The lunch box - 17/02 (updated 4.30pm)

It’s Wednesday, and we’re almost over the hump! All we need to do is chow down on today’s news bites, and we’ll be on the week’s home stretch.

Channel News

Consumers are more confident right now, according to GfK, but it’s still not all rosy.
Telstra has signed on with Windows Phone 7. Handset vendor partners include HTC, Samsung, LG, HP, Dell and Sony Ericsson.
Finally, IT Services provider, Oakton, in planning to expand into Sydney on the back of impressive growth.

State of the market

Strong overnight gains in Wall St. and positive financial results rocketed the markets upwards and they continued to gain during the day. At close of tarding, the S&P/ASX200 was up 100.1 points at 4667.9.
The Aussie dollar is selling for $US0.9015. Gold is up 2.75 per cent to $US1120 an ounce while oil is slightly higher at $US77.1 a barrel.

Technology

General News

Terrorism: Fake British and Irish passports used in Hamas assassination
Politics: Rudd scraps early election option
Politics (2): Abbott pledges fair IR deal
Politics (3): Coalition making inroads into all areas
Crime: Notorious gang member breaks ranks
Markets: Wall Street's Dow rallies 170 points
World: British TV presenter admits mercy killing of lover
World (2): Obama backs new US nuclear plants
Terrorism: Al-Qaeda terrorists threaten sport
Terrorism (2): Opinion - The foul smell of evil hovers over sport
Haiti disaster: Quake far more destructive than 2004 tsunami, according to study
Tomb talk: King Tutankhamen's dad was mummy's brother
Strange but true: Man launches Spam attack on bus

Winter Olympic Games 2010

Snowboarding: Wilkl our Bright spark pop the double cork?
Women's snowboard cross: Canadian Maelle Ricker wins and thrills home crowd
12.5km biathlon pursuit: Flawless shooting lifts Swede to gold
Embarrassment: Organisers forced to cancel 20,000 more tickets over safety fears on Cypress Mountain
10km biathlon pursuit: Revenge for Magdalena Neuner
Shaun White: Subjects his life to boarder controls
Men's snowboard cross: Aussies caught in the cross fire
Bad sports: Canadian boo boys fail to fluster Aussie
Men's downhill skiing: Underdog fights his way past pit bull
Pairs figure skating: Married pair Shen Zue and Zhao Hongbo reign on golden pond
Official website Schedule and results

Sport

Football: Death of a Socceroo
Champions League: Rooney the hero as Man Utd sink AC Milan
Premier League: Controversy reigns as Man City go fourth
Cricket: Twenty20 'ripe for corruption'
Cycling: Landis accused of hacking into drug-testing lab
Football: Premier league considering Euro play-offs
Boxing: Hurricane continues long walk to justice
Rugby league: New injury setback for Gidley
Rugby league (2): Tigers ina twist as Tuiaki's ankle puts pressure on Tuqiri return
Racing: All Silent restricted to trackwork but Begg not hitting panic button