AAP

ASX trade has started the week with a loss of 0.9 per cent, as the US dollar improved from expectations of more economic stimulus and inflation there.

WA's retail spending was up by more than 16 per cent in the year to November 2020, outperforming all other states.

A re-elected West Australian Labor government would triple welfare payments for grandparents caring for their grandchildren.

Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has been taken to hospital, "badly shaken but ok" after a serious car crash in Sydney.

ASX traders' first week of 2021 produced the best gains in eight weeks, but the coronavirus threat remains after a more infectious strain entered Australia.

Fruit and vegetable crop losses across the country as a result of labour shortages continued to mount over the festive season and now top $38 million.

Pre-flight testing of returning Australians will be introduced to help prevent the spread of the more transmissible variant of COVID-19 identified in the United Kingdom.

A coronavirus patient in WA at the centre of personal protective equipment breaches has been confirmed to have the highly contagious UK strain.

Shares boomed on the ASX, led by energy and materials, as investors expect more economic stimulus in the US after the Democrats' key Senate victory.

Australians will start to be vaccinated against coronavirus in February, following new advice provided to the federal government.

Twitter and Facebook have temporarily locked the accounts of President Donald Trump and YouTube removed his video message to protesters who stormed the Capitol.

Police in the US Capitol have responded with drawn guns and tear gas as swarms of protesters stormed in and sought to force Congress to undo President Donald Trump's election loss shortly after some of Trump's fellow Republicans launched a last-ditch effort to throw out the results.

Google has launched a fresh bid to tackle a federal government move to make it pay for news content, offering a $1.3 billion program to support journalism.

Investors lost more than one per cent on the ASX as they grew uneasy about early US Senate votes, which may hand Joe Biden support for a progressive agenda.

Australia will be among the first countries to conditionally approve the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19, following a decision to bring forward the rollout to early March.

Qantas has brought forward international ticket sales for destinations including the US and UK despite growing coronavirus rates overseas.

A late flurry of buying helped the Australian share market close little changed, and investors were keen on miners ahead of US Senate elections they hope will lead to government infrastructure spending.

Three people who tested positive for COVID-19 while in hotel quarantine in Perth have now been found to have the more transmissible UK variant of the virus.

The Australian economy needs to be weaned off government support to ensure there is a business-led recovery, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says.

Australia's top medical officer says there will be no delays in the rolling out of coronavirus vaccines once safety approvals are given.

Premier Mark McGowan will wait until after the upcoming state election to name a successor to outgoing Treasurer Ben Wyatt, should Labor be returned to office.

Investors have enjoyed a gain of about 1.5 per cent from the first session of 2021 on the Australian share market, after miners and particularly Fortescue Metals powered indices higher.

The ASX has closed higher following broad-based gains, snapping a three-day losing streak as NSW appeared to be controlling the Sydney coronavirus cluster.

Shares have rallied across almost all sectors of the Australian market as investors responded to three days of coronavirus-related losses.

Most Australians can come together at Christmas after a difficult 2020, but thousands will be in quarantine or stuck overseas.

Shares on the Australian market had a third consecutive loss after investors were troubled by a coronavirus variant and underwhelmed by a US economic stimulus deal.

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has confirmed South Australians will be able to enter his state without quarantining from Christmas Day.

Australia's competition regulator has rejected an undertaking by Alphabet Inc-owned Google that sought to address competition concerns over its planned $US2.1 billion ($A2.8 billion) acquisition of

Shares in Fortescue jumped 4.9 per cent, and Mineral Resources 4.7 per cent, during an overall steady day on the ASX despite an economic stimulus deal in the US.

Private health insurance premiums will cost 2.74 per cent more a year on average, after the federal government approved an industry push for another increase.

Popular activewear brand Lorna Jane is being taken to court by the consumer watchdog for allegedly falsely claiming its clothes could eliminate COVID-19 and stop it spreading.

Australia's share market had its seventh consecutive week of gains helped by optimism overseas and a recovering local economy but investors will watch a Sydney coronavirus outbreak after it marred