Vittorio Hernandez

Local stocks have closed at fresh 14 month highs again today, despite a shaky start on the back of falls on Wall Street. The NASDAQ closed down 1pct after Google shares plummeted on a profit downgrade. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) hit an intra-day low of 4561.6pts, but managed to recover in late trade, finishing higher by 12.6pts or 0.3pct to 4593.5.

Google just announced the release of the Samsung Chromebook along with new ambitions to spread its browser-based, cloud-focused Chrome OS laptop. Google envisions it to be as an extra machine in the house or as a laptop for students.

Sony just added another phone to its collecti0oon of the Xperia family that is within the low to middle range insofar as price tag is concerned. In a world full of phones people wish they could afford, the Sony Xperia Miro is one that they don't have to wish too hard for.

The Australian share market is modestly lower at lunchtime in the East, following Wall Street's lead. The US Dow Jones Index closed down 0.1pct while technology shares saw the NASDAQ fall by 1pct. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 7.8pts or 0.2pct to 4573.1.

Seafish Tasmania, the operator of 142-foot long supertrawler Abel Tasman, offered on Thursday to reduce its freezing capacity in a bid lift the ban on the fishing vessel imposed by the federal government.

Traders suspect manipulation when the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) started trading on Thursday morning. The suspicion was triggered by a surge in share prices of a number of major ASX200 stocks, including that of ANZ Bank which logged a 6.5 per cent one-day rise.

After more two years since the change in Australia's political leadership, former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd broke his silence on Thursday and admitted his removal as prime minister was a traumatic experience.

Australia won on Friday a United Nations Security Council seat in New York with 140 votes. The victory is the result of a four-year campaign initiated by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in 2008.

Local stocks closed at their highest levels since July 2011 today, with investor sentiment boosted by the fact today's Chinese economic data contained no nasty surprises. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) added 30pts by close or 0.7pct to 4580.9, after hitting an intra-day high of 4602.5.

HTC recently announced the upcoming release of the HTC J Butterfly, with the first stop in Japan and then to the entire global market. Sony will also release a version of another Xperia in Japan and then to rest of the world. While both are still coming soon to retail outlets, these upcoming devices are already set to face off each other.

ASUS surprised techies by launching the successor of the Padfone, only this time much bigger and better in many ways. And this bigger and better unit has powerful technologies inside it, from the processor and memory to camera and resolution shots. The new challenger in the Android smartphone war meets up with another powerful device, the LG Optimus G.

Overnight the US market closed slightly higher and the European markets were also stronger. Better than expected home start numbers, for the month of September, out of the states helped reduce the pain from weaker than expected results from key technology forms IBM and Intel.

The fate of Australian sheep is still unknown after a Pakistani court deferred on Wednesday a decision on culling the livestock. The Sindh High Court in Karachi adjourned the hearing and will resume session on Thursday.

Following the start of court proceedings against MP Craig Thomson over charges filed by Fair Work Australia (FWA) that he misused Health Services Union (HSU) funds, including use of the HSU credit cards to pay for prostitutes' services, the now independent legislator is no longer content on denying the accusation.

Taking advantage of the ongoing three-day visit of Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in which resumption of talks for uranium sale too India is on top of the agenda, the Australian Uranium Association (AUA) is pushing for an overturn of the ban on uranium mining in Queensland.

Local stocks rose to fresh 14 month highs today, supported by strong moves offshore, a pick-up in Chinese steel production and positive moves from major blue-chip stocks. US and European markets rallied overnight with US investors encouraged by strong earnings reports, while European investor sentiment was bolstered by speculation Spain could be close to asking for a sovereign bailout. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) finished the day's trade up 37pts or 0.8pct to 4550.9, after hitting an intra...

It took Chinese PC manufacturer Lenovo almost six months to transform the IdeaTab S2110 to go from CES reveal to retail outlets. During that time, ASUS managed to announce and ship a new hybrid tablet of its own, the Transformer Pad TF300 , which is a keyboard optional rival offering the same 10-inch, Android 4.0 experience with quad-core Tegra 3.

To take full advantage of Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating system which integrates touchscreen functionality, some PC manufacturers are offering new touch-enabled devices that are designed to run it.

Local stocks have rallied to fresh 14 month highs in early trade, on the back of positive moves on offshore markets. US markets rose overnight with investors encouraged by upbeat earnings results while European markets rallied on speculation Spain may be edging closer to asking for a sovereign bailout. At lunchtime in the East, the All Ordinaries Index is up 32.8pts or 0.7pct to 4546.7.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on Tuesday that the country will place India on its high priority list along with the United States and other major Asian nations.

While some national and local governments would consider it a source of pride to have a site included in the World Heritage listing of UNESCO, local councils in Queensland are opposed to the inclusion of the state's Cape York in the roster.

Global quality furniture retailer IKEA said on Tuesday that it will expand its store in Australia to 11 with the addition of two locations in Melbourne and Sydney. At the same time, the premier retailer announced deep discounts of up to 50 per cent covering 900 items to remain competitive.

To indicate their dislike of telemarketers, 5.4 million Australian households have since signed up with the national Do Not Call Register. The list just breached the 5 million mark since the registry was started in 2007.

Local stocks gained ground today, on the back of positive moves on Wall Street overnight and a strong production report from iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group (FMG). After hitting an intra-day high of 4537.9pts, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) finished the day's session up 8.4pts or 0.2pct to 4513.9.

A bit of data from Google Picasa Album revealed the latest LG Nexus 4 device coded as E960 by the company. This is the remodelled version of the LG Optimus G device.

After HTC announced on Monday a new dual-SIM smartphone called HTC Desire SV (aka Magni) which is a low budget gadget, Samsung leaked the next day a new affordable smartphone which also has dual-SIM functionality. The device is dubbed as Star Deluxe Duos S5292 and reportedly scheduled for launching in December 2011 in emerging markets.

The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) followed the lead from the overseas markets and opened higher this morning up 20 points. By lunch time the market had reduced its early run and had only added 9 points, to 4,515, with small gains in most sectors.

Austrian sportsman Felix Baumgartner broke on Monday two world records with his successful leap from the edge of space from a balloon build for the event.

Fair Work Australia (FWA) started on Monday court proceedings against embattled MP Craig Thomson, who is accused of using Health Services Union (HSU) credit card to pay for the services of prostitutes.