AAP

Oil prices fell on Wednesday to their lowest in a week, on a strong dollar and expectations that US producers would boost output even as OPEC's output fell from a record high.

Falls by the big four banks have pulled the share market lower, as uncertainty about the policies of US President-elect Donald Trump influences trade.

A Perth recycling company has been handed an $80,000 fine for its part in a workplace accident in which a teenager's fingers were amputated by a tyre shredder.

Wesfarmers' coal mining business is doing better than originally expected, thanks to higher coal prices and improved output.

Consumers are optimistic about their future finances, but they're still worried about the contraction of the economy reported last month, Westpac says.

Turnbull government ministers Greg Hunt and Arthur Sinodinos have been given senior portfolios in a reshuffle announced today, while Perth MP Ken Wyatt has made hstory by being named the first indigenous Australian appointed to a federal ministry.

Falls across the heavyweight financial sector have pushed the Australian share market into negative territory following losses in the US and Europe.

The Australian dollar is higher against the US greenback, which fell after comments from US President-elect Donald Trump.

Gold jumped more than 1 per cent to an eight-week high on Tuesday as stocks and the dollar fell after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said the greenback was "too strong" and British Prime Minister Theresa May promised a parliamentary vote on Brexit.

Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday amid a decline in the U.S. dollar and comments by Saudi Arabia that it would adhere to OPEC's commitment to cut output.

The share market has fallen due to investor caution ahead of UK Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit speech and US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

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.