Vittorio Hernandez

With emerging market currencies beginning to calm, we are finally seeing the moves we would have expected to see on the back of the tapering decision. The US dollar index bounced back above 81 while equities advanced despite some mixed US economic data. This suggests that focus was perhaps on a recovery in emerging market bourses particularly for Turkey and Mexico. The earnings season in the US continued to progress favourably and this also encouraged investors to bid equities higher. Facebook p...

In US economic news, the advance reading of economic growth (GDP) for the December quarter was at 3.2% - in line with forecasts. New claims for unemployment insurance rose by 18,000 to 348,000 in the latest week - above forecasts for a result near 330,000. And the pending home sales index fell 8.7% to 92.4 in December.

One vital part of the male reproductive system is linked with the word "courage." Thus, when a man is brave and would stand by his convictions despite the consequences, he is said to have "balls" which is also called nuts or family jewels.

As the younger-generation Chinese have adopted western values, more emphasis is placed in having careers than raising families. This has caused a gap between the older and younger generations, felt most during family reunions when the inevitable question of marriage for single family members crop up.

From a used car to a Harley Davidson motorcycle, the very charismatic and lovable Pope Francis continues to be spoilt by the Catholic faithful with various gifts to show their love and admiration for the pontiff.

The latest edition of Forbes Magazine's Australia Rich List has 30 billionaires with iron ore magnate continue to leading them as she added another $804 million to her wealth for a total fortune of $20.3 billion in 2013.

One of the main questions vexing investors in the early part of 2014 has been resolved in the last day. The decision by the US Federal Reserve to taper their monthly asset purchase by an additional $10 billion dollars saw brisk selling in regional equity markets on Thursday. The ASX200 showed little inclination to recover from its initial selloff for much of the day. The final 2 hours of trade saw some support emerge for the market, although it remained well in the red at the close.

The lawyer for embattled Australian MP Craig Thomson insisted on Wednesday that the former national secretary of the Health Services Union (HSU) did not commit fraud when he allegedly use the cards to pay for the services of prostitutes and other personal expenses.

Australian exporters are profiting from the sudden huge demand for rock lobsters in China, like those caught in the video, due to the Chinese New Year celebration on Friday.

The Australian share market is giving back yesterday's gains following triple digit losses on Wall Street overnight.

Risk unwound through European and US trade as the overwhelmingly positive reaction to Turkey's aggressive hike proved to be short lived. The central bank theme continued with the Fed meeting in focus where it decided to taper by a further $10 billion, taking monthly purchases down to $65 billion as expected. Once again the $10 billion will be equally split between treasuries and mortgage-backed securities (MBS). The commentary didn't change much with the Fed noting an improvement in the la...

The US Federal Reserve has decided to reduce (´taper´) bond purchases by another $10 billion to $65 billion a month. The Fed noted ´´growth in economic activity picked up in recent quarters. Labor market indicators were mixed but on balance showed further improvement.´´

Ben, the rat that the high-pitched boy Michael Jackson sang about would surely not be happy at the massive action being undertaken by the New Zealand government to eradicate the estimated 30 million rats living in the country.

Printer ink makers and ink refilling stations may soon have an unexpected competition from a printer which uses H20 and not ink. The technology was developed by a team of chemists from China.

ANZ Bank's image as a bully lender to some customers may be softened since the bank is now refunding 235,000 home loan customers a total of $70 million which represents overcharge for interest repayments. That would average about $300 per customers.

The local sharemarket staged a comeback after four straight days of losses. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose by around 1 per cent, following Tuesday's 1.26 per cent slump. Concerns relating to emerging market stability have been keeping investors on edge in recent days; however signs that Turkey was taking the issue seriously, settled some nerves. Turkey's central bank increased lending rates from 7.75 per cent to 12 per cent following an emergency meeting. This was aimed at halting a s...

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced on Tuesday the appointment of Peter Cosgrove as new governor-general, to replace Quentin Bryce whose term ends in March.

British fashion brand Marks & Spencer is coming to Australia. In preparation for its Australian launch, the company appointed two new directors to Marks & Spencer (Australia) Pty Ltd, which had been dormant for about 7 years.

The Australian share market is recovering after yesterday posting its biggest one day loss since mid-December, as investors remained concerned about the health of emerging economies.

Green on screen seen across the global overnight finally took some of the heat out of concerned talk around emerging markets. US earnings season continued to show that earnings in the final quarter grew between 6% and 8% and this added support to the reasoning that the S&P has its best trading year since 1997.

In US economic news consumer confidence rose from 77.5 to 80.7 in January, above forecasts for a result near 78.1. The S&P/Case Shiller home price index rose 0.9% in November to be up 13.7% on a year ago - the largest gain in eight years. But durable goods orders fell 4.3% in December. Excluding defence equipment and aircraft, orders fell 1.3%. Economists had tipped a 0.5% rise.

Yoga involves meditation wherein the eyes of the yoga practitioner are closed. Thus, it makes sense that the attire one wears in a yoga class is of minimal importance, except that it should be clothing that would allow movement.

The debate whether to remove the foreskin of infant boys' penises had partly been settled in Sweden and Denmark, following the strong recommendation of a ban on non-medical circumcision of male newborns.

Apple is reportedly planning to stop making the plastic-backed iPhone 5C less than a year after the device's initial release. Quoting a Wall Street Journal report, Slashgear said there is a chance the Cupertino-based tech giant would instead have an all-metal lineup before 2014 ends.

The heat is back on embattled Australian MP Craig Thomson who is facing charges on the misuse of Health Services Union (HSU)-issued credit cards. Just when all seems quiet for the former Labour MP, a new female witnessed emerged on Tuesday who could provide proof that the MP indeed misused his credit cards.

The Australian sharemarket is significantly weaker at lunch, as investors return to work following a holiday. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 0.8 per cent, with the mining and financial sectors the main drags on trade. The losses don't come as a surprise however as global markets slumped on Monday following concerns relating to emerging market growth.

Another high Canadian church official has fallen. Court of Queen's Bench Justice Christopher Mainella found 67-year-old Winnipeg Archbishop Seraphim Storheim guilty of sexual assault on a boy in 1985. But he was acquitted of a similar accusation filed by the boy's twin brother due to issues such as mental ailment and alcohol addiction which clouded the second complainant's memory and affected the quality of evidence he provided.

Emerging markets continue to take a hammering as the fear around the moves in the Turkish lira prompted an emergency meeting of the Turkish central bank.

In US economic news the flash Markit Services PMI rose from 55.7 to 56.6 in January. New home sales fell 7.0% to a 414,000 annual rate in December, short of forecasts for a result near 457,000. And the Dallas Federal Reserve index rose from 3.1 to 3.8 in January.