Vittorio Hernandez

More trips would link Singapore to Australian cities. SilkAir will offer direct trips from Darwin to Singapore four days weekly beginning March 26.

Despite the growing risks to global growth caused by the European debt crisis, Australia's resource and energy exports are expected to hit $206 billion for 2011-12. It is a 15 percent rise from the past 12 months, said the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE).

Strikes hit again the ports of Western Australia (WA) and New South Wales (NSW) which has crippled wharf activities in NSW. In WA, the striking workers have been locked out indefinitely by management.

The Australian sharemarket could not stage a comeback this afternoon with all eyes remaining on Europe for any potential leads. The All Ordinaries index (XAO) fell 1.4 pct or 59.7 pts to 4251.7. This the third time in five days that the local sharemarket has lost ground.

Tablet computers are among the bestsellers in tech stores worldwide. The most known models of these devices come from Apple, Samsung, Motorola, Asus, and LG. However, all are expensive, with prices ranging from $300 - $600 depending on their size and technical features.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is definitely on its way to Australian tech stores following the decision by the High Court of Australia to lift the ban on the device's sale just in time for Christmas shopping.

Australian miner Minerals and Metal Group (MMG) has invested $157 million at the Dugald River zinc project, one of the largest zinc deposits in the world. The venture is located 85 kilometres north east of Mount Isa.

The Australian sharemarket is unfortunately wiping out all of yesterday's gains with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 1.4 pct or 60.1 pts to 4251.3. Monday's improvement was like a ray of sunshine squeezing its way through an otherwise very cloudy sky.

Despite announcement by Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce that its domestic operations is back to pre-strike level, the air carrier would have to wait for at least six more months before its industrial row with unions would be solved.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard appointed Greg Combet on Tuesday to oversee the new steel industry rescue package. His appointment is part of the cabinet reshuffle initiated by Ms Gillard.

A draft white paper released by Energy Minister Martin Ferguson on Tuesday estimated that Australia would need $240 billion investment for its gas and electricity industries over the next 20 years to ensure the country has reliable power supply.

ACM Group topped the list of credit card companies that Australia's financial ombudsman received formal disputes in 2010. ACG had 113 disputes per 100,000 accounts which is way above the median of 18.7 disputes.

The Australian sharemarket kicked off the new trading week in positive fashion with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) rising by 1.1 pct or 47.3 pts to 4311.4. All sectors improved today with the exception of the consumer staples. Weakness from Wesfarmers (WES) put downward pressure on the remainder of the sector. WES, the owner of Coles supermarkets is the largest company in the consumer staples space.

Bluescope Steel (ASX: BSL) will apply for a $100 million assistance from the Australian government's Steel Transformation Plan (STP) which accepted on Monday applications from eligible companies for competitiveness assistance advances.

Despite the recovery of its domestic operations, Qantas is still pushing through with talks for the opening of a new Asia-based premium carrier.

Productivity in Australia declined for the fifth straight quarter in two years, going down to 0.2 per cent in the September quarter.

The $2.25 billion buyout by Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) of Aston Resources (ASX: AZT) will create the largest independent publicly traded coal company in Australia. Besides Aston, which is owned by Nathan Tinkler, Whitehaven also agreed to buy Boardwalk Resources for $499.8 million.

At lunch, the Australian sharemarket is gaining for only the second time in five days with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) up 1.3 pct or 55.6 pts to 4319.7. There was no shortage of news out over the weekend including the downgrade of three French banks and yet another European Summit took place in Brussels, Belgium.

Small Business Minister Nick Sherry announced on Monday his resignation ahead of a cabinet reshuffle. The senator from Tasmania said he would no longer run for reelection.

Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan forecast on Sunday that business investments in the country would rise to 32 per cent to a record A$158 billion for the current financial year.

It was yet another tough day for the Australian sharemarket with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 1.7 pct or 74.8 pts to 4264.1. There was weakness across the board today with the miners the biggest losers, down by more than 2 pct. Thanks to a positive start to trade on Monday, shares pulled back by only 1.87 pct this week.

A study by AustraliaSCAN said single-person homes in Australia are expected to rise to 31 per cent of households in the country, making this group the largest.

A report by the IT Industry Innovation Council released on Friday said that Australia has the potential to become a global cloud computing hub.

A federal judge imposed on Friday a $1.25 million fine on Australian online retailer Harvey Norman (ASX: HVN) for its misleading advertisement. The fine was initiated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

The Australian sharemarket is losing ground for the third time this week with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 1.4 pct or 60 pts to 4278.9. No sectors are being spared from the selloff at lunch.

Wine growers in Hunter Valley who belong to the area's wine industry association sought to kick out gas giant AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGK) from their ranks because of the firm's stand on coal seam gas (CSG).

Woodside Petroleum (ASX: WPL) announced on Friday that it got on Thursday the go signal from its joint venture partner to proceed with the $2.5-billion natural gas fields project.

The three other large Australian banks - National Australia Bank, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank - gave in to pressure and announced Friday that it will pass on in full to customers the 25 basis points cut in overnight cash rate approved on Tuesday by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

The Android Market has reached 10 billion downloads and still counting as of this past weekend. To celebrate and reward Android customers, Google selected paid apps to be available for only 10 cents each and new set of apps for promotion each day for the next 10 days. Here are some of the applications and a mini review if these apps are at least your effort and time.