AAP

Gold prices have fallen, reflecting tension between a global backdrop of easier interest rates and the chance of US monetary policy being tightened before the end of the year.

The share market has ended the week with a slight fall as investors took profits from a run of 10 positive sessions out of 11.

The owners of third-ranked mobile player Vodafone say they are committed to the Australian market amid mounting speculation that telco provider TPG Telecom could make a play for the group.

National Australia Bank is overhauling its business structure, folding parts of its wealth management unit into personal banking and separating its business banking into two units, with former Perth executive Cathryn Carver one of the winners.

Gold and copper producer Oz Minerals says it is on track to achieve its full-year production guidance, despite an unscheduled plant closure and bad weather during the June quarter.

Energy giant Santos has reaffirmed its full-year production and sales guidance after posting an eight per cent rise in quarterly production and a 25 per cent jump in sales volume.

The Australian share market has opened lower after Wall Street eased overnight on disappointing company earning results and the European Central Bank's decision to hold fire on stimulus.

Gold has rebounded above a three-week low and has risen per cent, as the US dollar fell and the key stock indexes hovered below record highs after the European Central Bank left key interest rates unchanged.

Wall Street has cooled off as disappointing quarterly reports from tech stalwart Intel and from transportation companies stalled momentum in a US corporate earnings season that has been better than feared.

The Australian dollar has recouped some losses as the greenback slides.

The share market has hit a fresh 11 month high, with healthcare, energy and financial stocks the main areas of strength.

The competition watchdog has waved through a $9 billion takeover of rail and ports giant Asciano, and approved Metcash's bid for Woolworths' Home Timber and Hardware business.

The depreciation of the British pound following the UK's decision to leave the European Union could hurt demand for imported wine, including from Australia.

A rebound in iron ore prices has helped Mount Gibson Iron hit its full-year sales guidance, with the junior iron ore miner reporting ore sales volume of 5 million tonnes.

South 32 says it's met its annual production guidance for most of its commodities despite cutting production during the year, and is on course to achieve its FY17 unit cost guidance.

Woodside Petroleum's second quarter sales revenue and production have fallen due to lower oil prices and an earlier refurbishment at its North West Shelf gas facility.

Papua New Guinea-focused Oil Search has backed down from a bidding war with global energy giant ExxonMobil, choosing not to raise its near $3 billion bid for New York-listed explorer InterOil.

The Australian share market has opened higher, with the benchmark S&P/ASX200 breaking though levels not seen for nearly a year.

The Australian dollar continues to slide as US stocks and the greenback perform.

Gold has fallen to its lowest level in three weeks as equities rose and the US dollar hit a four-month high following strong US economic data, which raised expectations the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates before the end of the year.

Oil prices have risen as much as one per cent, lifting US crude from two-month lows, after the US government reported a ninth straight week of crude inventory draws, easing some concerns in a market worried about a glut.

The Australian share market has closed higher after Tuesday's release of the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's last board meeting boosted investors' expectations of an interest rate cut in August.

The richest 1 per cent of Australians have become less well off in the past eight years, while net wealth in the bottom 10 per cent of households has continued to grow, according to the Melbourne Institute’s Hilda survey report.

The great Australian dream of owning a home is becoming more of a fantasy, with fewer than half of adults expected to become a home owner in the next few years.

BHP Billiton has fallen slightly short of its revised iron ore production target for the 2016 financial year as it struggles to make up for the suspension of operations at its Samarco joint venture in Brazil and the impact of bad weather in Western Australia.

The Australian share market is broadly flat with gains in financial and consumer focused companies offset by resource groups.

Oil prices have fallen as much one per cent for a second day in a row as a rallying US dollar and a global fuel glut offset forecasts for lower US crude stockpiles that typically would have been bullish for the market.

Gold has cut some earlier gains, as the US dollar hit a four-month high after data showed a surge in US housing starts in June, although weaker equities provided support.

The Australian dollar is still licking its wounds after the Reserve Bank's minutes hinted an August rate cut could be on the horizon.

Construction firm CIMIC Group has booked a net profit for the first six months of its fiscal year of $265.2 million - up 3.1 per cent on the result a year earlier.

The Australian share market has run out of steam to close lower after eight straight sessions of gains.

A task-based risk assessment was not performed before a drill fitter was fatally crushed while working on a rig at Rio Tinto's Channar mine in the Pilbara.