BUSINESS

Suncorp Group, Australia's biggest general insurer, aims to increase its insurance margin by three percentage points next in the next financial year and double its profit in New Zealand over the next three years.

Just when you thought it was safe to trade in your cash and credit cards for Google Wallet, PayPal and eBay launch a lawsuit to stop Google in its tracks. A day after Google launched its new mobile e-payment service, PayPal and eBay filed a lawsuit alleging that Google's new payment service was the result of some shady corporate dealings.

A recent survey discloses that the Australian new home sales show indication of falling to levels during the global financial crisis as it currently appears flat.

ING Direct is reducing the variable interest rate on its 100 per cent offset home loan product, Orange Advantage, by 0.10 per cent p.a. from today 30 May 2011 amid toughening competition among Australian lenders.

Fact can indeed be stranger than fiction.

Any hope for a steady recovery of the U.S. economy is heavily dependent upon U.S. consumers to support future growth, given that consumer expenditures account for more than 60% of GDP.

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. has resumed the G650 flight-test program, following a temporary suspension of flying after an April 2 accident. The first flight since the accident took place May 28, with Serial Number 6001 flying for 1 hour and 39 minutes. The crew included senior experimental test pilots Jake Howard and Tom Horne and Flight Test Engineer Bill Osborne.

UK-based navigation and positioning solutions company Veripos will open a branch office in Perth to provide sales and support for both Australia and New Zealand.

Investors in Australia have become increasingly bearish about the prospects for investment returns from Australian equities.

Engineering conglomerate Ausenco Ltd (ASX Code: AAX) had secured another contract with Beadell Resources Ltd (ASX: BDR) to manage the $75 million processing plant delivery at the Tucano gold project in Brazil.

In the decade since Microsoft announced Software Assurance, many customers have found it cheaper to skip upgrades rather than pay up front for the rights to them. Essentially, the licensing program does the opposite of its design.

Twitter's acquisition of TweetDeck was finally made official this week. Twitter will buy the popular feed organizer for $40 million US dollars. The move has users in a twitter if their beloved third-party client could be stripped clean by Twitter.

Golden Circle, a subsidiary of US-based Heinz Corporation, based in Brisbane, Queensland, has sacked 350 workers, causing a major blow to food production and food processing in Australia.

Westpac (ASX: WBC) has now assured there had been no compromise of its security or systems.

A number of credit card numbers were cancelled by the Commonwealth Bank and Westpac in fear that they might have been compromised and opened to fraudulent activities.

Trolley thieves beware. Woolworth has launched a new mobile application that will allow people to report a lost trolley via GPS. The retail store giant hopes this move will reduce the $50 million lost every year in trolley collection and replacement costs.

Australia’s financial advice and wealth management industry accounts a friendly merger between the Snowball Group and the Shadforth Financial Group.

Alice Springs Airport or ASA is delegated to be the first aircraft "boneyard" outside the United States after a deal for the construction and operation of the facility was concluded with a storage company this week.

Forget the US markets and wonder about China's and the very nasty 5%-plus fall in the Shanghai Composite last week, a fall that seems to have gone unnoticed outside the country.

The Australian stock market recovered from early softness on Friday to end the week higher, as bargain hunters moved in to recover value in a heavily sold-down bourse.

US personal income rose by 0.4pct in April, in line with consensus. Personal spending was also up 0.4pct, slightly below the expected 0.5pct increase. The final reading for consumer sentiment in May was 74.3, up from 72.4 in April. But pending home sales slumped by 11.6pct, well short of forecasts of a 1.4pct fall.

The Australian sharemarket is holding onto modest gains, with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) up 0.4 pct or 17.8 pts to 4752.9. All sectors are trading higher, with the healthcare sector leading the way in percentage terms.

Xcel Energy announced today it has launched its first-ever iPhone application called "Bulb Blasters," a game with a mission to conquer energy inefficiency.

Qantas pilots have reiterated that their dispute with current Qantas (ASX: QAN) management has nothing to do with pay and conditions.

Choice, an advocate of consumer rights in Australia, submitted a report to the Productivity Commission's retail inquiry and demanded that Australian retailers should explain and justify the astounding mark-ups of a minimum of 50 percent over the international internet companies' prices.

Mercer Investment Consulting, Inc. (Mercer) announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Milliman, Inc., to acquire portions of its wholly-owned investment consulting subsidiary, Evaluation Associates LLC. In a related transaction, Callan Associates Inc. will acquire from Evaluation Associates its public sector investment consulting business.

Google finally unveiled its long-awaited mobile payment application the Google Wallet this Thursday. After months of hinting at the application, customers were at last introduced to the mobile application that will allow users to "tap, pay and save" for goods and services.

Year-to-date cash contributions through April 2011 to equity and mixed funds globally surpassed fixed income for the first time since the financial crisis, according to Strategic Insight's monthly global flow review.

The Aussie pushed higher overnight and is now approaching the top of the bullish descending wedge. From here, traders will be looking for a move back to the lower end of the wedge and therefore will be looking for signs of a reversal around the 1.0640/60 level. Any break above 1.0660 is likely to be seen as buyable.