Vittorio Hernandez

BlackBerry released on Friday an update for the BlackBerry Messenger app, specifically for iOS devices. However, the move would not necessarily boost BBM users substantially from the current 80 million.

The Australian sharemarket made it two days of gains in a row, with the All Ordinaries Index rising by 0.8 per cent. Over the past two sessions, local stocks surged by 1.5 per cent, spurred by Janet Yellen's testimony before Congress. It seems very unlikely that the US central bank will be tapering its US$85 billion worth of stimulus in 2013, which has pushed shares and the Australian dollar higher.

Anchorage Capital Partners, the new owners of electronics retailer Dick Smith, is publicly listing the company and targeting $344 million for the initial public offering (IPO). They announced the IPO on Thursday afternoon.

Auckland officials are bent on capturing live an Asian bird notorious for damaging fruit and vegetable crop as well as chasing and attacking other winged creatures.

Two days after ABS-CBN newsreader Korina Sanchez hit him in a blind item for allegedly reporting wrong facts, CNN report Anderson Cooper finally broke his silence on the comment which created a social media storm as powerful as super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).

On Thursday, the first mass burial was held in Tacloban City where the bodies were buried in a 2-metre deep grave the size of an Olympic pool. However, on the same day, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned the Philippine Department of Health that mass burials without proper identification could violate human rights.

After having set up the market for a dovish tone, it was one-way traffic at the Senate hearing as incoming Fed chair Janet Yellen re-emphasised the need for QE. While acknowledging the economy is significantly stronger and continues to improve, she said the US economic recovery is still fragile and as a result, prematurely pulling aid could derail the recovery. This was not really fresh news and traders didn't add to US dollar shorts. The market has known for a while that Janet Yellen's po...

Fed Governor Yellen's testimony to the Senate Banking Committee was a relatively dove-ish affair that was roughly in synch with the Fed's official view. Crucially she indicated that the "benefits of QE still exceed the costs" and that the Fed ´´must not remove support while recovery is fragile." This does not suggest any particular urgency to commence tapering and suggests that an announcement will only be made in 2014.

The social media storm created by Filipina newsreader Korina Sanchez's blind item about a blonde CNN reporter who has got his fact wrong runs parallel to super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) which battered central Philippines with its 315 kph winds.

The Australian share market staged a rebound today, boosted by another record high on Wall Street and after incoming US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen gave dovish commentary which investors took as a signal the current US economic stimulus plan would continue.

If Auckland, New Zealand, has its notorious Roast Busters Facebook group whose young male members allegedly rape underage and drunken girls, his version in Montgomery is a male real estate appraiser.

The Australian share market is making a solid comeback at lunchtime in the East, buoyed by expectations incoming US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will continue Ben Bernanke's path of cheap money until the US Central Bank is satisfied with unemployment and inflation levels.

Rather than fan the flames caused by her blind item on Wednesday, ABS-CBN newsreader Korina Sanchez kept mum on the controversy created by her comment on a blonde CNN reporter providing wrong facts about the situation in typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)-battered Tacloban City.

Iron ore prices are improving, and it spells good news for Australian miners. Reports from proactiveinvestors Australia said that at China's Tianjin port, price of the key steelmaking ingredient has reached $137 a tonne.

Android-OS phones continue to dominate the global smartphone market. The latest IDC report said the share of Android mobile devices jumped to 81 per cent. Windows phones also expanded to 3.6 per cent, but the share of iOS phones made by Apple went down to 12.9 per cent from 14.4 per cent.

When the five largest stocks (which make up over 30% of the ASX) contract by one per cent or more, a 1% plus contraction will also occur, considering the market that has very little diversification.

In Eurozone economic news, industrial production fell by 0.5pct in September, but annual growth accelerated to 1.1pct.

On Wednesday morning, an ABS-CBN newsreader found a new competitor in CNN which is represented in the Philippines currently by Anderson Cooper. Reports said that ABS-CBN newsreader Korina Sanchez read a blind item in her morning radio show that a blond reporter from CNN does not know what he is talking about.

Despite only a modest pullback in the early part of the session, local equities started to deteriorate in the final three hours of trade. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) slumped by 1.3 per cent, making it the worst day for local equities in 1.5 months. The major banks were the biggest culprits for today's selloff.

The security of Bitcoin banks was once more placed in doubt after reports came out on Tuesday that a Chinese Bitcoin exchange holding $4.1 million for 1,000 customers had disappeared.

The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down by close to 0.5 per cent at lunch, with the tiny IT sector the only industry to escape the losses.

The prolonged Apple-Samsung battle deluxe returns this week as the jury trial before the New York court of Judge Lucy Koh resumed on Tuesday. The new trial would tackle the monetary compensation for the patent technology question on charged by Apple that Samsung copied its iPhone and iPad technology.

With the endless legal battles between Apple and Samsung, expect more court cases every time a new technology is introduced in the smartphone, tablet or personal computer market.

Although there is some reduction in investments in the mining sector in Australia, the decline could be made up by expected increase in mining production in the next 5 years.

The dominant theme in global markets was continuing US dollar strength, as tapering expectations continue to ramp up. This saw equities drift lower, with many investors out there in wait-and-see mode heading into a raft of Fedspeak including Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen. Fed member Richard Fisher got the ball rolling on taper talk after saying it could happen next month during a speech in Melbourne, adding that monetary accommodation was getting riskier by the day. Meanwhile, Dennis Lockhart sa...

In US economic news, chain store sales rose by 3.3pct in the past week compared with a year ago according to Redbook Research, down from 3.8pct in the previous week. The Chicago Federal Reserve national activity index rose from 0.13 to 0.14 in September. But the employment trends index eased from 114.8 to 113.65 in October.

The Australian share market ran out of steam in the afternoon session, managing only a modest daily gain, despite record highs being reached on Wall Street overnight.

The behaviour of some Tacloban residents continue to puzzle observers after reports surfaced of rampant looting in the city ravaged by Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). First, the emptied the Gaisano Mall, taking even appliances, electronic goods and branded clothes, putting in question their motives - is it for survival or simply for personal gain. Then they also looted gasoline. On Tuesday, GMA News reported that warehouses in the city were also being robbed of cases of beer!

While Pope Francis' strongest homily to date delivered on Monday appears to be in response to fresh reports of corruption within the Roman Catholic Church, it could as well apply to Filipino politicians.