BUSINESS

Insurance Australia Group (IAG), the country's largest vehicle and home insurer, forecast that it would pay up to $720 million in 2012 for catastrophe reinsurance because of disasters such as floods, cyclones and bushfires that hit the country in 2011.

Qantas Airways has revealed plans of loaning significant numbers of its pilots to other international airlines, claiming that they agreed to go on unpaid leave as the national carrier implements measures to reduce its costs.

In Australia, the best-selling vehicle for 2011, according to the latest VFACTS data released on Wednesday, was Mazda 3, which experts and consumers alike praised for reliability without sacrificing the look-factor.

It was still a banner year for the mining sector of Australia in 2011 despite claims by some groups that the boom has waned. Proof of the strength of the mining sector is that while the previous year was marked by economic contraction in many countries, construction work on new resources projects in Australia went up 31 per cent for the year.

Growth of Australia's services sector has remained subdued in December with business services posting headwinds ahead of the consumer-related services offered by local firms in December, according to the latest survery conducted by the country's Australian Industry Group and the Commonwealth Bank.

US factory orders rose by 1.8pct in November, driven by aircraft and transportation orders. New orders excluding transportation rose by a more modest 0.3pct. Durable goods orders rose by 3.7pct.

Microsoft recently launched a tech support website that users could use when encountering technical problems.

Nintendo new console Wii U will reportedly have its own app store and will also double as an e-reader. The company is talking with publishers and developers to produce content for this unnamed app store.

The year 2012 will certainly bring new technologies, new gadgets and new developments in the world of information technology. In the area of computers, users could be divided into the three main types - desktop, notebook and tablet. People who are contemplating on moving from being a desktop user to being a tablet carrier would benefit from a differentiation of the three types of PCs as the technology world continues to change and evolve.

Acer founder Stan Shih has denied rumors that the company will no longer be producing tablets. Shih stepped forward to confirm that Acer is not planning on giving up on the tablet market despite low sales.

Research in Motion hopes that Rovio's Angry Birds game is enough to attract consumers to buy its PlayBook tablet but if the popular game isn't enough then RIM hopes a fire sale will draw bargain hunters to the tablet.

Research in Motion hopes that Rovio's Angry Birds game is enough to attract consumers to buy its PlayBook tablet but if the popular game isn't enough then RIM hopes a fire sale will draw bargain hunters to the tablet.

Residents and business owners in Hunter Valley reiterated its call for the New South Wales (NSW) government to ring fence the region from coal seam gas (CSG) exploration and production.

It was a copy editor's nightmare. An unnecessary apostrophe in Myer's sign spread across Australia is now the subject of lampoon in social networking sites.

The RBA's decision to cut rates on Melbourne Cup day resulted in an immediate impact on house prices with properties in Australia's capital cities recording their first price rise of the year in November.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has boosted Pepper’s overall ranking in recognition of the company’s strong performance in the sub-prime residential mortgage space.

More than a quarter of a million mortgages were sold after last year's July 1 deadline for abolishing exit fees but the ban's impact on competition remains uncertain.

Australia's four largest lenders hold almost nine out of every 10 mortgages despite the Federal Government's year-long crusade to increase competition in the home lending space.

Well happy New Year, dear reader. If you're reading this, you made it to 2012. Congratulations!

Amazon.com sold more than a million Kindle products this holiday season according to a statement released by the company on Thursday. Although the company has been vague about the exact numbers, Amazon said its three Kindle products, the Kindle Touch, the regular Kindle and its latest tablet the Kindle Fire occupied the top three spots on its bestseller list.

The Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) index showed that export commodity prices registered a decline for the fourth straight month in December by 1 per cent.

The bearish market that characterised 2011 for Australia's retail industry would likely be replicated for the first quarter of 2012. A survey by Dun & Bradstreet showed that 55 per cent of retailers expect continued slowdown of consumer demand.

Sony Corp. has slashed $100 from its Sony Tablet S in the U.S. but Australian buyers will have to wait awhile before the Tablet S will be discounted in Aussie retail stores.

A report commissioned by the Australian government found that foreigners are heavily investing in the country's agricultural companies such as those into sugar, grain and beef production. South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon warned of the impact of control of such foreign capital into Australia's food security.

This holiday season was one of the busiest for Apple's App Store. Millions of people activated their Android and Apple devices for Christmas, and their first stop was the App store for both systems. On Christmas Day alone, 242 million apps were downloaded according to market research firm Flurry.

January is typically one of the strongest months of the year for stocks. In 60 of the past 83 years, the S&P 500 has closed the year in the same direction as it finished the month of January, according to S&P Indices.

The US ISM manufacturing index improved a little more than expected, rising to a six month high of 53.9 in December from 52.7 in November.

News Corp chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch, 80, has joined the microblogging and social networking site Twitter using the verified account @rupertmurdoch.

Westpac Bank (ASX: WBC), in a filing with the Australian Stock Exchange, said that it reclassified the allocation of loan purpose between owner-occupied and investment housing to better reflect the purpose of the loan.