Vittorio Hernandez

The Australian share market is hovering at 5 year highs at lunchtime in the East on Thursday, following a spectacular night for US stocks which saw the Dow Jones Index close at a record high.

The popular adage that in life the only permanent things are change and death could possibly be altered if tech giant Google would succeed in its ambitious venture to solve death.

New Zealand is hoping to join the ranks of oil and gas-producing countries in the world by beginning a 40-year cycle in oil and gas exploration.

BlackBerry unboxed on Wednesday the Z30 smartphone, hoping the device would boost the finances of the ailing Canadian company, which is set to lay off 40 per cent of its employees by yearend.

BRW Magazine released on Wednesday its 2014 Young Rich List for Australia which was topped by two software entrepreneurs who established the company Atlassian, now valued at $550 million.

With Tourism Australia pushing for Australian wine and food through the Restaurant Australia campaign and official government statistical data confirming more wine exports to China, it is little wonder that beer drinking in the country down under is going down.

At the close, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) eased by 0.3 per cent ahead of the Federal Reserve's statement on monetary policy tomorrow morning. The two biggest sectors of the Australian market (the miners and financials) headed in opposite directions and played a balancing role for local equities.

American tech giant Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it would increase its quarterly divided by 22 per cent and launched a $40 billion buyback plan. The twin moves are a continuation of shareholder-friendly moves it had initiated in recent years.

Investors are sitting on the sidelines ahead of tomorrow morning's US central bank update on its stimulus strategy. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 0.3 per cent, however still is hovering around five-year highs. Local stocks have improved over seven of the past eight sessions. Global markets moved negligibly overnight and interrupted trade in the region is also keeping a lid on trade.

Microsoft announced on Wednesday a $119.99 price for the Windows 8.1 OS for people who are still running older versions of Windows. It applies to computers using Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott named Angus Campbell as head of a border protection operation to stop the entry of asylum-seeker boats into Australia. Mr Campbell is one of the country's most experienced soldiers, being the deputy chief of army.

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) forecasts that the country's beef and veal exports will go up 6 per cent while dairy exports will increase 15 per cent.

There would be one less porn magazine on newsstands as FriendFinder Networks, publisher of Penthouse magazine, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday.

Local shares edged higher today, to make it seven wins in eight trading sessions. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) improved by a modest 0.1 per cent, hitting a fresh five-year high. The ASX200 index has now closed above 5200pts for six trading sessions (June 2008 was the last time this happened).

Australians now have a chance to recreate the experience of cooking Asian cuisine at home using Five Tastes newly launched Asian-style brand .

Despite a negative start influenced by generally weaker commodity prices, Australian stocks are holding near five year highs at lunchtime in the East.

Tourism Australia will focus on the country's food and wine for its new international marketing campaign with the theme Restaurant Australia. The target of the new campaign are the foodies and wine connoisseurs.

Google's announcement on Sept 3, 2013 that it will name its Android 4.4 OS as Kitkat and not Key Lime Pie has triggered fresh speculations on the name, release date, phones, tablets and upgrades for the upcoming Android 5.0.

Mobile phone services provider Vodafone Australia just launched a new TV commercial titled Kidult that features the latest craze of twerking made popular by former Hannah Montana star, Miley Cyrus.

New Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced on Monday the members of his cabinet. What is very noticeable, which Mr Abbott acknowledged, is that there is only one female minister.

A volcano in Peru which had been erupting since Sept 1, had a major explosion on Monday, releasing a cloud of smoke that reached up to 2,500 metres above the crater.

The Philippine National Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice filed on Monday afternoon with the Office of the Ombudsman plunder and malversation of public funds charges against suspected pork barrel scam queen Janet Lim-Napoles, 3 Philippine senators and five former congressmen.

Local stocks edged higher on light volume on Monday as investors steeled themselves for a likely tapering of the US Federal Reserve's Q.E program.

Australian shares are improving for the sixth time in seven sessions, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) edging higher by 0.6 per cent at lunch. Former treasury secretary, Larry Summers has withdrawn from the race to head the US central bank this morning.

The favourite Japanese dish Tempura normally uses large shrimps or prawns, which are expensive, explaining the high-price of this fancy menu. Soon, Tempuras may be longer since foot-long shrimps the size of a man's forearm have invaded U.S. waters.

Apple seems to have a new nemesis besides South Korean tech giant Samsung. The Cupertino-based firm's new rival is fellow American company Microsoft, which has stepped up its attack on the company that just launched the iPhone 5C and 5S.

Suspected Philippine pork barrel scam queen Janet Lim-Napoles has a penchant for photo opportunities with politicians. First, she and daughter, Jeane Napoles, embarrassed current President Benigno Aquino III when images of Jeane and the president came out in social media, hinting of close ties between the Napoles family and Mr Aquino.

Gina Rinehart, Australia's richest person, has done all she can to settle the family feud with her two adult estranged children - John Hancock and Hope Rinehart.

Political power just changed hands in Australia after the country had its federal election on Sept 7 and the Coalition became the majority, causing Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to turn over the reins of the government to Opposition leader Tony Abbott.