BUSINESS

The A380 Rolls-Royce engine incident and fleet grounding had cost Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) an estimated $80 million, with $55 million in the first half and $25 million forecast in the second half.

Virgin Blue (ASX: VGA) is raising the fuel surcharge on tickets and baggage charges in an effort to recover rising fuel costs.

Telstra Corporation’s decision on Wednesday to shut down its Moe call centre will render 114 workers out of job, leaving Latrobe Valley executives in doubt whether the soon-to-be separated employees will find replacement works within Telstra, as pledged by the telco yesterday.

Windows-powered Nokia handsets will enter the mobile industry by 2012, according to the Finnish company’s board chair, who added that more partnerships are being worked on by the phone maker besides the already sealed deals with Google and Microsoft.

Pursuant to its aim of delivering wireless services to parts of Australia yet to be reached by fibre-optics network, the National Broadband Network Company (NBN Co) inked a million-dollar deal with satellite television provider Austar.

Along with the emerging trend of traditional publications migrating to the burgeoning iPad platform, Apple has implemented its new system of automatically getting a 30 percent cut on new subscriptions availed through its publication services.

So what's BHP Billiton's outlook on the world economy and commodity markets.The upshot is that the company is more confident than it was a year or six months ago, but cost pressures remain a concern.Here's what it said in yesterday's profit announcement."Industry wide cost pressures are being experienced across a broad range of projects and reflect stronger producer currencies, particularly in Australia, as well as underlying inflation on raw material and labour costs."Inflationary pressure on input costs across all businesses had an unfavourable impact on Underlying EBIT of US$283 million. The effect was most evident in Australia and South Africa.

- Ardent's result provides a big positive surprise- Share price jumps but yield still attractive- Analysts see more upsideBy Greg PeelIt was back in November when Ardent Leisure ((AAD)), operator of theme parks, bowling alleys, marinas, health clubs and family entertainment centres here and in the US, posted its first quarter FY11 update. Stock analysts saw some very positive signs emerging at the...

National carrier Qantas Airways saw its first-half profit for fiscal 2011 soaring by more than 400 percent and declared in a statement released on Thursday that it anticipates underlying earnings for the rest of the year to reach a materially higher level.

The AUD is back above parity against theUSD this morning after a brief pullback during yesterday's session.

The Australian Dollar dropped to 0.9970 against the US Dollar paring earlier gains in Asia when ratings agency Moody's said it had placed the nation's four largest banks on review for possible downgrade.

Investors pushed the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index to about double off its financial crisis low as a fresh geopolitical worry weighed against an encouraging package of corporate earnings and takeover news.

US producer prices rose by 0.8pct in January - in line with consensus. Over the year producer prices were up 3.6 per cent.

- Cardno's interim earnings turned out better than expected- US operations drove the result- Stockbrokers have responded by lifting earnings forecasts and price targets By Chris ShawConsulting engineering group Cardno ((CDD)) had guided to interim earnings in a range of $29-$31 million but the company exceeded its own guidance, delivering a profit of $31.7 million for the six months to the end of ...

- One Saudi oil expert doesn't believe predictions of oil priced at US$200/bbl are realistic- He suggests investors should focus on alternative fuels, which will only become more important- Natural Gas is one such alternative by David Fessler, Investment U’s Energy and Infrastructure SpecialistTuesday, February 8, 2011Hogwash.That’s one man’s verdict on the chance of seeing oil p...

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 61 points or 0.5% while the S&P rose 0.6% to 1336, pushing through the 100% rally mark, and the Nasdaq added 0.8%.Last night's geopolitical news was that of Iran's intentions to sail two warships through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean to visit close ally Syria. The reason provided was training exercises for new cadets who will be charged with the task of pr...

Vodafone has been cleared by the Privacy Commissioner of accusations that the company had permitted the data leakage of its four million subscribers but it was ruled that the telco failed to institute appropriate safeguards that would shield its clients’ information from the public eye.

Virgin Blue Group (ASX: VBA) has suspended flights in or out of Darwin tonight and tomorrow, following advice from the Bureau of Meteorology and the closure of Darwin Airport due to tropical cyclone Carlos.

Microsoft once suggested that internet service providers need to block online access for computers teeming with viruses but that appeared to have changed this week.

Wesfarmers' (ASX:WES) Coles has acquired National Australia Bank’s (ASX: NAB) 50 per cent interest in FlyBuys, Australia’s first and largest shopping rewards program. NAB remains a major participant in the program.

We had some news and movement yesterday in the two big financial services deals afoot in Australia: the proposed takeover of the ASX by the Singapore Stock Exchange and the proposed takeover of AXA Asia Pacific Holdings by the AMP.The two deals are worth close to $23 billion, if they go ahead.The AXA deal looks probable, although final approval from the federal government is needed, but the ASX takeover remains very uncertain.AXA revealed an 11 % drop in full year earnings to $602 million and the ASX and Singapore Exchange (SGX) revealed a change to the corporate governance and board composition of the merged company to try and win approval from investors and the federal government.Of the two deals, the $8.4 billion bid for the ASX by SGX is the most important with its political and business fallout here and offshore.The gist of the new arrangements announced late yesterday will be: the

China will go on tightening monetary policy, despite a small rise in the inflation rate in the year to January to an annual rate of 4.9%.That was up from the 4.6% rate in the year to December and under the 5.1% (a 28 month peak) in the 12 months to November.Some forecasts had put the CPI at around 5.3% to 5.4%, which would have been new 28 month highs.That was because of the rebound in fresh food prices in January ahead of the Spring Festival and the Lunar New Year, and then the emerging impact of the worst drought for 60 years in parts of the wheat growing area of the country's north and northwest.The best sign of the increasing inflationary pressures was in the

Australia’s national carrier Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) is deploying internationally configured wide-body aircraft, including its Boeing 747 aircraft, on domestic Perth routes. The move comes as Virgin is poised to launch Airbus A330 services to Perth as part of its plan to snare a bigger slice of the corporate market.

