AAP

Mining giant Rio Tinto has been hit with an additional tax bill of $447 million over a dispute on transfer pricing of commodities to its Singapore marketing hub.

The Australian stock market has opened lower, hurt by losses across the banking, energy and resource sectors following falls on Wall Street.

The Australian dollar is lower against its US counterpart despite the US dollar falling from a three-week high.

Oil prices are a shade lower, easing from one-month highs, as support from an outage at the largest UK North Sea oilfield was offset by a surprise increase in US crude inventories to a record high.

Gold has slipped from one-month highs after better-than-expected US jobs data boosted US bond yields and the US dollar but losses were limited after minutes from the Federal Reserve's March policy meeting were released.

The share market has gained ground as higher commodity prices fuelled strong gains by mining and energy companies.

Biotech Botanix Pharmaceuticals has raised $7.4 million in a placement of new shares to help it fund the further development of its dermatology products that contain a synthetic form of the cannabis compound, cannabidiol.

The owner of Westfield shopping centres in Australia and New Zealand says store space across its 39 properties is almost completely occupied.

The state government's decision to abandon a planned $600 million prison and instead reduce inmate numbers has been criticised by the Liberal opposition, while prison officers have backed the proposal.

Fairfax Media has announced new cuts to its editorial operations aimed at delivering about $30 million in annual savings.

The Australian share market is in positive territory in early trade, as investors focus on a bounce in commodities prices, despite a tepid session on Wall street.

Gold prices have risen, hitting a one-month high as the US dollar weakened, but gold retraced gains as US President Donald Trump laid out aggressive plans for infrastructure spending and deregulation.

The Australian dollar is virtually unchanged against its US counterpart after its fall to a three-week low following the Reserve Bank's announcement that it was keeping its interest rate on hold.

Oil prices have surged to a near one-month high, supported by an unplanned production outage in the North Sea and expectations of a drawdown in US crude and product inventories.

The share market has closed lower as investors cautiously wait for US President Donald Trump's meeting with China's President Xi Jinping.

Gang members using fake identities have been renting homes in Perth and turning them into hydroponic cannabis farms, prompting a warning to landlords.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has been forced to fire a stern warning at mortgage lenders, knowing any change to interest rates is a risk to fragile economic growth, economists say.

The Australian share market has opened lower after a negative lead from Wall Street, and ahead of the Reserve Bank's interest rate decision.

Gold has risen on geopolitical worries, but was trading in a tight range in the absence of any fresh clues on US monetary policy and as the market looked to economic data later in the week for more direction.

The Australian dollar is steady against its US counterpart ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate decision later in the day.

Oil prices have fallen as a rebound in Libyan oil output weighs against upbeat economic data from Asia that point to strong energy demand from the region.

Australia's big four banks pushed the Australian share market into positive territory after a choppy session as investors await a flurry of local and international economic data.

Perth Children's Hospital is unlikely to open before the second half of the year, the new Labor state government says, as work continues to find the source of lead in drinking water.

The declining spending power of consumers is hurting retailers and pointing to a revenue squeeze for the federal government, economists say.

Loss-making livestock exporter Wellard is undertaking a share placement and entitlement offer as part of a $52 million capital raising it hopes will allow it to exploit a predicted improvement in trading conditions.

Australian stocks are flat following an early dip with investor nervousness ahead of local economic data releases weighing heavily on the market.

Oil prices are slightly higher, although their three-day rally has run out of much of their steam as a higher US rig count signalled rising production from shale, contributing to the global supply glut.

Gold prices are flat but have notched a quarterly gain of about 8.4 per cent, marking its best quarter in a year, as uncertainty over US president Donald Trump's tax and investment plans and elections in Europe fuel demand for bullion as a safe haven.

The Australian dollar is down against its US counterpart as the greenback stays steady in the last New York trading session.

Investors pushed the Australian share market into negative territory as they banked some profits following its strong run over the previous three trading sessions.

The banking regulator has capped interest-only mortgage lending and is prepared to take more action to address growing price and debt risks in the Australian housing market.

The competition watchdog is concerned that the proposed takeover of Bibra Lake-based wheat and barley seed breeder InterGrain by Australian Grain Technologies could substantially lessen competition in the barley seeds sector.