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ANZ has suffered its heaviest share price fall in almost seven years following its announcement of a $3 billion capital raising.

Orica's shares have taken a pummelling and could be set for more punishment after the explosives maker shocked investors by announcing a profit downgrade and an asset write-down of as much as $1.65 billion.

Home loans to property investors have fallen for a second straight month in a sign the brakes may soon be applied to soaring house prices.

International travel figures released at the same time as the Reserve Bank's quarterly monetary policy report on Friday support its suspicion that the economy's potential growth has been cut by slower population growth.

Virgin Australia is overhauling its loss-making international operations as it targets a return to profitability in 2015/16.

The Australian share market is almost 1.4 per cent lower, dragged down by the banking sector's reaction to ANZ's capital raising and falls on Wall Street.

Oil prices have fallen again in a glum market as the global oversupply of crude oil looked entrenched and demand prospects weak.

A major sell-off in media equities following disappointing earnings reports from Viacom and 21st Century Fox have pushed US stocks lower, with the biggest hit taken by the Nasdaq.

Gold has edged higher, supported by the retreating US dollar and a tumble in global equities as traders await US employment data seen as key to determining when the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates.

The Australian dollar is higher despite strong US non-manufacturing activity offsetting softer US employment figures.

A weaker-than-expected profit from ANZ and its $3 billion capital raising have sparked a massive selloff of shares in the banking sector.

Engineering group Downer EDI is warning of further hits to come as belt tightening in the mining sector contributed to a 3 per cent fall in annual profit.

Mining giant Rio Tinto will ramp-up cost cutting after a plunging iron ore price contributed to a massive half-year profit fall.

The Australian share market has closed lower, largely pulled down by weakness among the major banks after the ANZ bank announced a $3 billion capital raising.

Premier Colin Barnett has hit out at Perth local councils for imposing big increases in annual rates.

Services on the famed Perth-to-Sydney train, the Indian Pacific, will be cut and pensioner ticket prices hiked as its operator tries to make up for a $9 million federal budget cut.

Australia's unemployment rate unexpectedly jumped to a six-month high of 6.3 per cent in July, pushed up by a surge in the number of people looking for work.

The Australian share market has opened lower.

The Australian dollar is higher despite strong US non-manufacturing activity offsetting softer US employment figures.

US stocks have finished mostly higher following mixed economic data, but a disappointing earnings report from Disney has weighed on the Dow.

Oil prices have fallen after a US government report showed an unexpected rise in petrol inventories and an increase in oil production amid global oversupply worries.

Gold has eased, hovering above the recent five-and-a-half-year low on earlier pressure from the US dollar as US services sector data revives expectations of a US interest rate rise as early as September.

The unemployment rate is expected to rise slightly as slowing jobs growth fails to keep up with population growth.

The share market has fallen as gains by miners were more than outweighed by falls in all other sectors.

Cracks are appearing in Australia's housing construction boom, with fears it will peak in the next 12 months.

Skilled Group has suffered a full-year loss of nearly $17 million due to write-downs linked to its impending takeover by rival labour hire business Programmed Maintenance Services.

The Australian share market has opened lower.

US stocks have finished lower following a mixed batch of earnings reports and another big decline by technology giant Apple.

Oil prices have risen modestly snapping a three-day skid as traders await key data on US petroleum supplies and employment levels.

The Australian dollar is virtually unchanged, with a push for a US rate hike from a Fed boss offsetting favourable comments from the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Gold has retreated from intraday highs as the US dollar moved higher and a voting member of the Federal Reserve said he's ready to support an interest rate increase in September.

The share market closed higher as biotechnology giant CSL broke a milestone and retailers surged on good sales numbers.