Insights

Every miner has his (or her) day

The market has started the week higher, with global investor sentiment boosted by record highs on Wall Street.

A global deal to lift sanctions against Iran could unleash a flood of oil onto world markets by next year just as crude output picks up in Libya, Iraq, and North America, triggering a slide in prices and a major shake-up of the energy landscape.

The dollar is on track to record its biggest monthly loss against the US dollar since June, amid Reserve Bank jawboning, rising Chinese interest rates, commodity price weakness and heightened expectations of a near-term wind-back of the Federal Reserve's stimulus program.

Commonwealth Property Office Fund has pulled a deal giving Dexus Property Group and its Canadian pension fund partner the right to exclusive takeover talks following last week's blockbuster $3 billion offer for the fund by GPT Group.

The weak coal market has forced promoters of a multibillion-dollar rail project in Queensland to adopt a more limited plan, with common user access, to get it off the ground.

The float of Dick Smith in early December doesn't stack up - or at least the $520 million price tag doesn't. It just doesn't sound credible to make a three-plus bagger return on an investment held for only a year. On Tuesday morning the Woolworths boss Grant O'Brien, who sold the consumer electronics business to private equity group Anchorage for $94 million, will be asked by his shareholders to explain that commercial riddle.

Banks are reining in home lending to investors in resource sector hot spots, as lower spending by miners hits regional property markets and prompts banks to reassess their exposure.

Microsoft is hoping to bring 3D printing to the masses with the launch of a free 3D printing app for Windows 8.1 devices.

Good venture capitalists do more than just invest money in start-ups. They help the business grow by taking seats on the board, mentoring, steering and making sure ideas pass a litmus test, say experienced New York-based Adam Rothenberg and Warren Hogarth. bit.ly/1cKHyji

There is more to data centres than space and power. IT Pro has gathered advice on what to look for when considering new facilities. bit.ly/I8EcNF

Attacks on the Android mobile operating system rose by more than 30 per cent in the three months to July, while spam leapt by 125 per cent, according to the latest threats report by antivirus maker McAfee. Researchers found attackers often attempt to avoid detection by splitting functionality of malware among a number of components, such as a two-part program consisting of a Trojan app that downloads second-stage malicious software. The report lists more than 700,000 new samples of Android malware.

Traditional manufacturing is not under threat just yet, but 3D printers are being used to make smaller customised runs of spare parts on site.

How did the Australian media miss such a momentous event?

Commonwealth Property Office Fund has pulled a deal giving Dexus Property Group and its Canadian pension fund partner the right to exclusive takeover talks following last week's blockbuster $3 billion offer for the fund by GPT Group.

The weak coal market has forced promoters of a multibillion-dollar rail project in Queensland to adopt a more limited plan, with common user access, to get it off the ground.