BUSINESS

The United States government grants tax incentives to companies working on medical breakthroughs, urban redevelopment and alternatives to fossil fuels, the results of which could improve lives worldwide. However, the US government also grants tax breaks for the video game industry. Tax analysts are asking, “Why?” In a country that provides tax breaks for a company that created a video game about killing space zombies, tax analysts are baffled, to say the least.

In an act that could be classified as part of a larger global legal war between Apple and Samsung, a German court banned Korean firm Samsung from selling an iPad-like computer tablet in Germany, ruling it had emulated the iPad.

Coca Cola pursues alternative fuel vehicles through the launch of the latest e-trucks to reduce costs and promote a cleaner environment.

Target plans to open 50 small- sized stores called Urban by Target in next four years to increase sales.

The high-end smartphone market has attracted device makers due to its high margins and skyrocketing demand. With tens of smartphone models available today, who will emerge the winner if we send each handset to a contest where their beauty and talent will be judged?

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said on Monday that it would observe closely the moves of supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths, particularly if the two would try to purchase Franklins or other independent grocers.

Weak signals emitted by the general condition in Australia’s retail industry did not prevent key players from achieving higher margins in fiscal year 2011 and the good news is, better quarters are ahead for the sector, according to a new study.

YouTube co-founders Steve Chen and Chad Hurley have another project in the works, a new revamped version of the social bookmarking site Delicious.

- What exactly is a credit rating?- How do relative sovereign ratings stack up?- Should the UK not be the next downgrade contender?By Greg PeelIt is interesting to note the new state government of NSW has now budgeted for a fiscal deficit, part of which will be funded by the issue of infrastructure ...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered on Sunday the closure of the Yakolev-42 chartered plane that crashed Wednesday that caused the death of 43 people, including almost all of the country's national hockey team members, AFP reports.

By Justin Dove, Investment U ResearchCobalt has been used as a pigment in glass and porcelain for centuries.

The Australian Dollar has opened up this morning at 1.0438, as the weakness on international equity markets spreads, after attention was again focussed on the woes of the Eurozone on Friday.

A strike contagion is apparently spreading in Australia's labor sector. Days after thousands of public workers in New South Wales walked off their job over a state pay cap, coal miners of BHP Billiton resumed their job walk off on Saturday over pay and work condition disputes with management.

US wholesale inventories rose by 0.8pct in July, slightly above forecasts, and compared with a 0.6pct rise in June. Meanwhile China´s trade surplus narrowed to US$17.8bn with imports up 30.2pct on a year earlier with exports up 24.5pct.

U.S. stocks closed sharply lower due to fresh worries of a Greek default, the surprise resignation of a European Central Bank executive board member and concerns about President Barack Obama's jobs plan.

Loan Market has seen a 17% year-on-year spike in mortgage commitments for August, the company has stated.

Brokers have been urged to gain control over the customer supply channel in competition with the banks, by adding value to the service they provide their client rather than just processing loans.

Australia has seen a slight rise in unemployment, which could put pressure on the RBA to cut rates.

It's been a week where the contrasts between the weak economies of Europe and the US have again been underlined (to Australia's benefit) by confidence-sapping financial problems.

Reports that France's three major banks are about to see their credit ratings cut this week will make for a rough volatile start to trading this week after the surprisingly nasty sell-off on Friday that saw markets across Europe and the US slump.

What was looking to be a quieter week in business and finance will now be noisier and more fraught thanks to the outbreak of tension and volatility on Friday.

While markets took a hit late last week from another upsurge in fears about the euro and especially Greece, the August economic report from China was reassuringly benign.

Minecraft 1.8, the latest adventure update to the hugely popular sandbox building indie video game written in Java by Swedish creator Markus "Notch" Persson, has been leaked.

Microsoft Corp. will host a conference this week where Windows 8 and other new products are expected to be unveiled. But there are things we'd love to see at the event but won't.

Rumors of the iPhone 5 should be over in just a few weeks. An internal memo from U.S. carrier Sprint says that employees can't take time-off during Sept. 30 to Oct. 15 due to a major phone release. The memo backs rumors that Apple Inc.'s long delayed but highly anticipated iPhone 5 will be released in early October.

Outages are occurring too often. Up to 365 million users of Microsoft Corp.'s e-mail and cloud services worldwide were scratching their heads at the end of the week: Hotmail, Skydrive, Office 365, and others Windows Live service were inaccessible. Though service was restored in a couple of hours for most, the downtime was the second in 30 days.

Australia is pushing for a comprehensive reform package to the Australian shipping industry to allow it to be more internationally competitive, according to Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese.

Nexteer Australia has received government funding of $63 million to help develop and manufacture its innovative lightweight technology and create more than 250 jobs in Australia.

Ferrier Hodgson, an accounting firm specializing in insolvency, has been appointed as receiver of Solar Shop Australia Pty Ltd., Australia's largest provider of solar PV systems, a move that has shaken and disappointed the solar industry.