Vittorio Hernandez

For all the battering that his handsome face got, just-beaten American boxer Chris Algieri got a minimum guaranteed purse of $1.67 million for his Nov 22 bout against Manny Pacquiao.

There is no stopping Australia's richest person, Gina Rinehart, from further expanding her estimated $22 billion wealth. Reports said that the mining tycoon is constructing a $175 million cancer hospital in Darwin.

In US economic data the national activity index eased from +0.29 to +0.14 in October. The Markit services "flash" index eased from 57.1 to 56.3 in November. And the Dallas Federal Reserve index was steady at +10.5 in November.

Australian shares have surged on Monday with the ASX 200 Index up 1.1 per cent and closing above 5350pts. A surprise rate cut by China's central bank on Friday has led the mining and energy producing companies higher. This follows five consecutive days of weakness from local shares; the worst week in Australia since June 2013.

Manny Pacquiao's victory on Saturday over Chris Algieri was not a surprise. From the day he picked the unknown American boxer as his next opponent, boxing fans were sure the Filipino champ would win.

Gina Rinehart is the richest person in Australia and would likely remain that way for a long time. One reason behind her wealth, aside from inheriting Hancock Prospecting established by her father, Lang Hancock, is her bucking business trends.

More Australians have joined the ranks of mining magnate Gina Rinehart as ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals, or people with net assets of at least $30 million.

The surprise of stimulus on Friday night saw a mass risk-on event for global risk equities.

The People's Bank of China (central bank) has cut the 12-month lending rate by 40 basis points to 5.60% and the 12-month deposit rate by 25bps to 2.75%.

With Chris Algieri out of the way, the boxing public eyes are now on the dream match between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. But Top Rank Promotions boss Bob Arum is wary that Money May would now fear suffering the same fate as Algieri.

If American football has Tim Tebow who openly shows his Christian faith by kneeling on one knee, resting one arm on the other knee and bowing his head in prayer - more known as Tebowing - boxing has Filipino champ Manny Pacquiao kneeling on both knees on his ring corner and praying before he starts a fight.

Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao proved on Saturday night that he is not over the hill by defending his WBO welterweight title in a 12-round bout against American boxer Chris Algieri at the Cotai Arena in Macau.

Two Miss World beauties became the centre of global attention this week as one was buried, while the other rose from her dark past with a promise to help other women in the same situation she was in 16 years ago.

It's official. American Idol runner-up Jessica Sanchez lost again. Not to an American belter but to born-again Christian pastors whom Top Rank Promotions approved on Friday to sing the Philippine national anthem on Nov 22 before the much-awaited bout between Manny Pacquiao and Chris Algieri.

The Australian sharemarket has finished the session weaker for a fifth straight day. The All Ords (XAO) slipped 0.2 percent to 5,292, while the S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) fell 0.2 percent to 5,304. Eight out of 10 sectors were lower, led by Utilities, which lost 1.5 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 has fallen 2.7 percent this week on heavy selling in the materials and energy sectors.

Australian shares are losing ground for the fifth day and remain only modestly above the 5300pt level. The ASX 200 Index is down by 0.1 per cent at lunch and takes the losses to 2.6 per cent this week. Should nothing change this afternoon this will be the worst week for local shares since June 2013.

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss is in a Brisbane hospital for gastroenteritis and acute dehydration. He has been in the medical facility for at least one day.

Global markets were mixed as investors focusing on specific economic factors driving sentiment. Equities in the US managed to recover from the FOMC meeting minutes, with investors responding positively to some solid housing data and a sharp bounce in the Philly Fed manufacturing index. The CPI release was also interesting, coming in ahead of estimates; service prices drove the reading despite goods prices actually falling.

The Nov 22 Pacquiao-Algieri fight at the Cotai Arena in Macau will probably go down in boxing history as the cleanest one in terms of no trash talk exchanged at all between the two opponents. Only bold predictions that they will win the match and until what round will his opponent last were heard.

In the US, the Philadelphia Fed Business Activity Index lifted from 20.7 to 40.8 in October - its highest reading since 1993. The new orders sub-index was at the highest level in 26 years. US Consumer prices were unchanged in October to be 1.7% higher than a year ago. The tame result was driven by a slide in energy prices (-1.9%) and gasoline prices (-3%) in October. Excluding food and energy prices were up 0.2% to be up 1.8% on a year ago.

So as not to be suspected as the gunman, Plutarco Ruiz, the self-confessed killer of Miss Honduras Mary Jose Alvarado and her sister Sofia Trinidad, even came to the Alvarado residence after the two went missing on Thursday and invited the family to lunch. He returned for several days to help search for the women, disclosed Claudio Cecilio Munoz, the maternal uncle of the ill-fated siblings.

Another gun violence incident hit a US campus on Thursday morning, wounding three students when the gunman open fired outside the Florida State University's Stozier Library.

Australian shares extended their losses this afternoon with hefty losses from the miners a major drag. The ASX 200 Index slumped by 1 per cent to 5316.2 and makes it the worst week since early December 2013 for local shares. Equities have fallen for four straight days and are trading at fresh one-month lows.

Twelve-year-old Russian Nikolai Kryaglyachenko has a magnetic personality. Not the type that attracts the beautiful Russian women, but an ability to draw metallic objects to his body because of an accidental electrocution accident recently.

Filipino champ Manny Pacquiao just broke another world record. No, he had not added another title to his current crowns in eight boxing divisions, but he broke the number of an entourage to accompany a boxer.

Plutarco Antonio Ruiz, the boyfriend of Sofia Trinidad, the sister of Miss Honduras Maria Jose Alvarado, admitted on Wednesday killing the two women because he got jealous that Trinidad danced with another man at a birthday party.

Equity trading is getting ugly again; the US has been absent-mindedly meandering higher over the past month yet that lead has not transferred to Asian markets (disregarding the spending machine that is Japan).

Information technology has also benefitted male sex trade workers in Australia. Most of them get clients from online dating sites, unlike some of their female counterparts who still walk the streets to find customers.

Australians could expect a fresh round of juicy details about the country's biggest family feud involving its richest person - Gina Rinehart and her four adult children, two of whom are estranged from the mining tycoon.