Vittorio Hernandez

The price of gold continued to slide over the weekend as fund managers exited their positions on speculation it has run too hard, too fast. Influential American investor George Soros didn't help matters, telling the South China Morning Post that gold is no longer a safe haven for investors. Gold futures are holding at US$1501.40 an ounce, and have fallen by over 5 per cent over the course of the week.

While the American love for the more expensive and exclusive iPhone and iPad has not waned off, more U.S. residents are also appreciating Android gadgets. A compilation of data by Handset Detection, reported by CNET, pointed to the Samsung Galaxy S3 as the number one on the top 10 Android devices that Americans love.

It's official. Samsung's Galaxy S4 will be on store shelves by April 27, Saturday. The first country that would get the device which features a full high-definition Super AMOLED 5-inch screen and a higher screen pixel density than the iPhone 5 is New Zealand.

With its booming population as well as thriving economy, China dominates Forbes Magazine's list of top 12 fastest growing cities in the world. However, the city that topped the list was Karachi in Pakistan.

Coffee, smartphone, alcohol or sex? A survey by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research of 1,000 registered American voters showed that given a choice of what to give up for one week, sex topped the list.

The Mayans were both right and wrong about Dec 21, 2012, scientists who used carbon dating said over the weekend.

T-Mobile's marketing strategy to attract Americans to buy the iPhone 5 is paying off. Reports said lines have started to form at the fourth largest U.S. carrier when it offered consumers the best-selling Apple smartphone over the weekend for $99.

Besides Chinese consumers who have been appeased by Apple over the California-based company's warranty policy, other owners of iPhone and iPod whose units were denied warranty due to water damage would soon be compensated.

While the growing attractiveness of tablets and phablets to consumers is anathema to manufacturers and retailers caught with a large inventory of laptops and desktops, it spells good news for potential buyers due to the significant cut in retail prices of these devices.

Displaying her steely will that earned her the tag Iron Lady, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is still in apparent control over her funeral. The baroness left details on how her final send-off would be as early as eight years ago.

Pope Francis appointed over the weekend a 9-man panel tasked with providing him advice on how to reform the Roman Catholic Church. The 9 members are mostly non-Vatican officials, which is indicative of how the new pope values to input of other church officials outside the Holy See.

The verdict is out. Psy's new single, Gentleman, appears to be headed for another YouTube record as the official music video of his new song logged more than 10.7 million hits on Sunday.

Nonito Donaire Jr. lost on Saturday night his WBO Junior Featherweight belt to Olympian Guillermo Rigondeaux in a 12-round bout at Radio City Music Hall. Despite his loss, the Filipino boxer took home $1.32 million while Rigondeaux got $750,000.

A new video game titled Vatican Quest with a character who looks like Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is causing furor in Spain. The reason behind the ruckus is that the papal look-a-like acts as a pimp for Catholic cardinals.

South Korean YouTube sensation Psy is releasing his new single titled Gentleman on Friday, April 12. Ahead of the official release, which is a follow-up to his mega monster hit, Gangnam Style, samples of the song came out online, but only the audio is available.

Even in western nations, owning a Lamborghini car is a privilege because of its prohibitive price tag of $550,000. However, in oil-rich United Arab Emirates, this vehicle, considered by many as a luxury car, is used by the police to patrol Dubai's streets.

Shares are slightly higher for fourth time this week. The Australian market has been improving modestly for most of the session, however has been flirting with negative territory over the past 30 minutes. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up by 2.3 per cent since the start of the week. This makes it the best week on the local market since October 2012. Note that March was the worst month for the All Ords since May last year.

Even if Hope Rinehart Welker withdrew in March the lawsuit she initiated seeking the removal of her mother, billionaire Gina Rinehart, from heading the family trust, her two siblings continued the case.

Filipino boxer Nonito Donaire, the WBO Junior Featherweight Champion, accepted the 2012 Sugar Ray Robinson Award for Fighter of the Year from the Boxing Writers Association of America at the group's dinner on Thursday night.

Australia's target to become the top liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter in the world could be at risk following reports that a major LNG venture would no longer push through because the project would no longer be financially viable.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced on Friday during a visit to Macquarie Fields in Sydney the availability of $40 million new grants intended to fund youth outreach and intervention programmes.

The Australian Dollar hit highs overnight that we have not seen since January after recovering from the 1.0500 level after a poorer than forecast March jobs number yesterday morning.

Huawei quashed on Friday rumours that it would roll out the Ascend Mate Phablet or Ascend P2. Instead, it announced the launch of the Ascent G510, priced at £130.

Once again, confidence seedlings are taking root and sprouting. Overnight, weekly jobless claims reversed last week's awful print to beat estimates, falling by 18,000 claims to 342,000. This better-than-expected news was coupled with reports US retailers are experiencing stronger sales (ahead of the official numbers tonight), and allowed US retail shares to step onto the escalator.

In US economic news, new claims for unemployment insurance plunged by 42,000 to 346,000 in the latest week, well below forecasts centred on a result near 365,000. The March budget deficit was $107 billion, near forecasts of $112.5 billion. And export prices fell 0.4pct in March with import prices down 0.5pct.

South Korean tech giant Samsung announced on Thursday the release of two versions of a new phone line, the Galaxy Mega. The smartphone, which features one with a 6.3-inch touchscreen and other with a 5.8-inch display, will initially be sold in Europe in May.

Australian shares advanced today, following record highs recorded overnight on the US Dow Jones and S&P 500 Indices.

The Australian market has completely made up for yesterday's modest falls at lunch. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up by around 0.5 per cent. Today was the first time since the start of April that the XAO cracked through he psychologically important 5000.0 point mark.

Despite the red-faced Mayans whose end-of-the-world scenario prediction failed on Dec 21, 2012, the Apocalypse continues to be on the mind of some groups and individuals.