AAP

Engineering group UGL hopes to claw back some of a $200 million write-down it made on the massive Ichthys natural gas project near Darwin, but is unsure when it will pay shareholders a dividend again.

Fortescue Metals Group has hoisted its final dividend to a record high after a partial rebound in iron prices and lower costs helped the Pilbara miner more than treble full-year profit.

Woolworths is overhauling its loyalty program less than a year after the unpopular revamp that introduced orange tickets and prompted complaints from customers.

The Australian share market has opened flat.

The Australian dollar has slipped against its US counterpart as investors continue to price in a US Federal Reserve interest rate rise this year.

Oil prices has settled steady to higher, with US crude posting its biggest weekly gain since March after surging nearly 25 per cent in a little over two weeks, a rally analysts caution is not justified by fundamentals.

Gold has fallen more than one per cent, snapping a four-day streak of gains following conflicting signals from US Federal Reserve officials on the timing of a possible rate hike, but was still on track for its second straight week higher.

The share market has closed higher, led by resource giants Woodside Petroleum, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton amid a raft of mixed earnings results.

Australian competitors have won two silver medals in sailing and a bronze in the canoeing on day 13 of the Rio Olympics, which has kept the Aussie team at 10th spot on the medal tally.

Santos will not pay a dividend after plunging to a $US1.1 billion ($A1.4 billion) half-year loss on the back of lower oil prices and a large impairment against its massive new LNG project.

Ratings agency Moody's has downgraded the outlook for Australia's banking system, warning that a challenging environment could hit banks' bottom lines and leave them more at risk to external shocks.

Strong demand for new apartments and office buildings has helped Lendlease deliver a 13 per jump in annual profit, and it says it has a growing pipeline of projects.

Energy giant Woodside Petroleum's first-half profit has slumped 50 per cent on the back of lower oil prices.

Medibank Private's annual profit has risen by 46.4 per cent to $417.6 million, but the health insurer says it needs to offer better value to customers.

The Australian share market has opened flat, despite Wall Street closing higher.

The Australian dollar has fallen after official job figures for July showed the biggest decline in full-time work in almost three years.

Gold has risen, buoyed by a weaker US dollar after minutes from the US Federal Reserve's July meeting showed policymakers were divided over whether to raise interest rates soon.

Oil prices have risen for a sixth straight day, with Brent crude rising above $US50 for the first time in six weeks as the world's biggest producers prepared to discuss a possible freeze in production levels.

The share market has fallen as the financial sector languished in the red and a mixed bag of earnings reports failed to inspire investors.

Pankaj and Radhika Oswal are close to settling their legal battle with ANZ Banking Group, but are unlikely to end up with the $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion they wanted.

Britain's vote to leave the EU may have caused anxiety for some, but the flurry of trade that followed gave the Australian Securities Exchange a boost to its bottom line.

Former federal ALP Member for Perth Alannah MacTiernan has been backed to return to state politics after veteran Labor MP Ken Travers announced he was quitting parliament.

Western Australia's unemployment rate jumped from 5.7 per cent to 6.3 per cent in July, according to new data.

The Australian share market has opened higher.

The Australian dollar is slightly lower despite a weaker greenback following signals from the US central bank that its in no hurry to raise interest rates.

Gold has steadied, after moving in both directions following the release of minutes from the US Federal Reserve's July meeting, which showed the central bank's policymakers expected an interest rate hike soon but were still awaiting more data.

Oil's rally has extended for a fifth day, helped by a weaker US dollar and an unexpected drawdown in US crude and petrol but traders said the runup may not last, pointing to galloping Saudi output and technical factors.

The share market has closed flat as big losses by QBE Insurance, CSL and Commonwealth Bank were offset by gains among big miners and some financial stocks.

Property developer Stockland is reaping the benefits of a surge in house and land sales driven by strong population growth, job growth and low interest rates.

Western Australia is catching up with South Australia and the Northern Territory in introducing a container deposit scheme for drink cans and bottles, likely from mid-2018.

James Packer's Crown Resorts still sees Macau casinos as a good investment despite its joint-venture operations there continuing to weigh on profits.

QBE Insurance Group shares have dropped as much as 11.5 per cent after the insurer downgraded its full-year gross written premium guidance, citing pressure on product pricing and the value of its investments following a sharp drop in first-half profit.