BUSINESS

Country music star will give away a house on each stop on his upcoming 'Brothers of the Sun' tour with Kenny Chesney.

The Galaxy SIII is all set to take full-collision course against the world's most preferred smartphone, the iPhone 4S, as Samsung simultaneously launched this week its flagship mobile phone units in key Asian and European markets.

More bad news wait Australian workers as another round of job cuts loom over employees of an insurer and the country's Foreign Affairs Department.

Local stocks are coming off the recent two day rally, despite gains on US and European share markets overnight. US stocks resumed from the long weekend holiday to gain more than one percent, while European markets recorded healthy gains thanks to cyclical stocks. Profit takers though appear to have moved in on the local share market, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 35.4pts or 0.8pct at lunchtime in the East to 4312.8.

YouTube emerged this week as the winner in a four-year legal tussle that attempted to paint the Google subsidiary as a willing party on internet practices that border on unfair competition.

A regional carrier has blamed the carbon tax for its decision to axe two routes, but no less than Prime Minister Julia Gillard belied the claim.

Gina Rinehart, the world's wealthiest woman, did not get to the top by waiting for opportunities to drop on her lap. While her father, Lang Hancock, left her several millions of dollars, she parlayed the inheritance into billions by aggressively pursuing opportunities in the mining sector through Hancock Prospecting.

Samsung Galaxy S III is the latest smartphone offering from Samsung and expectations are running high for this new smartphone. Nonetheless, Samsung coincides the launch with its own Music Hub, which is deemed to compete with Apple's iTunes.

Coles and Woolworths's battle with global food giant Heinz may have subsided, but the two Australian supermarket giants are facing another war this time. Not another price war between the two competitors, but public perception which at this time is not kind towards the use of cheap, foreign labour.

China's Ministry of Finance will impose a duty on all oil shipments entering Chinese waters beginning from July this year, said the China Daily on Tuesday.

European and Asian markets rose today on fresh speculation that China is set to ramp up stimulus spending in order to avoid a sharp economic contraction.

Hey...this is fun! The European Roller Derby.

By Rudi Filapek-VandyckAs suggested by US index futures in the Memorial Day run up to yesterday's trading session, US equities were due for a technical bounce and bounce they did in last night's session.

By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck, Editor FNArenaA recent business trip allowed for a two week visit to Canada's Vancouver with spring weather and a little bit of rain colouring my first ever experiences inside the "other" commodities country.

Asia Session: The RBA loves to play the waiting game, so why not wait until the June 17 election in Greece before cutting the OCRChris Tedder, Research Analyst FOREX.

The latest NAB Online Retail Index released on Tuesday showed that in the year to April demand for products such as household appliances and electronic device dipped 5 per cent. However, for the same period, housewives online spending grew by 20 per cent.

Home sales in the country saw an uptick in April, as shown in the new Homes Sales Report issued on Tuesday by the Housing Industry Association (HIA), but the surge could prove insufficient to ward off creeping threats of recession in the sector.

Despite a negative start, local stocks are tracking slightly higher in early trade, thanks to gains from energy and defensive stocks. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 15.3pts or 0.4pct to 4135.5.

- Industry consultant TradeTech has left its price indicators for U3O8 unchanged- TradeTech reports overall activity in the spot market is quiet- Cameco has triggered market speculation for corporate interest in Paladin EnergyBy Rudi Filapek-VandyckShares in Australia's major independent produc...

The fears of hundreds of layoffs as a result of the financial collapse of the Hastie Group moved a step closer as the company stood down on Tuesday morning 2,700 workers.

By James Stanley, Trading Instructor, FXCMIf you lived in the United States before the year 2000, the thought of yellow and orange-jacketed traders screaming at the top of their lungs across a rainbow of other-colored jackets, slips of paper flying everywhere, is probably something you associate wit...

By Rudi Filapek-VandyckUS equity and treasury markets were closed on Monday as the country enjoyed a long Memorial Day weekend.

Asia Session: Hopes of more policy easing from Beijing take the spotlight off SpainBy Chris Tedder, Research Analyst FOREX.

With billions to her name, Gina Rinehart, the world's wealthiest woman, could probably buy anything with a price tag that she fancies. Recently she increased her shareholdings in Fairfax Media to more than 13 per cent from 12.59 per cent.

Optus will soon retire a portion of its network services and hand-over some of its existing client-base to NBN Co in exchange for a deal with the federal government that could leave the telco $800 million richer.

Sugar raisers in Australia are expecting a sweet and $2.1-billion bumper harvest as growers in Tableland starts crushing cane on Monday.

Technological breakthroughs have vastly improved man's life expectancy but in the manufacturing sector the introduction of automation appears to have pushed down thousands of workers into brink of unhealthy condition.

The Australian share market is moving to recover some lost ground on the first day of the last trading week of May. The catchphrase "Sell in May and go away" appears to have rung true for investors so far this month, however solid buying is helping to support the main All Ordinaries Index (XAO) today on hopes Greece will approve its latest bail-out conditions. At lunchtime in the East, the XAO is up 21.4pts or 0.5pct to 4102.6.

An Ernst & Young study has estimated the cost of underproductivity of Australian workers at over $41 billion a year in salaries alone.