COMPANIES

Woolworths reported on Thursday a 17 per cent drop in its first half net profit mainly due to the $300 million charge for the restructuring of its Dick Smith consumer electronics division.

Google Inc. celebrated the leap year and composer Giochino Rossini's 220th birthday with a two for one Google Doodle. The Doodle features frogs performing Rossini's opera "The Barber of Seville".

One of the much-anticipated smartphones to be released this year is the Samsung Galaxy S3. There are reports speculating that the Samsung Galaxy S3 will be revealed around May, 2012 and it could grab the title as the world's thinnest smartphone.

Apple finally released an official invitation to the press regarding the much-anticipated launch of their newest iPad dubbed as iPad 3 on March 7.

Finland-based firm Nokia recently made headlines during the Mobile World Congress 2012 as it unveiled its latest smartphone offering, the Nokia 808 PureView.

Significant increases across the clothing and footwear and transport equipment sub-sectors together with a lift in new orders were leading contributors to another month of expansion in the manufacturing sector, according to the latest Australian Industry Group - PwC Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI®).

The ball is now on Microsoft's hands as the company scrambled to eke out a place in a mobile computing world increasingly dominated by Apple and Google.

The patent wars raging between tech firms dominating the mobile device market could spill over in the equally lucrative social networking sphere as Yahoo reportedly sent notice to Facebook this week demanding for licence payments.

The Cattle Council of Australia (CCA) has expressed its opposition to halt live meat exports to Indonesia following the release of a new video of animal cruelty in the south east Asian nation. CCA Vice President Peter Hall said in lieu of a blanket ban which would be bad for the cattle industry, new procedures could identify the erring slaughterhouse.

Korean-based firm Samsung recently revealed their newest smartphone in the market called the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 and the Galaxy Mini 2. Samsung revealed this new smartphone model during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012.

Commonwealth Bank has restored the services of its ATMS and EFTPOS facilities after an outage at about 11 p.m. on Tuesday that affected its system across Australia. The cash machines and payment facilities were back online at about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday although some cards continue to experience problems.

Sony Mobile Communications is now planning a new approach in hopes that they would once again be dominant in this new battlefield for smartphones. Their new approach involves marketing a suite of devices instead of focusing on one "big" product. The company already started working on this strategy in the on-going Mobile World Congress 2012.

The Mobile World Congress 2012 held in Barcelona, Spain, had a good start as more than 60,000 companies in the telecommunications industry gathered to showcase new technology to the market. One of the most talked about gadgets during the event was the new smartphones launched by different companies.

An all-new Mk7 Volkswagen Golf prototype has been spotted testing in winter conditions. This is the first time a three-door wearing the all-new body has been spotted.

Telstra, one of the biggest names in telecommunications in Australia recently teamed up with Samsung Electronics, a Korean-based firm in order to launch the first 4G tablet in Australia.

Lucy Lawless was among seven people arrested on Monday after having boarded on Friday an oil-drilling ship owned by Shell.

Besides using the Qantas labor row to its advantage, Virgin Australia aims to get a larger share of the corporate passenger market by offering premium lounges.

Samsung had a sobering admission this week: Apple is getting its way in the ever-expanding tablet market, with one company executive conceding at the ongoing Barcelona Mobile World Congress that the Galaxy Tab product lines were not selling as expected.

Although online sales accounted for only 5 per cent of total retail spending in 2011, it grew at an incredible pace of 29 per cent while traditional retail store sales went up by a mere 2.5 per cent.

The U.S. Navy has ordered two more join high speed vessels (JHSV) or catamaran worth $321.7 million from Australian shipbuilder Austal. With the two new orders, the total catamaran orders awarded to Austal has reached $1.45 billion.

Barely a week after Telstra Corporation submitted its revised structural separation undertaking (SSU), the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) gave its approval for the $11 billion deal between NBN Co and the country's dominant telco to go ahead.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) doesn't plan to -- and never did -- tout prototypes of future devices at the Mobile World Congress or at any other electronics exhibition; it doesn't provide teasers; and it doesn't intentionally misplace prototypes at a San Francisco, California-area bar.

Which is the world's most expensive car? Well, the title of 'world's most expensive car' is hard to award. There are a few cars that are priced in Euros or Pounds, which means their prices in U.S. Dollars depend on the day.

Sony Ericsson's new smartphones will hit the market soon under the new division Sony Mobile Communications that rose from the ruins of the Japanese firm's failed partnership with the Swedish tech company.

WikiLeaks has announced on Monday the publication of millions of email exchanges obtained from controversial international security expert Strategic Forecasting Inc (Stratfor), which WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has accused of targeting activist groups.

For car maker Holden to maintain its two-model manufacturing facility in Adelaide, the firm needs $250 million assistance from the government, Holden Chairman and Chief Executive Mike Devereux said on Sunday.

There is a possibility that Apple, Inc. (NYSE:AAPL) will take the victory the tablet wars due to the eminent release of iPad 3 and the slash on the price tag of the iPad 2.

The risk of the closure of Caltex Australia's Sydney and Brisbane refineries became higher after the oil giant announced on Monday $852 million loss for 2011. Caltex is currently reviewing its operations which could result in the axing of 800 refinery jobs.

Many people are anticipating the Mobile World congress as top players in the smartphone industry are expected to launch their latest offering during the event.