Vittorio Hernandez

A major American celebrity appears to be more popular than Canadian bad boy Justin Bieber in terms of popularity. When Bieber's appearance at the Between Two Ferns talk show was posted in the Web Site Funny or Die in September 2013, the episode got 17.8 million hits to date.

Former Disney star Miley Cyrus's infamous protruding tongue is bringing her to deep trouble. And so does its giant replica.

Snakes in Australia are apparently a hungry lot. A week after a snake in Queensland swallowed a crocodile, a python in New South Wales ate on Wednesday night a Chihuahua-Maltese pet dog.

Malaysian authorities are apparently setting aside the hijack angle of the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 with no less than Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak declaring on Saturday afternoon that the Boeing 777 aircraft was deliberately deviated by the pilot, co-pilot or someone with knowledge of aviation.

Islamic organisations in Malaysia criticised the use of a witch doctor who used voodoo rituals to help find the missing plane. Islam experts rejected the use of Mr Ibrahim's services as syirik or deviant.

The local market had its second worst day of the year; is trading at a one month low and recorded its worst week in three months. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) fell 1.5 per cent today, taking the losses this week to 2.37 per cent (worst week in three months).

At $37.99, the Ubislate 7Ci tablet made by Canadian tech firm Datawind is one of the lowest-priced tablets in the market. The company would even break its own record by offering a $20 tablet.

It was no surprise to see local stocks under pressure from the outset on Friday. One of the main talking points in the last day has been the latest round of Chinese economic news, which was released after the close of Australian trade on Thursday afternoon. The Chinese figures had the capacity to be a boon or a bane. The much weaker than expected results have meant the latter. As a result sellers returned to commodity markets, base metals finished mostly lower on demand concerns after China's...

After having seen an improvement in sentiment yesterday, it seems we are back to square one with renewed China concerns and Ukraine tension ramping up. China data was releases post local trade and this set the tone for overnight trade. Industrial production slowed significantly at just +8.5% which was well below consensus of +9.5%. Retail sales and fixed asset investment data also missed estimates and analysts feel the combined impact of these readings points to a high likelihood of a big GDP dr...

In US economic data, claims for unemployment insurance fell by 9,000 in the latest week to 315,000. Retail sales rose by 0.3% in February with sales excluding autos up by 0.3%. Both figures were slightly above forecasts. The Federal Budget was in deficit by $193.5 billion in February, smaller than the forecast $212 billion deficit. And import prices rose by 0.9% in February with export prices up 0.6% - both ahead of forecasts.

The Canadian Radio-television & Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued on Wednesday a broadcast notice to three local porn producers that they are not broadcasting the mandated 35 per cent required Canadian content.

Australian supermarket giant Woolworths plans to add another 7,000 employees in 2014 to its current 180,000 workers by opening 108 more new stores across the country.

lFor eight-division title holder Manny Pacquiao to deliver the surprise he promised opponent Timothy Bradley during their anticipated April 12 rematch at MGM Grand, coach Freddie Roach advised the Filipino boxer to jab more.

With the angle of terrorism linked to two Iranian men carrying stolen passports ruled out after it appeared they were economic asylum seekers, Malaysian authorities are now looking into the 237 other passengers and crew of the ill-fated Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 for clues to the plane's whereabouts.

The ASX 200 spent most day moving higher, although prices softened in the last 2 hours as investors focussed on Chinese economic figures due for release after the close of local trade. At its best levels of the session the market was up by 41 points; at the lows of the day the index was still in positive territory with a gain of 2 points. Volume was reasonable at around $4.5 billion.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised on Thursday the official cash rate (OCR) by 0.25 basis points to 2.275 per cent. It ended the three-year freeze on interest rates imposed by the national government after the Christchurch earthquake.

The Australian sharemarket is improving for the first time this week, boosted by much better than expected employment numbers. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up by 0.7 per cent.. Mining stocks are the best improvers following a tough start to the week due to concerns relating to China's economy and credit issues. The results of the monthly employment report locally and a handful of economic information from our largest trading partner, China are the two highlights today. China buys around ...

A 32-year-old Chinese man, Zhou Hui, suffered the fate that befell John Wayne Bobbitt when his lover cut his penis using a scissor in December 2012 and killed him with a hammer.

After 5 days of its mysterious disappearance, there appears to be some hope on the whereabouts of the missing Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 jet bound for Beijing on Saturday. A report by The Sydney Morning Herald said that Chinese satellites in search of the missing Flight 370 had observed a suspected crash at seas between Malaysian and Vietnamese waters.

US equities managed to pare losses despite a lack of fresh catalysts to really drive sentiment either way. There was a continuation of similar themes from earlier in the week, with Ukraine uncertainty keeping investors at bay in Europe, while China concerns saw commodities remain subdued. A 0.2% decline in Europe's industrial production which was expected up 0.6% also weighed on commodities. However, copper managed to arrest its slide from yesterday.

In US economic data, the weekly mortgage market index fell by 2.1%, from 381.4 to 373.3, led by refinancing. The purchase index only fell from 169.6 to 168.8.

Oil giant Chevron, in an update on Wednesday, disclosed that with the completion of the offshore pipelaying at its liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Western Australia, the country's largest gas project, Gorgon, is almost 80 per cent complete.

Because of uncertainty over the fate of the missing Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 jet, some family members of the more than 200 passengers aboard the ill-fated plane hang on to thin threads of hope that their loved ones are still alive.

Like other large air carriers that used to rule the skies, Malaysian Airlines has experienced financial turbulence in the past decade as budget carriers compete with them on price points.

The Australian share market was heavily back into the red today, although stocks managed to close off their lows as mining stocks received some positive headwind in afternoon trade. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) closed lower by 0.5 per cent with key financial players a big drag.

Sellers have returned to the share market on Wednesday having stayed their hand somewhat in the previous session. The themes driving sentiment remain largely the same, with the central discussion turning around the mining sector and the near term prospects for the price of iron ore. To that end, prices for the commodity have consolidated at $104.90 / tonne in the last day having suffered an 8% decline in the previous day.

Sargeant Brian Weir, a Beverly Hills cop who reported an ogling incident at the death scene of singer Whitney Houston, filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming retaliation.

The macro influences remain: China worries; Russian-Ukrainian tensions; sluggish Japanese data; indifferent US data; steel demand in China and the slide into bear markets of industrial commodities.

In US economic data, chain store sales rose by 2.5% in the latest week compared with a year earlier, down from 2.7% in the previous week. Wholesale sales fell by 1.9% in January, the biggest fall in almost five years and well below forecasts centred on a gain of 0.2%. Inventories rose by 0.6%.