The past year has been a lean one for anybody hoping to earn an income from mining shares. But things are looking up. BHP Billiton Rio Tinto Group Fortescue Metals Group Glencore Xstrata

Colgate-Palmolive, Kellogg's, Nestlé and Unilever are among nine global food and household companies selling products containing palm oil tarnished by human rights abuses in Indonesia, an Amnesty International investigation has found.

Holiday shopping season has begun, and so have the boycotts.

It's nice that the present chairman is talking tough but his predecessors did too, writes Michael Pascoe.

Here's what you need to know before the ASX opens today.

Comment: Signals coming from an obscure corner of the financial markets could ultimately have implications for millions of households.

A draft decision from the ACCC denies a request by three of the country's big banks to negotiate as a bloc with Apple for access to its NFC technology.

Tax avoidance by multinational oil and gas companies will be put under the spotlight of a parliamentary inquiry.

Next year is the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, so Apple should have surprises in store.

Acclaimed Hollywood director Wes Anderson has applied his distinctive style to a new advertisement for retailer H&M.

The OECD's view on Australian interest rates is a lot more hawkish than that of experts on the ground here.

Comment: While there has been a global outpouring in response to the election of Donald J. Trump, we've heard no real response from the world's second power, China.

Many of us think in terms of how much data we're using now, without thinking about the fact that many mobile plans cover two-year terms.

The CSIRO will sign a technology licensing agreement with a Chinese solar company that could reap millions of dollars in royalties for the national science and industry organisation. Video of the solar research plant in Newcastle courtesy of CSIRO.

Optus pre-paid customers who are prepared to have ads on their mobile phone's lock screen can earn a free gigabyte of data each month.

ASX slips as metals rally runs out of steam http://www.smh.com.au/…/asx-slips-as-metals-rally-runs-out-…

The ACCC has knocked back a request from three of the country's major banks to launch a collective boycott of Apple Pay, in what it says is a "finely balanced" draft decision.

Qantas has baled out of an ambitious deal with American Airlines that would have increased trans-Pacific traffic for both carriers.