Vittorio Hernandez

Qantas assured its passengers on Thursday that the strike-prone flag carrier would not suffer from another industrial action for the next four years.

New Zealanders are planning to cut on their holiday travel plans in the next 12 months. A report by Roy Morgan Research, a market research and public opinion survey firm in Australia, explained the reduction in travel plans to the weaker consumer confidence.

The Australian sharemarket lost ground for the fifth straight day today however did quite well to only fall modestly. The All Ordinaries index (XAO) eased by 0.3 pct or 10.5 pts to 4115.3. Shares were actually in positive territory for around two hours today only to give away those gains in the last hour and a half of trade.

The digital world has slowly invaded practically every single device on earth, even the smallest bit with the audio device. Various kinds of headphones have been released since the invention of the Walkman.

Due to the volatility of foreign exchange currency and sharemarkets since the 2008 global financial crisis, experts are encouraging investors to include precious metals in their portfolio.

Australians took 7.1 million overseas trips in 2010 and spent an average of $5,000 per trip, newly launched independent finance comparison Web site Mozo said on Thursday.

Murchison Metals (ASX: MMX) has conditionally sold its interests in Crosslands Resources and the Oakajee Port and Rail projects to Mitsubishi Development for A$325 million.

The Australian sharemarket is a touch lower at lunch with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down by only 0.1 pct or 3 pts to 4122.8. This an impressive performance for local shares considering that global markets took a battering overnight with European stocks trading at their lowest levels in 7 weeks after a failed bond auction by the Germans (this is one of the ways that governments raise funds).

New technologies and players in the video distribution industry are threatening the viability of the pay television sector.

The details of the $100-million pay-off between the Greens and the Labor government in exchange for the former's support of the mining tax are no longer secret.

Qantas's brand was damaged more by the strikes than the shutdown of the fleet by its chief executive, former Qantas Chief Executive Geoff Dixon said on Wednesday.

Shares locally could not recover throughout the day and the daily chart for the market resembled the downward slope of a relatively large hill. The All Ordinaries index (XAO) was down by 0.16 pct at the start of trade only to extend its losses by market close to 1.9 pct or 78.4 pts to 4125.8.

While the Australian Industry Group (AiG) recognizes the importance of road safety, the group opposes the planned establishment of a Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal.

Australian supermarket operators Coles and Woolworths have recently added home brands to their shelves, which elicited negative comments from global food manufacturer Heinz and other branded food producers.

Oil and gas field service provider Titan Energy (ASX: TTN) is going public by listing in the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) on Dec 7. The company hopes to raise $5.45 million capital by issuing 5 million shares at $1 per ordinary share.

The Australian sharemarket is losing ground for the fourth straight day with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 0.7 pct or 29 pts to 4175.2. Almost all sectors are lower with the utilities managing to rise a touch at lunch.

Queensland mines are poaching workers from the banking and retail sectors in a bid to fill up vacancies in the state's thriving mining industry.

Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce and some aviation experts are of the opinion that Fair Work Australia (FWA) would rule in favour of the air carrier to settle the industrial dispute with unions.

The $11-billion Mineral Resource Rental Tax (MRRT) was passed Wednesday morning because of the Labor government's $100 million pay-off deal with the Greens.

The Australian sharemarket unfortunately fell for the third straight day today with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 0.7 pct or 29.4 pts to 4204.2. Although today was not an ideal session, keep in mind that shares in the U.S fell by over 2 pct while the European markets fell by as much as 3.5 pct.

The hard times have caused Australians to eat out less, but many Aussies are not giving up their daily coffee fix.

The digital divide in Australia is felt not only within economic classes, but also right inside Australian homes.

The mining tax proposal of the Labor government, set to be voted on likely by Wednesday, appears to be a more popular measure than the proposed lifting of uranium exports to India.

Employees of OneSteel have been warned to brace for tougher days ahead as the company reduces costs.

Australian banks are no longer relying heavily on the wholesale funding markets. Instead it has turned to the retail deposit for low interest rates since the start of the global financial crisis.

The local share market has followed global markets into the red, after US and European investors bailed out of equities overnight on ongoing worries about budget deficits. However the selling isn't as bad as was predicted, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down .

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) recovered last week $34 million of client funds of MF Global Australia, paving the way for the partial return of their money earlier than expected.

The Australian sharemarket lost ground for the fourth time in five days today with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) easing 0.3 pct or 13.1 pts to 4233.6. The market was split in half today with the energy, industrial, healthcare and telecommunication services all ending higher however weakness from the mining and financial sectors was enough to drag the broader market into the red.

MMG opened on Monday its new copper open pit mine at its Golden Grove operations. The $22-million project is expected to produce 235,000 tonnes of copper concentrate containing 59,600 tonnes of copper metal in concentrate at 25 per cent copper from 2012 to 2014.