BUSINESS

Local shares continue to fall and one of the most common exchanges between market participants at present turns around the level at which the ASX 200 will ultimately find some durable support with the index now down by more than 3 per cent year to date. European shares fell sharply to end last week, driven by continuing concerns about the health of the German, and broader European economy. US share markets were led lower by the technology stocks. Over the course of the week the Dow Jones lost 2....

Couples, above many things, should agree on how to handle their money

Residents advised to prepare against more flooding and landslides.

We have been saying since mid-May to be wary of the events that will occur in October (the end of the asset-purchase program). October remains the turning point of the year and we retain our key pick of being long the VIX.

Apple Inc has been named the world's most valuable brand at $119 billion ahead of Google and Coca-Cola. The company was ranked the highest in the list of Interbrand Best Global Brands.

Local shares extended their losses after lunch, falling for the fourthtime this week and hitting a fresh eight-month low. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) slumped by 2 per cent, slipping below 5200.0 for the first time since February and making it the worst session of the year.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella apologised for discouraging women emplyoees against asking for raises.

Euthanasia or doctor-assisted suicide is no longer considered a taboo subject in Canada.

An accounting software provider in Australia, ironically named Xero, became number 1 when it topped the country's list of most innovative companies. Xero headed the 2014 BRW Most Innovative Companies list which was compiled by Inventium, an innovation consultancy.

Australia spent nearly $550,000 when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited.

The local market is taking last night's tumble in the US seriously with Australian shares falling to an eight-month low. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 1.7 per cent, erasing all of Thursday's gains.

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook and proposed another round of stock buybacks. He said the company's current stock valuation is cheap as the stock should be worth $203 per share with a valuation of $1.2 trillion.

Only the price of iron ore has plummeted to a five-year low, but demand for the key steelmaking ingredient is still high, said mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO). While the miner expects 125 million tonnes of expensive iron ore supply to leave the market in 2014, Rio anticipates demand for iron ore will remain high as China's steel production would reach about 1 billion tonnes by 2030.

Despite the slowdown in its red-hot economy, China's growth story continues, threatening to dethrone the US as the world's largest economy in 2014 in terms of one indicator. This is the purchasing power parity, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In the US, new claims for unemployment insurance fell by 1,000 in the latest week to 287,000, below forecasts for a result near 294,000. Wholesale sales fell 0.7% in August (forecast +0.7%) while inventories rose by 0.3% (forecast 0.3% gain).

Japan could experience waves as high as 50 feet when category 5 super typhoon Vongfong arrives.

No equity slide is ever linear, nor is a market rally, and I see the development from the central bank communication this week as a chance to break the eight-week down trend in global markets.

Samsung has been a repeated offenders, this is not the first time that an investigation is commissioned against the company.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) named of Wednesday Australia as the best country to live in and its capital, Canberra, the best city where to reside.

Unlike trade on Tuesday the local market maintained its hefty losses for the duration of the session to fall to a fresh eight-month low for the third day. Losses were recorded in all sectors bar the defensive utilities with concerns of Germany's economy together with cuts to world growth forecasts by the IMF concerning some investors.

A painful food poisoning outbreak has spread in New Zealand due to contaminated carrots and lettuce. More than 100 cases have been reported across the country with 38 still in the hospital.

Japan's being advised to brace for Category 5 super typhoon VongFong, dubbed 2014's strongest cyclone.

In times like the present, with volatility ramping and the intraday trading moving through the 100+ point range, I must remind myself that equities are at the top of the risk curve. They're therefore the first to see selling when nervousness is exposed.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left on Tuesday the overnight cash rate unchanged at its record-low rate of 2.5 per cent, set in August 2013. However, the RBA decision did not deter lenders from revising some of their mortgage rates by offering season promotions such as cash-back deals and waived fees for new home loans.

In US economic data, the JOLTS index of job openings rose from 4.67 million to a 13-year high of 4.835 million in August. The IBD economic optimism index was unchanged at 45.2 in October. And chain store sales in the latest week were up 5.4% on a year ago, up from the 4.3% annual gain in the previous week.

Air Canada will be having a 10-year labour contract with its pilots, pending ratification of the latter.

Mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) rejected an offer to merge with Glencore that would have created a $160 billion mining and trading firm in August. Rio disclosed the offer made in July on Tuesday, but after thumbing down the proposed merger, there has been no contact about the deal between the two miners.

Canada has sent out a second mobile lab team to Ebola-stricken nation Sierra Leone.

Australian shares are trading at their weakest levels in eight months, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 1.3 per cent at lunch. This follows slight falls on Monday in what was a quiet start to a holiday interrupted week. Global markets lost a little ground overnight with the DOW slipping by just 0.1 per cent.