thinktime

A British watchdog has hit Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs with a fine of 17.5 million pounds ($29 million) for information failures tied to US fraud charges.

Large daily doses of B vitamins could delay, or even halt, the onset of Alzheimer's disease, a study suggests.

A 62-year-old former scout leader from South Australia is expected to face court over a series of child sex abuse cases between the early 1980s and the early 1990s.

New Zealand's top military scientist has quit after allegations that his resume falsely claimed he was an ex-Marine and an Olympic bobsledder who raced against Jamaica's Cool Runnings team.

Loyalty is what we call it when someone refuses a momentarily better option.

If your offering is always better, you don't have loyal customers, you have smart ones. Don't brag about how loyal your customers are when you're the cheapest or you have clearly dominated some key element of what the market demands. That's not loyalty. That's something else.

Loyal customers understand that there's almost always something better out there, but they're not so interested in looking.

Loyalty can be rewarded, but loyalty usually comes from within, from a story we like to tell ourselves. We're loyal to sports teams and products (and yes, to people) because being loyal makes us happy. Why else be a fan of the Cubs? Some customers like being loyal. Those are good customers to have.

Loyalty isn't forever. Sometimes, the world changes significantly and even though the loyal partner/customer likes that label, it gets so difficult to stick that he switches.

I think there's no doubt that some brands and teams and politicians and yes, people, attract a greater percentage of loyal fans than others. Not because they're bigger or better, but because they reinforce the good feeling some people get when they're being loyal. Hint: low price or supermodel good looks are not the tools of choice for attracting people who enjoy being loyal.

Rewarding loyalty for loyalty's sake--not by paying people for sticking it out so the offering ends up being more attractive--is not an obvious path, but it's a worthwhile one. Tell a story that appeals to loyalists. Treat different customers differently, and reserve your highest level of respect for those that stand by you.

A bill to give same-sex couples the right to adopt in New South Wales is set to become law.

A strong 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of central Chile on Thursday, the US Geological Survey reported.

A Melbourne court has heard of the bizarre details of the theft of a python and sand lizard from a pet shop.

The RSPCA has been told to review its agreement with Channel 7 reality TV program Animal Rescue following a New South Wales Government inquiry into a raid on a wildlife park.

Police around the country are mourning the death of a New South Wales constable who was shot and killed in a drug raid in Sydney last night.

Pilot error was to blame for a passenger plane crash in southern India in May that claimed 158 lives, an official investigation has heard.

Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser says the State Government will go ahead with the public float of the Queensland Rail (QR) coal business after a consortium of mining companies pulled out of negotiations.

Police have raided scores of properties across south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales in a crackdown on drug trafficking.

Queensland Police has begun an investigation into an alleged indecent act by Brisbane Lions star Brendan Fevola.

A rise on Wall Street overnight and a strong surge by NAB have both helped boost local stocks by almost 1 per cent.

Philippines officials investigating the handling of a deadly siege in Manila last month have admitted police may have accidentally shot some of the hostages.

Much of Brazil is under a state of emergency as more than 1,000 bushfires continue to burn across the country.

Five people have been arrested after police seized a large quantity of the drug ice in raids across Melbourne.

Wilson Tuckey has spoken publicly for the first time since losing the West Australian seat of O'Connor to Nationals MP Tony Crook at the federal election.

A roadside bomb has killed 10 people and wounded four in Pakistan's Kurram tribal region on the Afghan border, a government official said.