Vittorio Hernandez

On Tuesday, American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr lost the chance to earn a guaranteed purse of $120 million after a group of investors from the United Arab Emirates withdrew their offer made in November. The investors, which includes royals, were disappointed in Money May's lack of commitment to fight Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao.

The local share market has wrapped up the last trading day of the week on a positive note, finishing close to the day's highs. The All Ords (XAO) jumped 80 points or 1.5 percent to 5,440, while the ASX 200 (XJO) climbed 84 points or 1.5 percent to 5,465.

The Australian sharemarket is off to its best start of the week with the ASX 200 Index up by 1 per cent. This is ahead of the single most important piece of data; the US non-farm payrolls (a monthly jobs report) out tonight at 12.30am AEDT.

In the 1973 movie Papillon, the character played by actor Dustin Hoffman smuggled cash into prison by hiding it inside a metal canister which he hides by pushing it inside his anus.

Prince Andrew and Buckingham Palace may keep on denying that he had sex with then 17-year-old Virginia Roberts, the alleged sex slave of convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. However, at least he can't deny that he knows her, based on a photo of them together in the mansion of Epstein.

The US market had its second day in the green yesterday, which saw it recoup over all its losses year-to-date.

In US economic data, new claims for unemployment insurance (jobless claims) fell by 4,000 in the latest week to 294,000. And the number of announced job layoffs (Challenger survey) fell from 35,940 to 32,640 in December.

Floyd Mayweather Jr, eat your heart out! Arch rival Manny Pacquiao is going to London to have dinner in Buckingham Palace with Prince Harry, and possibly Queen Elizabeth.

From sex slave to porn star - that is the career path that adult film company Vivid Entertainment is proposing to Virginia Roberts, the 30-year-old American woman who claims to have engaged in a sex orgy with Prince Andrew.

Australian shares finished firmer for the second time this week following 1.2 per cent gains in US markets and a firmer oil price. The ASX 200 Index rose by 0.5 per cent but is still down so far this week.

Australian shares are improving after two days of weakness. The ASX 200 Index is up 0.3 per cent following the first rise in US stocks in six sessions and a firmer oil price.

Considering the focus of the markets this week, the Fed minutes have provided a welcome distraction to the preoccupation with crude.

A veteran suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder will file a lawsuit against the Atlanta VA Medical Center for prescribing him in December the drug Trazadone, which is an anti-depressant. The medication worked, but it had an unexpected side effect that Edward Stalling found "hard" to forget.

The house staff of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein may have died last week and brought to his grave damming secrets of the billionaire and Prince Andrew, but the FBI has documents that could be used in proving that the financier sexually abused underage girls.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates drank on Wednesday water from a machine that converts the faeces into electricity, water and ash. He compared the water to as delicious as that from a bottled one.

Despite their being minors, 15-year-old Ariel Kornegay and 11-year-old Nicole were arrested by Columbia County Sheriff's Office on Monday after they shot to death their 16-year-old brother Damien.

In US economic data, the trade deficit improved from a deficit of US$42.25 billion in October to US$39bn in November. The ADP employment survey showed that 241,000 private sector jobs were created in December, above forecasts for a 226,000 gain. And new home loans rose 11.1% in the past week with refinance transactions up 16%.

The local sharemarket finished the session slightly weaker, after a choppy final hour of trade. The All Ords (XAO) regained some early losses to close down 0.2 percent to 5,334, while the ASX 200 (XJO) lost 0.2 percent to 5,353.

The tanker Methane Rita Andrea made commodity history on Monday afternoon when it left Gladstone Harbour's Auckland Point to deliver to Singapore the world's first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) processed from coal seam gas (CSG).

Most estranged wives would probably accept a cheque for several millions from their rich husbands and agree to a divorce than stay in an unhappy marriage. But not Sue Ann Arnall, the ex-wife of Continental Resources Chief Executive Harold Hamm who rejected his $974.8 million cheque as divorce settlement - considered the biggest on record.

Australian share are sliding for the second day with the ASX 200 Index down 0.6 per cent; adding to Tuesday’s 1.6 per cent slump. The price of oil fell to a fresh 5.5 year low overnight; dropping by 4 per cent. The more than halving in oil prices in just six months continues to put the energy sector under the most selling pressure.

A key witness to the US lawsuit filed against billionaire Jeffrey Epstein by his alleged former sex slave Virginia Roberts died last week.

The US market logged its fifth consecutive day of losses overnight, something it didn't do once in 2014. The last time it logged a five-day losing streak was December 2013.

The first week of 2015 appears to dispel previous forecast that it wouldn't be a spectacular year for Australia's iron ore sector after price of the commodity hit a five-year low of $66.84 on Dec 23, 2014.

In US economic data, the ISM services index eased from 59.3 to 56.2, below the forecast of 58.0. Factory orders fell 0.7% in November, a slightly larger decline than the 0.5% expected fall. And the Redbook survey of weekly chain store sales was up 4.3% in the latest week compared with a year ago, down from the 5.4% annual gain in the previous week.

Sports fans could kiss the dream match goodbye after the group of Abu Dhabi investors withdrew on the first week of January their $120 million offer for American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr to fight Filipino champ Manny Pacquiao.

California firefighters received a call from 911 of a request from a caller to help remove someone stuck inside the chimney in Woodcrest.

Local shares were hammered today following heavy falls on European and US bourses overnight. Concerns about weak demand have been heightened, after the price of Brent Crude dipped below US$50 a barrel for the first time in five-and-a-half-years. Investors were also spookedovernight amid speculation Greece may exit the Eurozone.The All Ords (XAO) improved slightly from the day's lows to close down 83 points or 1.5 percent to 5,346, while the ASX 200 (XJO) dropped 85 points or 1.5 percent to 5,...

Australian shares have had their worst start in a month with the ASX 200 Index down 1.8 per cent at lunch. The weakness follows concerns about the future of Greece within the euro zone, substantial losses across global markets and a 5 per cent slump in the oil price overnight.