Vittorio Hernandez

The Australian sharemarket has kicked off the new trading week in positive fashion, with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) up 1.9 pct or 78.8 pts to 4282.2. All sectors are currently improving with the mining and energy sectors the best improvers in percentage terms.

An Australian teenager's money laundering scam has reached $200,000 because of alleged failure by banks to stop the credit card scheme despite efforts by the teen's mother.

Qantas's prolonged labor problem is affecting not only the air carrier's bottom line, but also the financial viability of Australia's tourism industry.

A Guangdong lawyer said that the two drivers who ran over two-year-old Foshan migrant Yueyue should be 100 per cent responsible for the death of the girl. Huang Jinsong told Legal Weekly that the girl's parents should also be partly responsible because Yueyue wandered into the busy street while under their care, but because the two drivers fled the scene, the drivers became wholly responsible.

The two-year-old Chinese girl who was hit thrice by two vans last week and ignored by 18 passers-by and cyclists died on Friday. The spokesman of the military hospital where Yueyue was confined said she died of systemic organ failure.

The local share market traded virtually sideways today, as investors stayed out of the market ahead of a key meeting of European leaders at the weekend. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) lost 3.4pts by close to 4203.4 while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) fell 3pts to 4141.9.

Amid global calls for review of excessive executive compensation while the rest of the company employees continue to tighten their belts due to wage hike freezes, an Australian retailer reduced the pay of its top boss.

Comparison Web site WhistleOut backed the Labor government's claim that Australians would benefit from using the National Broadband Network (NBN) than current ADSL 2+ and line rental plans.

One option that businesses, particularly small enterprises that could not afford to experiment by moving everything to a cloud computing service provider and then shift to another solution is to give the service first a trial.

The Australian sharemarket is up a touch, with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) up 0.5 pct or 20.3 pts to 4227.1 with most sectors edging higher at lunch. This is the third time this week that the market is improving, however is still down around 1 pct over the past five days. Investors are hesitating to over commit themselves to shares ahead of the European Union's Summit this weekend.

Donations for Yueyue, the two-year-old Chinese girl hit by a van and ignored by passers-by, continues to pour in, As of Friday, it has reached $42,300 (270,100.40 yuan) and continued to grow as more people share their hard-earned money.

Qantas tickets have become more expensive because of the ongoing labor problem with unions. Travelers from Melbourne to Sydney now have to pay $150 more for a one-way ticket, News.com.au reports.

News of the capture of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has led to rejoicing in Libya which has gone through several months of armed conflict as the country apparently ended the 42-year strongman rule of Gaddafi.

Local stocks ended in the red for a second session this week, after rising on Monday and Wednesday. The rollercoaster ride continues as investors await the weekend European Union summit with hopes leaders will come up with a viable solution to the region's debt crisis.

Despite the criticisms that the Labor government received for the proposed carbon tax, four major global green investment groups backed the carbon tax and said it will provide economic benefits to Australia.

With Steve Jobs's death sparking more interest in Apple products and services, there is a growing interest among techies and companies in Apple's looming iCloud service.

A female employee of tech giant IBM has filed a $1.1 million sexual harassment lawsuit against her former supervisor and IBM. Among the forms of harassment which Susan Spiten experienced from her ex-manager include being told to expose more of her breast to boost sales.

More Australians are taking public transportation to move around and biking to reach their destinations. The shift toward more environment-friendly and healthier transport options is one of the findings of the State of Australian Cities 2011 report released on Thursday.

The volatility continues on the local share market, with the market trading lower for the second session this week. European share markets rose overnight on hopes leaders will come up with a plan this weekend to deal with the region's debt crisis.

The Transport Workers Union (TWU) rejected a new agreement proposed by Qantas for the air carrier's 3,800 baggage handlers, caterers and ground staff.

Victoria train riders may soon be able to send emails or surf the Web while on their way to work or home. The state government is considering installing wi-fi transmitters and improving communications on regional trains, according to Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder.

With a median wealth of $221,704 per adult, Australia has emerged as the wealthiest nation in the world in 2011, dislodging Switzerland.

The Australian dollar is a little lower this morning on reports of a disagreement between France and Germany on the details of the European Financial Stability Facility.

The volatility continued for investors today, with the local stock market attempting to recover some of yesterday's losses. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose 25.3pts or 0.6pct to 4274.8, notching up its second win of the week. Sentiment was boosted by a newspaper report from the UK's The Guardian which suggested France and Germany have agreed to increase the size of the European stability fund to two trillion Euros.

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia (PGA) is again in hot water over another apparent shady deal. This time it involves alleged kickbacks paid by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to chemists.

Celina Aarons of Florida got the shock of her life when she received a $201,005.44 phone bill from T-Mobile. Her average phone bill is only $175.

Rio Tinto announced on Wednesday that it would advance the first shipment of ore from its Simandou project in Guinea to mid-2015. The earlier shipment date is because of accelerated development resulting from approval of another $211 million for continued studies and $1.117 billion funding commitment for early works and procurement of long-lead items.

The labor row between Qantas engineers and management turned for the worse after the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) filed a complaint with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) on Wednesday.

After some legal setbacks, Samsung Electronics finally won some of its legal battles against Apple. The victory was handed by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh who dismissed on Tuesday some of the antitrust claims by Apple against the South Korean firm.