Vittorio Hernandez

The Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) decried on Tuesday the decision of national carrier Qantas to have two of it Boeing 747s flown to Hong Kong for heavy maintenance in the later part of 2014.

New Zealand Finance Minister Bill English wants large multinational firms like Apple, Google and Facebook to pay higher taxes. But he admitted it would be difficult for one nation to pressure them to do that since these companies have structured their businesses that they would minimise tax payments.

Over the period of recent weeks the local market has cultivated the appearance of resilience. Appearance, because these kind statements have to be seen through the lens of summer volumes, which can make for some rather flighty price action. In the support of the claim, last week saw the market recover from a 2% deficit to end the week flat. Today the market was down almost 20 points before a mid-session recovery saw the market end the day ahead by 30 points.

The Australian sharemarket has crept into positive territory after a slightly weaker start. The All Ordinaries Index is up by less than 0.1 per cent; however is being held back by an underperforming mining sector. U.S. sharemarkets were closed last night due to the Martin Luther King Jr Day holiday; keeping trading volume lighter than usual. There is no major economic news scheduled for release in Australia or the region today; however yesterday's slightly better than expected Chinese GDP rea...

Brazilian native, 52-year-old Sandra Nabuco, got the shock of her life when a porcupine fell on her head, injuring her scalp with 200 sharp quills.

With the US shut for Martin Luther King Day, overnight leads are thin, meaning another day of digesting the China GDP data.

European shares edged lower in thin trade on Monday. A surprising quarterly loss by Deutsche Bank prompted investors to cash in recent gains on banking stocks. Deutsche Bank fell by 5.4% after a drop in fixed income trading revenues restructuring costs, and also warning about a challenging 2014. Credit Suisse fell 2.5% and Commerzbank lost 4.5%. The STOXX 600 Banking index lost 1% but was still up 5.5% so far this year. The FTSEurofirst 300 index fell by 0.1% with the UK FTSE up by 0.1% and the ...

It is not only her secret pregnancy that is out for the whole world to know. Even the identity of the El Salvador nun who shocked the Catholic world with the news that she gave birth to a baby boy has been revealed to the public.

A New York display along East Houston is generating buzz in the fashion industry because of three mannequins. It is not so much the white undergarments donned by the models that are the cause of the talk, but the fact that the mannequins have unshaved pubic hair sticking out of the undies.

While Australian consumer may not throw a fit when their clothes does not fit like what that Indian actress did, buyers deserve better treatment, said Ed Gribbin, president of Alvanon, a clothing size and fit consultancy.

Beijing will have a more cleaner-burning source of energy with the purchase by the China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) of the 25 per cent stage in one of Africa's largest uranium mines. CNNC bought the shares of the Langer Heinrich operations in Namibia for $190 million from Australian uranium producer Paladin Energy on Monday.

The Australian share market finished in the red today, but importantly closed well off earlier lows following better than expected Chinese economic growth figures. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) hit a low of 5237.7 points during trade before closing down just 8.8 points to 5307.6.

The Australian sharemarket is losing ground following a mixed and uninspiring session from global markets on Friday. The main potential driver of local stocks this afternoon is likely to be a barrage of Chinese economic readings at 1pm (AEDT). Volume is expected to be on the light side globally, with the Martin Luther King Jr holiday keeping U.S. markets closed tonight.

Expectations are growing that 2014 will be the year that commodities will return to the winners' cycle, after having seen the likes of corn, silver, gold, nickel and platinum all falling into bear markets in 2013, with 23 commodities finishing last year in the red.

n US economic news, the University of Michigan US Consumer Sentiment Index eased from 82.5 to 80.4 in January. US industrial production rose by 0.3% in December, with manufacturing output up 0.4% in the month. For the quarter industrial production advanced at a 6.8% pace - the fastest quarterly growth rate in over three years. US housing starts fell by 9.8% in December - marking the biggest drop in nine months. US building permits fell by 3% in December. Weather may have played a part in the wea...

Rumours are again swirling that HTC One will release its next-generation model in March with a bigger screen and better camera.

Now the truth is out - undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr has been using all excuses not to engage eight-division title holder Manny Pacquiao in the ring because he is afraid of the Filipino southpaw.

Having your mobile phone stolen is bad enough, but knowing that the thief is enjoying using the phone for taking naked selfies and sex videos adds insult to the injury.

An Australian federal court fined two Aussie energy firms $125,000 for claiming the solar panels they were selling were made in Australia when it was really manufactured in China.

Are American police officers overstepping their bounds when it comes to probing suspects, especially in body parts considered private? Two recent but separate incidents in the U.S. appears to confirm that.

A 31-year-old El Salvador nun assigned in Rome provided what seems to be the first sex scandal under the 10-month-old reign of Pope Francis as leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Australian share market closed slightly lower today as the banks and miners fought it out. Some great gains from the likes of BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO) were offset by falls in the banking sector and from retail stocks. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) finished the day's session lower by 3 points or 0.1 per cent to 5316.4 points.

The Australian sharemarket was up for the third consecutive trading session on the open; however the gains were short lived. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is now slipping by 0.2 per cent at lunch, with the miners the main supportive mechanism for stocks after 2.5 hours of trade. Weakness across almost all major sharemarkets last night and disappointing profit results from major U.S. financial institutions are contributing to the losses.

The AUD remains as one of the more interesting G10 currencies around, as it has again weakened against all 16 major trading pairs on what was one of the most disappointing employment change data releases in years.

In US economic news, the NAHB housing market index dipped from 57 to 56 points in January, suggesting home builder confidence had faded a bit at the start of 2014, although most developers expected the housing recovery to continue. US jobless claims fell by 2,000 to 326,000 in the past week. US consumer prices posted the largest gain in six months, rising by 0.3% in December to be up 1.5% over the year. Core prices rose by a much more sedate 0.1%. The Chicago PMI was revised higher from 57.9 to ...

Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) apparently has made the right decision in placing Sam Walsh at the helm of the company. A year after being appointed CEO, Mr Walsh has broken company records when he reported on Friday that the miner had produced 266 million tonnes of iron ore.

National Security Administration's (NSA) snooping ways is the gain of Silent Circle, a D.C.-based encrypted communications service, and Geeksphone, a Spain-based smartphone startup company. The two will soon make available to the technology world an NSA-proof mobile phone to be called Blackphone, reports Huffington Post.

Passengers of Air New Zealand would soon have more destinations to fly to using the carrier. Reports said Air New Zealand would soon announce the major expansion of its routes and fleet on the heels of the airline inking a deal this week with Singapore Airlines, its erstwhile rival.

Today, Jan 17, a Friday, is the birthday of U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, who becomes a golden girl.