BUSINESS

Google continues its latest campaign of retiring products and services that the tech giant admitted failed to deliver the desired results, company officials said.

The details of the $100-million pay-off between the Greens and the Labor government in exchange for the former's support of the mining tax are no longer secret.

Qantas's brand was damaged more by the strikes than the shutdown of the fleet by its chief executive, former Qantas Chief Executive Geoff Dixon said on Wednesday.

Markets were rattled yesterday by the news that Chinese manufacturing activity contracted sharply this month to a 32-month low.

Property developer Stockland says it's still on track to match 2010-11 earnings per share figures, despite a slow start to the current financial year.

Global and Chinese crude steel production slowed in October to their lowest levels in 10 months, figures from the World Steel Association this week confirmed.

U.S. stocks tumbled Wednesday as surprisingly poor demand at a German government-bond auction and weak Chinese data weighed on investor sentiment.

By Kathleen Brooks, Research Director UK EMEA, FOREX.comNo one was expecting Germany to be the biggest loser today, especially since the Eurozone crisis has caused investors to flock to the safety of German bunds in recent months causing 10-year bond yields to drop to record lows.

Homeloans expects to fund as much as 25% of new business through its recently launched Accelerate product.

From Stan Shamu, Markets Strategist, IG MarketsGlobal markets extended their losses overnight on deepening concerns about the European debt crisis, after a poorly-received German debt sale. Germany failed to find buyers for 35% of the bonds it offered at an auction. There was also a swathe of disappointing economic data, with European services and manufacturing output shrinking for a third month, US durable goods orders falling and unemployment claims topping forecasts.

By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 236 points or 2.1% while the S&P lost 2.2% to 1161 and the Nasdaq dropped 2.4%.

TV reality sensation Kim Kardashian has signified interest to purchase property in Dubai after her recent visit to the UAE with mom Kris Jenner. Will it be a good investment for Kim? Ibtimes.com.au tries to scrutinize the property investment scenario for the Kardashians in Dubai.

While the Australian Industry Group (AiG) recognizes the importance of road safety, the group opposes the planned establishment of a Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal.

Australian supermarket operators Coles and Woolworths have recently added home brands to their shelves, which elicited negative comments from global food manufacturer Heinz and other branded food producers.

Oil and gas field service provider Titan Energy (ASX: TTN) is going public by listing in the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) on Dec 7. The company hopes to raise $5.45 million capital by issuing 5 million shares at $1 per ordinary share.

Sony’s latest attempt of regaining its market edge in the gaming industry, the PlayStation Vita, will hit Australian shelves on February 2012 but the giant consumer electronics firm said that pre-orders for the upcoming release is now accommodated.

Queensland mines are poaching workers from the banking and retail sectors in a bid to fill up vacancies in the state's thriving mining industry.

Aussie business owners' dissatisfaction with the Federal Government has soared to a three year high with the majority of Aussie SMEs (56%) now dissatisfied, up from 31% in August 2010. This is the highest dissatisfaction level recorded by the Business Monitor since June 2008, accprding to the latest research from the MYOB Business Monitor Special Report released on Wednesday.

Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce and some aviation experts are of the opinion that Fair Work Australia (FWA) would rule in favour of the air carrier to settle the industrial dispute with unions.

- Monadelphous delivers positive AGM commentary- Brokers lift earnings estimates and price targets- Valuation keeps broker opinions dividedBy Chris ShawTough operating conditions mean an acceleration in revenue growth is not common among ASX listed stocks at present.

Oracle officials have accused HP of secretly contacting Intel to keep making Itanium processors so that HP can maintain the appearance that the dead microprocessor is still alive.

The $11-billion Mineral Resource Rental Tax (MRRT) was passed Wednesday morning because of the Labor government's $100 million pay-off deal with the Greens.

Advanced Micro Devices was hoping that it's recently launched Bulldozer server processors would pull AMD out of its downward spiral against arch-rival Intel. Bulldozer has a new microstructure, a complete redesign of the original Opteron chip and the first chip to be manufactured with 16 cores. It also represented AMD's best hope of regaining its lost market share.

Graphics chipset designer S3 Graphics, a subsidiary of smartphone maker HTC lost a patent infringement suit against Apple Inc.

In Australia, construction work done is released. In the US, durable goods orders and personal income/spending data are released.

FNArena has added another video to its Investors Education section on the website. This may seem odd in a week wherein the Risk Off trade is the clear dominant factor, but ATW's Jerry Simmons actually has a bullish underlying view on the Aussie dollar.

By Kathleen Brooks, Research Director UK EMEA, FOREX.comIt's a sea of green in stock markets today; however the macro situation remains as bad as ever.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 53 points or 0.5% while the S&P lost 0.4% to 1188 and the Nasdaq was steady.

Global alternative investment management firm MR Capital Management Ltd. is focusing its funds to the Asian economies in a major shift of its traditional portfolio because of the improved industrial activities in Asia and the obvious growth slowdown in developed countries of the west.