BUSINESS

The Federal Court ruled on Wednesday in favour of Metcash in its $215-billion purchase of Franklins supermarkets. The decision was a humiliating defeat for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) which opposed the takeover.

BCD Resources announced on Wednesday the closure of its 134-year-old Beaconsfield gold mine in Tasmania by June 2012. BCD Chief Executive Peter Thompson explained the planned shuttering to exhaustion of gold resources.

Research in Motion announced on Tuesday that it will launch a new security software that will bring the same security and management features found in the company's BlackBerry smartphones to Android and iOS phones and tablets.

Fair Work Australia (FWA) may likely have another tough labor dispute to handle soon following the collapse of talks between Fremantle Port workers and management. The port workers have announced a 48-hour strike beginning at dawn of Friday.

Manufacturing activity remained flat in November according to the latest Australian Industry Group - PwC Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI®). The Australian PMI® was broadly unchanged, up just 0.4 points to 47.8, to remain below the 50 points level separating expansion from contraction.

Three substantial economic developments announced in quick succession Wednesday morning, including efforts from several central banks to shore up the global financial system, prompted global stock markets to soar and sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average up by more than 400 points.

Australian Internet service company Melbourne IT (ASX: MLB) has clinched its first Philippine client to mark the start of its foray in the Southeast Asian country.

- NAB sees limited short-term upside for iron ore- Coal prices also forecast to ease through 2012- Commodity prices in general tipped to decline through 2012By Chris ShawFollowing falls to what National Australia Bank saw as oversold levels in October, bulk commodity prices have partially recovered ...

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 490 points or 4.2% (regaining 12,000) while the S&P added 4.3% to 1246 (regaining 1200) and the Nasdaq jumped 4.

By Chris ShawHeading into December, the technical analysts at Barclays Capital note the month is another very positive one for equities, following on from the bullish bias of November.

Minmetals Resources Limited (HKSE:1208) ("MMR") has appointed mining industry stalwart Anthony Larkin as an independent non-executive director of the company to further strengthen the board's project risk assessment capabilities.

Korea's Samsung had won the first legal battle against Apple Inc. as an Australian court overturns the decision disallowing the sale of the Galaxy tablet in the country on Wednesday.

In line with global trends for more environment-friendly vehicles, the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) picked on Wednesday the Ford Falcon EcoLPi as one of the best cars in the country.

Information disorder affects 40 per cent of Australian and New Zealand organizations, a report by Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) released on Wednesday said.

A deal secured by Optus with NBN Co has assured the telco of just compensation in the event the National Broadband Network project of Prime Minister Julia Gillard becomes a casualty of political wrangling in Canberra.

France's Council of State, which hears cases against decisions of the national government, has annulled the 2007 and 2008 rules of the agriculture ministry suspending the planting of genetically modified corn in the country.

The present retail environment is generally dismal, according to Harvey Norman chair Gerry Harvey, as he predicted that the Holiday season will not be too rosy for Australian sellers despite high volume of merchandise movements they’re witnessing so far.

Australian miners have sustained their investment expenditures on mining projects in the current year, according to the latest report issued by the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE).

The 74,000 employees of French IT firm Atos will no longer email each other to cut the time they spend in handling emails.

Australia Post Chief Executive Ahmed Fahour knows how to turn a problem into an opportunity. He showed his success on Tuesday when the agency he heads opened its 24/7 operations that relies heavily on delivery and pick up of parcels ordered online by Aussies.

The local share market is trading flat in early trade, following a generally upbeat session on US and European markets. After the bell on Wall Street, ratings agency Standard and Poor's downgraded the credit ratings of major US banks, sending our market down in the first hour of trade. At midday in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 4.7pts to 4172.

- UBS initiates with Buy rating on Regis Resources- Attracted to solid production growth and exploration potential- Buy ratings dominate for the stockBy Chris ShawEmerging gold producer Regis Resources ((RRL)) has assets containing resources of 6.

Giant Australian miner BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) plans to leave the diamond mining business and instead focus on long-life and expandable assets. The company said it is considering selling its diamond interests in Canada's Ekati mine and Chidliak exploration venture.

Qantas passengers again faced delays even if the unions and the air carrier's labor dispute is under arbitration with Fair Work Australia. The culprit this time was computer outage.

U.S. stocks trimmed early gains Tuesday as investors weighed worries about Europe's debt crisis with an unexpected increase in consumer confidence.

- Macquarie initiates on Alacer Gold with an Outperform rating- Strong production growth and improving valuation are likely catalysts- News flow should be positive in coming months- Buy ratings on Alacer continue to dominate stockbroker viewsBy Chris ShawAlacer Gold ((AQG)) has been among the prefer...

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 32 points or 0.3% while the S&P rose 0.2% to 1195 and the Nasdaq lost 0.

It's still a feature phone world out there. Despite rising demand for smartphones in the U.S. and Europe the rest of world is still clamoring for feature phones.

An Apple iPhone spontaneously burst into flame in a flight from Lismore to Sydney last Friday.