Vittorio Hernandez

The Australian sharemarket has kicked off the new trading week a little indecisively with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 0.6 pct or 26.5 pts to 4220.2. Most sectors are lower with the mining sector down around 1 pct.

Tech gadgets would likely be on top of the Christmas shopping list of Australians as tech companies take advantage of the changing consumer preference for Yuletide gifts.

An analysis of tweets made by Australians shows which group of people posts sweet or rude remarks on the popular microblogging site.

As the 21-day conciliation process for Qantas and the unions ends on Monday midnight, another strike looms for the troubled Australian air carrier. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) threatened to pursue another round of industrial action unless the company improves its offer.

Parliament is set to vote on the $11-billion mining tax measure this week. House leader Anthony Albanese said the vote could be as early as Wednesday as soon as the federal government secured the support of the crossbenchers.

Santos Mine informed a Parliamentary inquiry that it will back out of a planned coal seam gas (CSG) pipeline pipeline project in New South Wales's (NSW) central west.

Anittel Limited (ASX: AYG), a Sydney-based IT and telecom solutions and service provider, topped the Deloitte 2011 Technology Fast 50 Australian list released on Friday.

The backlash over excessive executive compensation continues in Australia when a seventh company had its remuneration report rejected by shareholders.

The Australian Securities Exchange allowed Internet service provider iiNet (ASX: IIN) to voluntarily suspend on Friday trading of its shares pending a buy-in.

Local stocks are being heavily sold off in early trade, after US and European markets again slid into negative territory overnight on continued concerns about the Eurozone debt crisis. A headline suggesting Italy may not be able to receive bailout funds if needed also exacerbated the selling.

Australian telecom giant Telstra (ASX: TLS) announced on Friday the launch of its Digital Media Division.

Full competition in the telecom industry has resulted in almost 50 per cent drop in average mobile voice price, a report released on Friday said.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) released on Thursday a discussion paper on proposed liquidity coverage ratio requirements of the new Basel III rules.

New South Wales Attorney General Greg Smith proposed on Thursday limiting the number of times an Australian could legally change name. He wants to limit it to three times and to impose as well tougher requirements in a bid to prevent criminals from hiding from the law.

The debate over the Labor-government proposed lifting of uranium export ban to India has taken a new turn with the inclusion of visiting U.S. President Barack Obama's name in the arguments for or against the proposal.

Optus sought on Thursday for Telstra to be transparent on its use of the $11 billion National Broadband Network (NBN) windfall to ensure it would not use the money to stifle competition.

Qantas unions found an ally in transport workers overseas when the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) warned the Australian flag carrier that it would get involved if there are future industrial rows between Qantas and its unions.

The Australian share market is trading flat at lunchtime in the East, following another volatile offshore session. US stocks were relatively stable heading into the last hour of trade, before ratings agency Fitch warned of contagion risks to US banks if the European sovereign debt crisis intensifies.

The average salary of Australian workers grew by 3.6 per cent yearly, newly released date from the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. The rate is almost the same as that of inflation rate which means wage growth was just modest and manageable.

To help people decide which is better for their needs, here are three points of comparison for entry-level units of both OS for the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Mini and the Windows Mobile-powered HTC 7 Trophy

Investing in gold would be a good way to rebalance the portfolio of pension funds and other institutional investors before the European sovereign debt crisis turns for the worse, a bullion expert advised.

Like its counterparts in the U.S., Australia's only manufacturer of solar panels is suffering from weak sales due to competition from cheap Chinese solar panel imports.

Ten daily flights are available to Australians after the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) allowed Tiger Airways on Tuesday to increase its flights from Singapore to Australia.

The local share market is recording modest growth mid-session, after a mixed night on world markets. European share markets closed lower after Italian bond yields (borrowing costs) rose and following a lacklustre reading on third quarter economic growth. Wall Street recorded modest gains in a choppy session, with technology stocks the best performers.

The debate in Australia whether to lift the bank on uranium export to India or not continues with pro and anti groups airing their sides.

The Australian cities of Gold Coast and Newcastle formed with nine international cities the World Surf Cities Network with the aim of promoting the sport of surfing as an economic driver.

Global markets were mixed overnight, with Europe weaker, but the US stronger. Softness in the European session came on the back of rising borrowing costs for Spanish debt and reports that new Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti met resistance in forming a cabinet. However, there was a turnaround in the US session on improved optimism around Mario Monti's ability to battle the debt crisis, plus some impressive US economic data.

The Australian Dollar is relatively unchanged this morning after a choppy session in financial markets overnight.

US retail sales grew by 0.5pct in October, above forecasts for a gain of 0.3pct. Excluding autos, sales were up 0.6pct. Producer prices fell 0.3pct in October while the core rate (excludes food and energy) was unchanged. Both results were weaker than forecasts. And the ´´Empire State´´ business index improved from minus 8.48 to +0.61 in November.