AAP

More than 200 jobs could be lost under plans by food giant Goodman Fielder to close production sites in Western Australia and Queensland.

Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group has named non-executive director and former Helloworld and Heytesbury executive, Elizabeth Gaines, as its new chief financial officer.

Rio Tinto has kept intact its target for iron ore shipments in 2017 after hitting the mid-point of its revised guidance range for 2016.

The Australian share market has opened lower as investors cash in and await major political and economic events from the UK, US and China this week.

The Australian dollar is flat as risk aversion offset positive China data.The local currency was trading at 74.77 US cents at 0630 AEDT on Tuesday, unchanged from Monday.

Gold climbed on Monday to its highest in more than seven weeks on buying fuelled by political uncertainty after comments by US President-elect Donald Trump on NATO and China.

Oil prices were up on Monday, buoyed by Saudi commitments to reducing production, even as US output is expected to increase again this year.

The Australian share market has closed stronger, boosted by mining heavyweights, but afternoon trading was flat as investors await the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Theresa May's speech on Britain's post-European Union future and Chinese GDP figures.

Colin Barnett has criticised protesters for disrupting the government's Roe 8 project, saying they were refusing to accept the courts' decisions and did not deserve sympathy.

Disqualified and bankrupt former One Nation senator Rod Culleton has had a rare legal win after a second attempt to have him declared bankrupt was thrown out of the Federal Court.

National Australia Bank has followed its big four rivals by raising the rates on several of its fixed-rate home loans.

Hong Kong investor CKI will be hoping the federal government approves its $7.3 billion takeover bid for DUET Group if the energy utility operator's shareholders back the deal.

Woolworths has appointed long-standing Tesco executive Claire Peters as managing director of its supermarkets chain, which is battling Coles and Aldi to lure customers.

The Australian share market has kicked off the week strongly with gains across the board, led by resource heavyweights Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.

The Australian dollar is nearly flat after little economic or political risk events over the weekend.

The price of gold turned higher on Friday, hovering below the prior session's seven-week top as the US dollar weakened and US Treasury yields came off their highs, with the metal on track for a thi

Oil prices fell on Friday and ended the week three per cent lower on lingering doubts over the extent of OPEC cuts, with sentiment worsened by concerns over the economic health of the world's second-largest oil consumer, China, after it reported the steepest falls in overall exports since 2009.

The Australian share market closed weaker today, with nickel miners Western Areas and Independence Group leading the fall after Indonesia relaxed export restrictions on the commodity.

A former law firm manager has been jailed for six and a half years after siphoning $2.1 million from trust accounts to fund her gambling habit.

David Jones' South African parent company says the department store chain lifted adjusted first-half sales four per cent.

The Australian share market has slipped lower after starting in the green as investors take cues from the overnight decline on Wall Street.

Oil prices rose more than one per cent on Thursday on news that key crude exporters, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, were cutting production to reduce a global crude glut, and on forecasts of re

The Australian dollar has rallied amid further weakness in the greenback, amid concerns about US President-elect Donald Trump's economic plans

Gold surged above $US1,200 an ounce to its highest in seven weeks on Thursday as the US dollar fell after US President-elect Donald Trump's long-awaited news conference gave few details on economic policy.

The share market has closed slightly lower as early momentum provided by a higher Australian dollar and commodity prices was outweighed by a negative response to US President-elect Donald Trump's first press conference in six months.

Fresh from a year that delivered major political shocks and proved tougher than expected, Australian business leaders are taking a cautious approach to 2017.

The share market is higher as investors continue to bet on gains, driving strength in the miners and banks.

The Australian dollar has jumped more than half a US cent amid renewed uncertainty about Donald Trump's policies following his first press conference as US president.

Oil prices rose on Wednesday by the most in over a month, boosted as the US dollar weakened following a news conference by US President-elect Donald Trump, and on news that Saudi Arabia had cut exports to Asia.

Gold rose to a seven-week high on Wednesday, turning positive as the dollar dropped and Treasury yields fell after US President-elect Donald Trump spoke in his first formal news conference just days before taking office.

Strong gains by resources companies including Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton have lifted the share market, despite falls by the banks.

WA Senator Rod Culleton says he will appeal against a Federal Court ruling that he is bankrupt as he fights to save his political career.