BUSINESS

BKI Investment Company Ltd (the old Brickworks Investment Co) yesterday revealed a 5.2% lift thanks to higher dividends from its half a billion or so dollars of listed investments.

On the eve of releasing what are expected to be average second quarter and first half sales figures, Woolworths Ltd has revealed three new directors, two of whom have considerable retailing success stories, though from different sides of the aisles.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 6 points while the S&P lost 0.3% to 1313 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.2%.Well blow me down.

-- Likelihood of an early recovery in NEC's financial soundness has receded, due to a slowdown in profit improvements as well as costly structural reforms.

Tech companies have earlier forged an informal agreement that allows them to cap employee's salary through an invisible protocol that prohibits the hiring of workers still on active roll of each firm, reports said.

The Euro crisis has spawned grave fears among Australian companies that many are too cautious to gamble on expansion and generate more jobs in the process.

A survey for the Financial Services Council found that middle-age white-collar male workers in Australia with average salaries of $70,000 are frequent victims of age discrimination.

The past year proved as the year that Apple and Samsung intensified their rivalry, while former mobile phone leader Nokia further slid down and continue struggling, reports said.

The Year of the Dragon Lunar New Year holiday not only ushered a new and magnificent year for China but also gave a new record gold buying among the Chinese.

Australia's 5.2 per cent unemployment rate for December 2011 could grow further based on survey results that majority of top listed Aussie firms have no plans to hire new workers in the next 12 months.

While the average anxiety level among 700 banks across the world was at 3.15, Australian banks recorded an even higher anxiety level of 3.28 out of a maximum of 5.

The weak housing market in Australia and the pressure on the east coast economy has resulted in home loan customers taking longer than expected to pay off their mortgages. This has added to the pressure being felt by Australian banks which have to pay more for longer-term funding.

Goldman Sachs is the bank everyone loves to hate. In the first of our two-part investigation into the bank, we ask why they emerged as the biggest winners in the financial crisis.

By Peter Switzer, Switzer Super Report27 January 2012Okay, the stock market has been nice to investors since October with Wall Street up over 20% and we have put on more than 10%, but the critical question is can it last?An even more interesting question is: can Aussie stocks surge over 40% as one v...

Indian manufacturer Mahindra will make its first venture into Australia's passenger vehicle market in 2012 when it launches the XUV500. The seven-seat SUV joins the Mahindra Pik-Up, which will continue in its single and dual cab chassis and cargo body styles.

Australia's national road toll last year fell to its lowest level since 1946.

While equities had another good week in most markets (Europe fell for the first time in four weeks), the real stars were commodities with gold and copper notching up good gains as 'risk on' returned to fashion among investors and speculators.

The US economy's performance in the December quarter and 2011 underlined the performance of much of the global economy: warm in places, cool in others.

The health of the world's manufacturing sector will again be tested this week by the monthly surveys of activity across Asia (led by China), Europe and the US.

Investors in Australia remain sceptical about the outlook for equities this year, despite the share market enjoying its best opening month for the new calendar year since 2001 when the All Ords started the new year with a gain of near 5%.

By Jamie Saettele, CMT FXCMSince the top on the second day of the year, crude is quietly making lower lows and lower highs.

Tonight we will get a further sign that the US economy is doing better than even the country's central bank seems to think, judging by its post meeting statement this week and comments by chairman Bern Bernanke.

Australian inflation is easing, interest cuts are on the cards for the Reserve Bank and despite much of the gloomy comments about the local economy; things are not all that bad.

For Australia, the most important global indicator isn't the prices of copper, gold or oil, or even Chinese GDP.

US durables orders rose by larger than expected 3pct in December. Durables orders excluding defence and aircraft orders - a close proxy for business spending - rose by 2.9pct.

The Victorian State Government has been heavily criticised for offering a grant to Singapore-based Olam International Limited for helping build its proposed "state-of-the-art" almond processing plant in Victoria.

Property research firm www.globalpropertyguide.com investigated on the property development in Japan almost a year after the devastating earthquake.The Tohoku Earthquake of March 2011 had a not entirely surprising effect - the Japanese are now more nervous of condos, and their prices have fallen sharply.

Property research firm, www.globalpropertyguide.com has featured the possibilities of investing in the thriving property market of Seychelles. Blessed by nature, the Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands with superb beaches, an unspoiled landscape, virgin forest, amazing marine life, lots of orchids, bougainvilleas, hibiscuses, gardenias and frangipani, and a profusion of bird species found nowhere else. It is 1,600 km off the coast of East Africa, with a population of only 81,000.

Research in Motion's game plan for the rest of the year was leaked online. The roadmap for the next 15 months reveals that RIM will launch new products later in the year culminating the first BlackBerry device running the new operating system in the latter half of 2012.