Vittorio Hernandez

The heatwave took its toll on 4,179 sheep that died aboard the vessel Bader III on the way to Qatar from Perth. The Herald reported on Thursday the incident which actually happened in August 2013 aboard the exporter Livestock Shipping Service's (LSS) Bader III vessel.

The Australian share market had its best performance for 2014 today, adding to yesterday's gains and more than making up for the losses on Tuesday. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose 63.9 points or 1.2 per cent to finish at 5319.4 points.

The Australian share market is performing well in early trade on the back of gains in European markets and on Wall Street overnight, and in spite of disappointing local jobs numbers which have sent the Australian dollar to a three year low.

Both Europe and the US reacted positively to the news that the World Bank is raising its global growth forecast for 2014 by 20 basis points to 3.2%. The reaction from the developed world was further driven by where the growth is coming from, with developed nations component upped to 2.2% from 2%. The slight disappointment was that developing nations had their outlook cut slightly to 5.2%.

In US economic news, US producer prices lifted by 0.4% in December to be up just 1.2% over the year. Core producer prices lifted by a more sedate 0.3% in the month. The New York Fed Empire manufacturing survey lifted from 2.2 to a surprising 12.5 in January. The Fed´s latest Beige book, suggest economic activity continued to expand across most regions and sectors through late 2013. Nine out of the 12 districts indicated the local economy was expanding at a moderate pace.

Horny people would probably say "See, I told you" upon hearing the result of a study done by the University of Maryland researchers. The study linked the production of more new brain cells after mating.

In a showcase of life imitating art, or an Aesop fable, a turtle won in a race against a rabbit during a ski competition in northern China.

Tech Web sites are speculating that Nokia would soon release its first Android smartphone at the MCW in March. The device, long the subject of rumours among techies, is said to be named Nokia Normandy.

Which is a more shocking crime of passion - sexually assaulting a teenager or an animal? A New South Wales man, now 53 years old, allegedly committed those despicable acts between 2003 and 2005, and is now facing 21 charges for both offences.

The Green Party of Australia, following what legislators in the U.S. and Canada had initiated the past years, are again pushing for an end to recitation of prayers in the federal parliament. The Greens specifically point to the Lord's Prayer.

After three straight sessions of losses, the Australian sharemarket has managed to improve by 0.7 per cent. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) was up by 0.14 per cent at its worst and 0.83 per cent higher at its best before settling 0.68 per cent firmer by the close.

The craft of cross-stitching has gained many followers globally that even men are now in it as a hobby, past-time or even as a source of livelihood. Faces of known people or personalities such as Jesus Christ or Mona Lisa are favourite subject, or family members.

Local stocks are managing to partly make up for yesterday's 1.5 per cent slump; the single worst day for Australian equities in four months. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is back above the 5250.0 market, following hitting four week low on Tuesday; now improving by 0.7 per cent.

Australia continued to burn with some areas such as Victoria hitting a record 46 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. Other towns registered 45C, while it was 40C in nine of the Bureau of Meteorology's forecast districts.

The negative sentiment that has dogged markets finally came to a halt in US trade after December retail sales data came in better than expected. Earnings also got off to a fairly good start with gains for JP Morgan and Wells Fargo. This raised expectations heading into the Bank of America earnings, which carry significant weight given the bank's large retail offering and mortgage exposure. With tapering likely to roll on, investors really want to see data suggesting the US economy is in a muc...

In US economic news, US retail sales rose by a modest 0.2% in December, marginally stronger than the 0.1% forecast. More importantly core sales (excluding autos, gasoline and building materials) rose by a healthy 0.7% in December. Clothing sales lifted by 1.8%, supported by the colder weather, while gasoline sales rose by 1.6% and auto sales fell by 1.8%.

Young men in Alberta lost their interest in studying when the province's oil sands sectors offered them jobs whose average hourly wage increase of 21 per cent was significantly higher than the 4 per cent salary hike granted to workers in other Canadian provinces.

News of the launch of a Windows 9 OS in April and sale in 2015 are good indicators of how badly received by the tech world was Windows 8, launched 15 months ago only.

David Jones on Queen Street would have a new tenant in February with the opening of American menswear retailer Brooks Brothers of a boutique store in Brisbane.

The Australian sharemarket recorded its biggest daily fall in four months, with the All Ordinaries slumping by 1.5 per cent and ending very close to a four week low. Local shares are down 2.5 per cent since the start of January; making it the worst start to a new year since 2010. Today's weakness was largely expected though, with the DOW index slumping by 1.1 per cent overnight. The falls were partly due to comments by a U.S. central bank official who said the Federal Reserve will continue to...

Sellers have been mobilised from the outset in today's session and have encountered little resistance from buyers along the way in early trade. The fall on Wall Street overnight has been too difficult to look through for local investors. The US Fed will be undeterred in relation to tapering despite the weak reading for US jobs growth according to comments made by the President of the Atlanta Fed overnight.

As the smartphone market gets saturated with expensive models, phone makers are now turning to the lower-end income bracket to boost their sales and profit by releasing handheld units that cost below $200 or $100. The latest to join this trend is faltering Canadian phonemaker BlackBerry, which said on Monday that it would release to the market in 2014 two new models of smartphones.

The New Zealand city Christchurch was named by the New York Times on Monday as the second best city in the world. The influential daily came up with the list of 52 places to visit in 2014.

Having seen a 30% rise in the S&P in 2013, investors are starting to ask the question that strategists and analysts have been asking since October: has the optimism that drove 2013 translated into earnings?

European shares climbed to a fresh 5½-year high on Monday, supported by a rally in banking stocks, after regulators agreed to soften new leverage ratios for banks. On Sunday global banking regulators said they would modify the way the new bank rule, which is meant to rein in risky balance sheets from 2018 is compiled. Deutsche Bank climbed 4.7%, Barclays added 2.9% and UBS rose 3.1%. The STOXX banking index rose 1.5% (up 6% so far this year). The FTSEurofirst 300 index rose by 0.3% with the UK F...

Pope Francis showed once more that he values people more than tradition. In another display of his modern way of thinking that explains why many faithful are returning to the Roman Catholic Church in droves, the pontiff baptised 32 infants at the Sistine Chapel on Sunday.

Canadian singer Neil Young spoke against the country's oil sands on Sunday at a news conference in Toronto before the kicked off for the first of four concerts on his Honor the Treaties tour.

Australia may be shutting tighter its door to economic asylum seekers, but the country should open its door wider to skilled migrant workers for it to improve the national economy.

The nightmare that happened to New Zealand's largest company, Fonterra, in mid-2013 is recurring again on the first month of 2014. The dairy firm recalled on Monday 8,700 bottles of fresh cream sold under the Anchor brand over fears of E. Coli bacteria contamination.