Vittorio Hernandez

Local stocks suffered their biggest fall since May 2012 today, slumping by more than two percent as investors booked profits following the recent rally. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) fell 115.8pts or 2.3pct to 4998.6pts. The ASX/200 (XJO) also dropped below 5000pts, easing by 118.6pts or 2.3pct to 4980.1pts.

The Australian share market opened lower this morning after a late trade selloff on US markets. US investors sold out of stocks and commodities after US Central Bank (Federal Reserve - FOMC) minutes from its January meeting showed policymaker´s held further discussions on slowing its bond buying program. The US Fed has been restimulating the US economy by buying bonds (basically printing money) and pushing it back into the economy, but if they reduce this program is could stall or slow growth. O...

The European Union will imposed retroactive duties on Made-in-China solar panels and Chinese firms that export the PVs if proven that the panels were sold below production cost because of subsidies.

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, cracked on Wednesday a joke about the Philippine migration phenomenon, telling a Filipina nurse at the opening of a ￡5.5-million cardiac centre that "The Philippines must be half-empty - you're all here running the NHS."

Search engine giant Google is aggressively branching out into new markets. In 2014, the tech firm will make available to the public Google Glasses.

A senatorial candidate in the Philippines, millionaire Jamby Madrigal, is on the hot seat due to an advertisement in her Facebook fan page account that if anyone "likes" her page, they will win a free Apple iPad.

The South Korean tech company LG keeps on teasing mobile phone enthusiasts about their new upcoming smartphones for the Mobile World Congress this February 2013 in Barcelona, Spain. LG released a video recently previewing what will the company show on MWC 2013 with several smartphone models named after letters – L for style, G for greatness, V for Vu, and F for freedom.

Australian voters who are tired of the months-long Julia Gillard-Tony Abbott word wars - which range from misogyny issues to the carbon and mining taxes - can temporarily heave a sigh of relief.

In a bid to rise from its financial quagmire, Australian flag carrier Qantas will issue in the third quarter of 2013 a pre-paid credit card which will load 9 different currencies.However, Qantas reported on Wednesday a bit of financial relief when it logged almost a triple first-half profit of $111 million.The credit card, which could also be used as a travel card in 35 million locations around the world that would earn holders points on eligible purchases, would be issued to 9 million ...

Local stocks closed at fresh four and a half year highs today, boosted by positive momentum in offshore markets and generally strong earnings results. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose by 14pts or 0.3pct to 5115, its best level since early September 2008.

The Australian sharemarket is improving for the third straight day, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 0.3 per cent or 15.6 pts to 5116.6. This takes the gains so far in 2013 to 9.6 per cent. It isn't a huge surprise that markets are higher, with shares up close to 2 per cent overnight in Europe. This was partly thanks to some positive signs for the future outlook of the German economy.

The breaking of the Labor-Green Party coalition on Tuesday did not surprise political observers in Australia. After all, politicians follow the most important rule in the business, that is - In politics there are no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interest. What pundits would observe is Greens leader Christine Milne's next moves given that the country's election is just a few months away. They are asking if Ms Milne would do a Nick Clegg and be a kingmaker, while at the same t...

A Google executive does not believe that working at home or doing “telework” is a best environment for ideas to flourish. .

In a CBS news programme, Microsoft founder Bill Gates has admitted that Microsoft had messed up its mobile tech standing in the market. He also shared his opinion on the Windows Phone and Windows 8 standing vis-a;-vis the competition.

The new Iriver tablet is expected to arrive in South Korea and define the meaning of out-of-the-box thinking and creative branding. It is one of brands new to the market and lands on the other side of the coin compared to more known brands such as Samsung, HTC and Sony.

After the unexpected firing of Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) Chief Executive Tom Albanese, it was the turn on Wednesday of BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) Chief Executive Marius Kloppers to step down.

Machine-gun toting robbers seized on Monday night $50 million in diamonds from a plane in Brussels. The heist, which occurred at the Zaventem Airport, was pulled off by eight heavily armed and hooded thieves disguised as police, disclosed Anja Bijnen, spokeswoman of Brussels prosecutors.

Despite the international furor caused by the burning to death of a 20-year-old woman earlier this month in Papua New Guinea over accusations of sorcery, witch hunts continue in the small Pacific country.

Photo-sharing site Instagram has finally arrived! The popular site with more than 100 million members as of January 2013 was where the photo of a Palestinian boy with his head in the crosshairs of a sniper rifle was shared. The photo spared international outrage.

The Australian sharemarket has improved for the 15th time in 20 trading sessions, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 0.4 per cent or 18.1 pts to 5101.00. Local shares are now hovering around their best levels since August 2008. Global markets were quiet overnight due to the U.S President's Day public holiday which kept American markets closed.

Local stocks are slightly firmer in the early session, consolidating four and a half year highs reached on the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) yesterday. It's a significant consolidation given Wall Street was closed overnight for Presidents' Day holiday and European markets closed in the red for a third consecutive session.

Windows Mobile was one of the smartphone OS available dated back in the 90s and basically runs PDA devices. Unfortunately, the OS turned out to be a disaster and became a deserted system within such time. Windows Phone came back with new style, new features, and new system to join the competition of mobile OS in the market. It is in the fourth position challenging Android, Blackberry OS, and iOS for global domination in the mobile tech industry.

The common debate regarding mobile operating system is the Android vs. iOS topic and no yet has ever won from the argument. It is always up to the users which work for them in terms of usage and functionality. The iOS has many amazing features which what makes it one of the top in the mobile technology market, but even something that looks perfect have several flaws hiding behind the curtains.

They are not really so much fans of the world's most popular social networking site but almost half of American parents admitted that the main reason they signed up for an account with Facebook is to spy on their children's online activities.

A study by the University of Queensland released on Tuesday said that Australia would have to include coal in its power generation mix until 2035. Coal is one of the leading sources of greenhouse gas emissions and supplies 80 per cent of Australia's current power requirements.

A leaked photo of the motherboard of Apple's iPhone 5s confirms rumours that the device will have an A7 quad-core CPU and GPU and 2 GB of RAM.

Google released the latest Android version 4.2.2 and the first line up of devices to gain the update is the Nexus line, including Galaxy Nexus. A factory image for the Galaxy Nexus released also by Google confirms that it will soon receive a 4.2.2 Jellybean update.

The Centre for Eye Research Australia in Melbourne is experimenting with the use of skin cells from patients with macular degeneration by turning them into stem cells to create new retinal cells.

The Brighton and Hove City Councils plan to replace the usual male and female lavatories with gender-neutral toilets to make it easier for the cities' transgenders. Instead of the words MEN or LADIES, the new loos to be built would have the images of a male, female and child as an indicator anyone, regardless of gender or sexual preference could use the toilet.