Vittorio Hernandez

A North Korean official of the Korea Daesong Bank, identified by JoohnAng Ilbo newspaper as Yun Tae Hyong, left the country with $5 million and is in Russia, seeking asylum in a third nation.

A laptop seized from an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighter yielded details on how jihadists would operate in their terrorism campaign. Among the files found in the computer in an ISIS hideout raided in earlier part of 2014 were instructions on how to make bombs, how to build biological weapons of mass destruction, steal a vehicle and use disguise to avoid arrest.

Amid a second video posted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Friday showing the beheading of a Kurdish Peshamar fighter, a report on the same day by Judicial Watch warned that members of the extremist militant group are in Mexico and preparing to attack the US.

Barely two weeks after the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) shocked the world by posting a video of the beheading of American photojournalist James Foley, the extremist group again lopped another head off and posted the video.

Buyers and sellers exchanged blows over the course of the session on Friday. Buyers were able to land the final blow which allowed the ASX 200 to end the day with a gain of 1.5 points. The month has yielded a similar outcome in terms of scale, with the index losing 0.12%.

The inevitable, as a result of the two tragedies that hit Malaysia Airlines four months apart, just happened. The embattled air carrier announced on Friday that it would axe up to 4,000 employees, including its chief executive officer, The Telegraph reports.

Mount Tavurvur in Papua New Guinea erupted on Friday morning, sending a giant ash cloud, which affected flights to and from Australia. With an estimated height of 19 kilometres for the ash plume, the Bureau of Meteorology of Australia issued an advisory to air carriers on the direction the cloud is spreading.

The Australian market is unchanged at lunch, with weakness from the mining sector and consumer staples holding the broader market back. Shares in the US fell for the first time this week while remaining near record highs. Stronger than expected US economic growth last night was offset by tensions in Eastern Ukraine. US markets will be shut on Monday for a holiday.

Equities retreated as geopolitical risk reared its ugly head yet again. News that Ukraine-Russia tension is flaring up again sharply spooked investors, with reports suggesting Russia has even more troops in separatist territory. These reports were backed by NATO images and President Obama has since warned of more sanctions against Russia.

In US economic data, the economy grew at a 4.2% annual pace in the June quarter, up from the "flash" estimate of 4% and above forecasts of 3.9%. New claims for unemployment insurance fell by 1,000 to 298,000 in the latest week and below forecasts of a result near 300,000. And pending home sales rose by 3.3% in July, above forecasts for a 0.5% gain.

Despite naysayers crying the stunted recovery of the U.S. real estate market due to a slowdown in home price increase, one expert notes that the slowdown is actually good for the economy.

Beginning on July 1, 2015, all smartphones to be sold in California would have a kill switch. On Thursday, Aug 28, California Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill, introduced in February, into a law after it cleared the State assembly two weeks ago.

Showing that he practices what he preaches, green advocate and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore invested £8 million in Ovo Energy. The investment comes before one of the fastest-growing new power suppliers in the UK launches its initial public offering (IPO).

Eight-division titleholder Manny Pacquiao is certainly spreading his wings beyond boxing, one more indicator that his retirement from the ring is just around the corner. On Thursday, he said in Macau that he plans to open a Manny Pacquiao Institute in China. The first campus would be in Beijing

Verizon Wireless promised on Tuesday to subscribers clearer and crisper phone calls and chat services similar to what Skype offers.

Local sellers have been chastened by the performance of US stocks over the course of recent sessions. US indices may have been flat in overnight trade but the willingness of the S&P 500 to remain in the range of the 2000 mark has meant that domestic sellers have been wary of committing themselves wholeheartedly as the broader US market runs the risk of breaking higher through one of the more significant technical levels of recent history. Sellers pushed the ASX 200 down by 24 points in the openi...

A new study by Pershing Square, a unit of BNY Mellon company, showed that an effective value proposition strengthens audience connections and fosters growth, yet many advisors have had little objective guidance in formulating such statements until now.

Greenwich Village's Quad Cinema was bought by a film buff and real estate magnate Charles S. Cohen, a report on the Boston Herald said.

Japan is encouraging its young people to invest in the stock market through a plan to expand an existing tax-free investment program that targets citizens aged 20 and above.

Volumes are down, trading activity is subdued and the Street is nonplussed about a key driver for the next leg up or down. The current situation has the bullish and bearish views sitting at around 50/50 as the market awaits the first two weeks of September and the meeting of central banks.

In US economic data, the weekly mortgage market index rose by 2.8% with the purchase index up 2.6% and the refinancing index up by 2.8%.

Followers of unbeaten American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr are used by now to seeing video and photo posts of the champ showing off his latest purchase of diamonds, watches, cars and other luxury items for himself and girlfriend Doralee "Bad" Medina. He has also posted shots of himself with 8-digit checks or a bag full of cold cash, giving the impression that Money May is flaunting his wealth amid criticisms that he is an uneducated millionaire

On Wednesday, another news of a bloody death was reported by media. However, it didn't happen in the Middle East but in Arizona where a 9-year-old girl accidentally shot to death her shooting instructor with an Uzi.

A post on Facebook that was shared many times because of the value of two items being compared has sparked a social media debate on which is the real Facebook page of Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao.

The uptrend momentum on the S&P has continued unabated, as it breached and held 2000 points for the first time in its history this morning.

n US economic data, the CaseShiller home price series fell 0.2% in June, weaker than expectations. But the FHFA home price series rose by 0.4% in June to stand 5.1% higher than a year ago. Durable good orders rose by 22.6% in July, but excluding aircraft, orders fell by 0.5%, below forecasts of a 0.5% gain. And consumer confidence rose from 90.9 to 92.4, above forecasts for a result near 89.0 and the highest level since October 2007.

A study by business consultant McKinsey & Co brought out the possibility that China's e-commerce market would soon outpace that of the U.S. very soon. It forecasts that the Chinese market will grow between $420 billion and $650 billion by 2020.

Will you trade your home for a smart home that knows when you have arrived, or have been built with energy-efficient materials? How about one with the capability to adjust automatically based on weather conditions or brews your coffee the moment you wake up? Or one that reminds you to cross a chore off your list? Most of you probably would happily oblige.

Technology giant IBM said on Tuesday that it would open two SoftLayer data centres in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. The first, to open in September at Deer Park in Melbourne, is part of IBM's $1.2 billion global investment that aims to expand its cloud computing footprint.