An American radio show reportedly obtained the original recipe of famed soda drink Coca-Cola and decided to read out the full contents of the ingredients during a weekend airing.

Apple has admitted on its latest report auditing the tech firm’s contracted suppliers and manufacturers that some 91 child labourers were employed by mainly Chinese companies assembling the popular gadgets marketed by the US consumer electronics giant.

The Australian sharemarket is trading mainly flat in the first half of trade with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) off by 0.1 pct or 3.8 pts to 5015.6.

The Australian Dollar has opened weaker thismorning, currently trading around the USD0.9970, level asbase metals and equities finished lower overnight.Yesterday saw the release of the Australian RBA Minutes,which had a positive outlook on the Australian economy,despite the recent floods damage.

by Matthew Carr, Investment U Research Tuesday, February 15, 2011These days, if someone tells you they don’t own a cellphone, that’s like them saying they don’t have electricity or indoor plumbing. That’s a measure of where modern society is at the moment. But many people have kicked that up a notch further and have entered the smartphone world. Globally, more than 1.6 billion smart phones were sold last year. That was a 72% increase over 2009. And with consumers falling over themselves to get smartphones, the arena is heating up…Smartphone vs PC… A Unanimous WinnerWhen it comes to the smartphone market’s big players, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL ) is an obvious one, with its iconic iPhone. But now, everyone is rushing to unveil their own, putting pressure on Apple to make its iPhone cheaper and more versatile. The market just opened up a little more when Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ ) began pre-order online sales of its Apple iPhone. And the demand was astonishing. The country’s largest mobile operator recorded the most successful first day sales in the company’s history – over 500,000 orders. For Verizon, iPhone sales are projected to be the main driver of the 4% to 8% revenue growth the company expects this year.But Apple has serious competition in the shape of Google’s (Nasdaq: GOOG ) Android platform. In fact, Android phones stole the limelight during the fourth quarter of 2010, accounting for 53% of all smartphone sales. Even Facebook is getting in on the act, launching its own phone in partnership with INQ - the Cloud Touch. If you need more proof of how massive this smartphone trend is, just consider this statistic: During the fourth quarter of 2010, smartphone sales topped those of personal computers for the first time ever. A total of 101 million smartphones were purchased, compared to 92 million PCs. In market growth terms, that was an 87% increase quarter-over-quarter in smartphone sales, versus the meager 3% increase in PC shipmentsIt’s even more of a beatdown to PCs considering Apple’s iPhone was only launched in 2007. And there’s more somber news for the future of the PC market…Pad PowerHaving not even been on the market for one year, Apple’s iPad already accounts for 7% of the global PC market. And in classic “monkey-see, monkey-do” style, everyone is riding Apple’s coattails in an attempt to get their own tablet computers into consumers’ hands. It’s yet another rapidly moving trend, with Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS ) projecting that tablet sales will hit 100 million per year by 2012. And this overall trend opens the door to secondary and tertiary markets, which are a developer’s dream and a massive boost for the smaller companies. After all, nobody would buy a smartphone just to make phone calls, send texts, or view e-mails. That’s like buying a Ferrari and then driving the speed limit. What’s the point? So this massive smartphone market is creating a booming secondary market: mobile applications, or “apps.”Is There an App for This Kind of Growth?The mobile app market topped $2 billion last year, with Gartner, Inc. expecting it to generate $15.1 billion in revenue this year. Globally, the app market is projected to increase to $27 billion by 2013, rising to $35 billion in 2014, according to International Data Corporation. Plain and simple: That’s insane growth. Apps range from the stupid, to the life-saving, to providing eternal salvation (seriously… you can purchase “Confession: A Roman Catholic App” for $1.99). But regardless of what apps are out there, if those projections are confirmed, that would see the global app market rocket to growth of 1,958% between 2009 and 2014. And with the market only just hitting its stride, suffice it to say, we’re at a huge point in the technology curve.Good investing,Matthew CarReprinted with permission of the publisher. The above story can be read on the website www.investmentU.com. The direct link is: http://www.investmentu.com/2011/February/the-tech-trend-crushing-the-pc.htmlNothing published by Investment U should be considered personalized investment advice. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized investment advice. We expressly forbid our writers from having a financial interest in any security recommended to our readers. All of our employees and agents must wait 24 hours after on-line publication or 72 hours after the mailing of printed-only publication prior to following an initial recommendation. Any investments recommended by Investment U should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.Views expressed are not FNArena's (see our disclaimer).FN Arena is building the future of financial news reporting at www.fnarena.com . Our daily news reports can be trialed at no cost and with no obligations. Simply sign up and get a feel for what we are trying to achieve.Subscribers and trialists should read our terms and conditions, available on the website.All material published by FN Arena is the copyright of the publisher, unless otherwise stated. Reproduction in whole or in part is not permitted without written permission of the publisher.

Two of the majors are now clashing head-on and soon enough, experts are expecting to see a four-corner brawl from Australia’s biggest banks, a competition that should be fierce enough it would blow some burdens away from banking clients’ shoulders.