BUSINESS

The Australian share market has managed to shrug off weak offshore leads and fears of a mass sell-down to start the trading day on a positive note. US and European markets slumped overnight, as uncertainty surrounds the future of the French and Dutch governments. The local share market started the trading day on a flat note, defying predictions of a 0.6pct fall and at lunchtime in the East is trading firmer by 903pts or 0.2pct to 4439.6.

Australia's retail sector remains under pressure as reflected by the third quarter results of Wesfarmers' Coles supermarket chains, which slightly moved up but exceeded the general growth forecasts earlier set by the market.

While borrowing an average of $200 a month from family and friends, Australians at the same time have toned down their demand for various types of credit.

Flag carrier Qantas is on an apparent collision course with the New South Wales (NSW) government insofar as the construction of a second Sydney airport is concerned.

By Greg PeelThe market for spot uranium seems destined to reach some sort of meeting of the minds which could result in more solid volumes, but not just yet.

FNArena has added another video to its Investors Education section on the website. The latest video explains why EUR/USD continues to have Jerry Simmons' full attention as the cross is facing key weekly resistance at 1.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 109 points or 0.8% while the S&P lost 0.8% to 1366 and the Nasdaq fell 1.

By Greg PeelBy way of its April monetary policy statement the Reserve Bank of Australia was uncharacteristically candid in basically telling the market a rate cut was on the cards for May as long as the March quarter CPI result didn't surprise to the upside.

A new announcement from Samsung, the Korean-based smartphone manufacturer revealed that the company will be unveiling the Samsung Galaxy S III. The information was first revealed through Samsung's official Twitter account stating: "Destination: tgeltaayehxnx".

The Australian share market has started the trading week on a subdued note, despite gains on US and European markets late last week. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 11.8pts or 0.3pct to 4432.6.

Markets around the world generally finished higher last week, but they didn't inspire.

Further evidence that Woolworths has lost its way could come tomorrow when rival Coles' third quarter sales figures are released by parent Wesfarmers.

It is going to be yet another busy week for markets here and offshore, even with the holiday Wednesday for Anzac Day.

Spanish universities could raise their tuition fees by as much as 50 percent this year.

Japan could lose its developed nation status and global significance by 2050.

Following an incident involving contamination of a snack on-board a Qantas flight this week, manufacturer, The Sydney Biscuit Company, has issued a media statement.

Western Australia is the best economic performer among the different states and territories in the country, the latest report of Commonwealth Securities (CommSec) released on Monday said.

Sony, the Japanese-based firm has announced its plans to release an online photo sharing service called "PlayMemories Online". The release date is targeted to be around next week.

Rumors of a mini iPad from Apple are circulating the Internet nowadays and it seems like the news and rumors for the mini iPad would not go away anytime soon.

Yesterday the Australian share market improved for the second straight day, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) finishing higher by 14.1 points to 4,441 points.

China isn't crashing, it's slowing and there's been a turnaround in sentiment (judging by the latest Bank of America/Merrill Lynch Fund Managers' Survey).

The bulls of January through March have gone a bit shy, judging by the latest results from the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Survey of Fund Managers for April.

Slowly, the shape of retailing is changing as more of the world's biggest groups abandon the 'big is best' approach in favour of smaller stores, more savvy internet offerings and a slower rate of new store openings.

The consumption of Coca-Cola Company's countless beverages in India led to a growth in its sales around the world in the Q1, where volume soared 20 percent. The growth has definitely pushed the company's earnings above what the analysts' expected, that is, to $2.05 billion, or 89 cents a share, in the quarter ended March 31, compared with 82 cents a share in the same quarter last year.

About 1.2 million people or 7 per cent of the Australian adult and teenage population were victims of credit card fraud in 2011, an Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) survey found. Their loss was equivalent to $1.4 billion.

Despite a slight improvement in business conditions in the first quarter of 2012, a National Australia Bank (NAB) survey released on Friday said that the data boosts the need for a Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) overnight cash rate cut in May.

As China's economy heads for a slow down, the Chinese central bank has promised to boost the supply of liquidity in the financial system by turning to monetary easing tools.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) Chief Executive Ian Narev announced on Thursday the bank plans to expand further to Asia, considered the world's fastest-growing region.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 68 points or 0.5% to once again fall below 13,000 while the S&P lost 0.