Vittorio Hernandez

A family from Queensland in Australia would probably shun buying tickets from Malaysian Airlines after another jet of the embattled air carrier had an air mishap on Thursday, killing all 298 people aboard the aircraft. The Burrows from Biloela have barely recovered from their March 8 loss, and now two more losses in the family involving the same airlines.

After a trying and emotional night in the US on the back of the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 and escalated international tensions in the Middle East, Malaysia Airlines is currently down 11% as investors come to grips with the news. Malaysia Airlines is majority owned by the Malaysian government holding company Khazanah Nasional Bhd. who told the market in the early session that MH17 B777-200 had a ´clean maintenance record´. Concerns about the ramifications of the incident sent the VIX...

Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) created a new app that would allow owners of iPhone and iPad to create their own demo radio advertisements. It only indicates the fast-paced development in the information and computer technology industry that permits broadcasters as well as hobbyist to be part of the radio industry even outside the traditional and mainstream FM and AM bands.

Even before Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 disappeared mysteriously on March 8, 2014, the embattled air carrier was already struggling financially. The incident worsened the airline's financial standing as passengers, scared by what happened, cancelled bookings, while the company had to shoulder a lot of extra expenses related to the search and tending to the needs of the relatives of the 239 people aboard the ill-fated plane.

Despite being sold off this morning for the first time since Wednesday last week, local shares have crept into positive territory. The crash of yet another Malaysian passenger plane has kept global markets on edge, pushing the price of gold and oil higher, while the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up by 0.1 per cent.

The horrible news that 295 passengers on a Malaysian Airlines flight have been killed over the Ukrainian/Russian border is a sharp reminder that current geopolitical tensions in that region are at knife point and this will be a flash point to tip it over.

The Philadelphia Fed´s manufacturing index rose from +17.8 to +23.9 in July, well ahead of forecasts (+16.0). The index has been particularly strong in the past four months. Across the subindices new orders, shipments, employment all recorded healthy gains. US jobless claims fell by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 302,000 last week.

A study by University of Sydney speech researchers explains the very distinct voice of radio broadcasters to their elastic vocal cords. That means their cords close faster than the average person.

The Sydney Federal Court approved on Thursday the $2.2 billion sale of Australian department store David Jones to Woolworths Holdings of South Africa. The go signal came after shareholders of the second-largest department store in the country approved the sale on Monday.

A computer glitch hit Australian grocery giant Woolworths on Thursday afternoon, causing scanners to charge as free items with price tags below $10.

It's official! Floyd Mayweather Jr beat Manny Pacquiao. Not in the ring but on stage at the Nokia Center in Los Angeles, California.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott finally fulfilled his campaign promise on Thursday, July 18, to repeal Julia Gillard's carbon tax law. To do that after two years when the tax was collected, the PM had the backing of the new crossbenchers in the Senate, along with the Palmer United Party. Thirty-nine legislators voted to repeal the carbon tax, while 32 Labor and Green members opposed the repeal.

A nice start for the Australian market, at the open of trade the ASX 200 hit a 6 year high of 5559.4 points the highest level since June the 10th 2008. Today the early volumes on the market were also solid and by lunch time the All Ordinaries Index was at 5,528.9 points.

The two pound-for-pound kings finally announced their opponents in their Sept 13 and Nov 22 bouts, with Floyd Mayweather opting for a rematch with Argentinean boxer Marcos Maidana and Manny Pacquiao picking WBO junior welterweight champion Chris Algieri.

New WBO junior welterweight title holder Chris Algieri accepted the offer of eight-division title holder Manny Pacquiao to fight him in the latter's defense of his WBO welterweight belt on Nov 22 at the Cotai Arena in Macau.

US markets have provided some backbone for the Asian session today, with our opening call currently at 5531 (+0.2%).

The US Federal Reserve chair, Janet Yellen, has expressed optimism on the economy: ´´I am optimistic about the economy and that´s reflected in the forecasts that are included in the monetary policy report.´´ Further, she noted: ´´...I do think the economy is recovering and that growth is picking up and that we have sufficient growth to support continued improvement in the labour market.´´

Sydney business leaders sought freer trader to boost growth in trade and capital and to create jobs. However, they stayed away from the issue of profit-sharing and climate change, which are considered vital issues by many G20 nations.

"Spare the rod and spoil the child" is apparently the guiding principle of Kevin Donnelly, an adviser of Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott who is advocating the return of corporal punishment among Aussie students to instill in them discipline. Donnelly is the co-chair of the Australian curriculum review, together with Kenneth Wiltshire.

More Australians are being open to accept different forms of marriage aside from the traditional male-female relationship. Results of the survey made by Crosby Textor, the national pollster for Prime Minister Tony Abbott's Liberal Party, said 72 per cent of 1,000 Aussies polled support marriage equality or recognising same-sex marriages.

The Aussie market came under pressure within 30 minutes of the start of trade today, then thanks to a late surge, local shares higher for the second time this week. The All Ordinaries Index closed up 0.16% or 8.8pts higher; closing above 5,500 points for first time in a week.

Australian champion swimmer Ian Thorpe cold have made a greater impact had he came out to admit his being gay when he was still competing, American fellow Olympic medalist Mark Spitz said on Tuesday.

The apparent reason why Top Rank offered WBO junior welterweight champion Chris Algieri $1.5 million to fight eight-division title holder Manny Pacquiao on Nov 22 at Macau is because the 30-year-old boxer's guaranteed purse is considerably lesser than what Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Marquez is reportedly asking.

Unbeaten American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr is not called Money May for nothing. On Monday, during the first of the four-city promotion for his Sept 13 rematch with Argentinean boxer Marcos Maidana, Mayweather said he expects to earn $70 million from his first bout with Maidana on May 3.

A study commissioned by eBay that prepared the first G-20 e-Trade Readiness Index identified Australia as the best place to take advantage of Internet trade compared to other developed economies.

The Australian market struggled to hold on to early gains as the banks and mining stocks came under heavy selling. The All Ordinaries Index added 12points at the start of trade then by lunchtime the market had fallen into the red. But in the last 20 minutes of trade today the markets regained ground and finished only 1 point weaker. Our market basically pushed aside the gains from the US markets and the excitement from the better than expected result from Citi Group throughout the day.

Eighty workers of ABC will join the ranks of the unemployed under a forced redundancy programmes as the media firm restructures its international broadcasting commitments after the Australia Network was axed.

Finance experts have reiterated time and again that relying on savings to fund one's retirement is not advisable because inflation eats up the actual value of a person's retirement nest.

After a solid night on European and US markets, the Australian market opened higher this morning. But not by as much as the SPI futures index had expected. The All Ordinaries Index added 12points at the start of trade rose to an 20 point gain but by lunch the market fell away and was down 11pts