BUSINESS

Google just got spurned by Apple, once again. The latter has previously dropped Google Maps from its upcoming iOS 6.

Despite the absence of a typhoon, monsoon rains which dumped 300 millimetres (12 inches) of rain in the Philippine national capital region (NCR) caused half of Metro Manila to be flooded. The amount is thrice the daily average of 80 to 100 mm of rain, the Philippine weather bureau said.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 51 points or 0.4% while the S&P gained 0.5% to 1401 and the Nasdaq added 0.

Local stocks hit a fresh three month high today as a further stabilisation of the European debt crisis supported resource and financial stocks. Trading volumes remained thin however, on the back of yesterday's Bank Holiday in NSW and the ACT, and with many traders attending the annual Diggers & Dealers mining conference in Western Australia. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose by 18.5pts or 0.4pct to finish the day's trade at 4311.4.

With the opening of another Melbourne store set for late 2013, the retailing giant Costco's commitment to using local Australian produce will see a demand for additional new suppliers.

Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc., creator of the well-loved giant panda and its martial arts friends in "Kung Fu Panda," together with its Chinese joint venture Oriental Dreamworks, is poised to invest some $3.1 billion to create a theme park in Shanghai which it expects to launch in 2016.

The presumption is that the ECB could have whatever it takes if only the Germans would agree to give it to them. But that presumes the Germans have it. In other words, Europe's problem - it is widely believed - is a political problem. If only the Germans would get on board, all would be well.

Despite the lack of a storm signal, torrential rains since Monday flooded parts of the Philippines, especially the national capital region (NCR). Hard hit by the heavy rains is Metro Manila where some parts are several metres deep in flood water.

On Monday the Australian share market kick started the trading week on a positive note with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 49.7points, finishing at a new 12 week high.

Note from the Editor: Due to an error, a story was yesterday published on the FNArena website, titled "Lamp Going Out For Lynas?".

Higher demand from its Asian market has helped pushed sales of Prada Spa by as much as 37 per cent in the first six months of 2012.

Samsung is definitely riding high on the rousing success of its Galaxy smartphone lines following the June quarter but analysts were convinced that Apple will mount an incredible surge in late 2012 through much of 2013.

One giant PC maker has spoken – Microsoft’s decision to sell its own tablet line, the Surface, will surely damage the whole Windows ecosystem.

With most of the second-quarter central bank meetings and bank results reporting concluded, we are looking at a relatively slow week ahead.

By Alexander Green, Investment U Chief Investment StrategistThe Wall Street Journal made an interesting observation recently, "Treasury bonds are priced for the end of the world.

Retailer Harvey Norman warned on Monday of a 40 per cent decline in the company's profit due to hefty discounts. The firm estimated pre-tax profit for the year to June at $227 million, down from the previous financial year's $373 million.

Gina Rinehart, Australia's richest woman, has not given up her bid to gain a seat in Fairfax Media's board despite being rejected by the company. This time she has used a different tactic to gain a board seat by writing directly to retail investors.

By Andrew NelsonAccording to reports in The Australian over the weekend, BHP Billiton ((BHP)) is rumored to have told consultants it will be delaying its decision on the U$30bn the Olympic Dam expansion for at least two years.

Silver Lake Resources will purchase for $426 million another Western Australia gold miner, Integra Mining, in the process creating one of the country's largest producer of the yellow metal.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 21 points or 0.2% while the S&P gained 0.2% to 1394 and the Nasdaq added a more confident 0.

Local stocks had a strong start to the trading week, albeit on very low volumes as many traders took advantage of the NSW/ACT Bank Holiday. Positive jobs numbers out of the US helped boost sentiment while many also bought into stocks ahead of the upcoming reporting season, which starts tomorrow. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) added 49.9pts or 1.2pct by close to finish at a level of 4292.9.

Microsoft belatedly learned that ‘Metro’ has been prior registered to a different entity and therefore cannot be used with the tech giant’s marketing of the upcoming Windows 8, reports said.

Electronic Arts filed a lawsuit against Zynga, developer of viral Ville-brand social media games, for allegedly copying EA’s game “The Sims Social.”

The Australian share market has kick started the trading week on a positive note, thanks to strong jobs numbers out of the US on Friday. 163,000 jobs were created in the US economy in July, above expectations. The jobs numbers saw European shares hit a four month high on Friday night, while US stocks were also propelled. Locally, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 49.7pts or 1.2pct at lunchtime in the East to 4292.7pts.

An Ecuadorian court ordered on Sunday oil and gas giant Chevron to pay $19 billion fine for polluting the Amazon province of Sucumbios. Court Attorney Juan Pablo Saenz warned Chevron of oil embargoes if Chevron would not comply with the court fine.

By Marc Lichtenfeld, Investment U Senior AnalystThis weekend, I met the father of one of my daughter's friends.

The $3.15 billion writedowns in BHP Billiton's (ASX: BHP) shale gas and nickel operations which caused the firm's chief executive to forego his bonus may not be the last for the mining giant.

By Greg PeelAs recent FNArena articles on the subject of the rare earth metals space have noted, the global race to compete with China on rare earth element (REE) production has now come down to a mere handful of names including two stand-outs, and a big chunk of daylight to third.

Disappointment was the theme of the trading day, after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi last night missed his opportunity to become Super Mario. Despite bold commentary late last week, the ECB took no firm action to inject more stimulus into the global economy. The ECB instead left its refi rate unchanged at 0.75pct, with the Bank of England also leaving rates on hold at 0.5pct. The disappointment caused US and European investors to sell out of equities last night and the same occurred h...