intervening in the market to support the Australian dollar, and what does it mean for gold?

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 115 points or 0.9% while the S&P lost 0.8% to 1403 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.7%.

Following a slight pullback yesterday, the Australian sharemarket managed to improve for the second time this week. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose by 0.2 pct or 8.5 pts to 4411.8. The index is one of the most popular ways to measure market performance on the local sharemarket.

South Korea tech giant Samsung recently opened its electronics store in Sydney that bears resemblance to the Apple Store a few blocks away.

After a restless session on overseas markets the Aussie market opened higher this morning. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) lifted at the start of trade, helped by gains in mining and banking stocks, up 24 points. But by lunch the market had reacted to the weaker than expected read on Chinese manufacturing and lost momentum with the All Ordinaries Index only holding on to a 1 point gain.

The Asian Development Bank announced on Thursday the signing of a road transport agreement between China and Vietnam which opened a 1,300-kilometre road that links the two Asian nations.

Westpac Bank, one of the big four which used to defy Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) overnight cash rate policies, is recommending more interest rate cuts to boost the Australian economy.