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The competition watchdog has decided against pursuing Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest over comments he made at a business dinner last month, in which he called on iron ore producers to cap production.

The Australian share market has closed lower as the dollar rises and the chances of a May interest rate cut fall.

Executives of oil and gas producer Santos have narrowly avoided a first strike by investors protesting against their salaries as its shares and the oil price fall.

The number of people flying Qantas and Jetstar has picked up, helped by a big increase in passengers on the airlines' international routes.

Network Ten has warned it is nearing the limits of its $200 million loan and may need to raise more money as it attempts to boost ratings and lagging advertising revenue.

The Australian share market has opened lower.

The Australian dollar has again broken past US80 cents, buoyed by weak US economic data and a Federal Reserve meeting that contained no major surprises.

Gold has extended its losses after the US Federal Reserve signalled it was taking a meeting-by-meeting approach on when to raise its interest rate for the first time since 2006.

Oil prices have moved higher, buoyed by a weaker US dollar and a slight drop in US crude inventories at the key Cushing terminal, the first in more than four months.

Wall Street stocks have finished lower on news the US economy grew just 0.2 per cent in the first quarter.

Bayswater-based benchtop manufacturer Australian Countertop will not be able to pay a $120,000 fine for causing the death of a stonemason because the company is in liquidation.

The share market has fallen nearly 2 per cent, with a rapidly rising Australian dollar and profit taking by Japan-based foreign investors believed to be responsible.

Fortescue Metals Group is believed to have made another round of redundancies today, mainly affecting workers at its Cloudbreak mine in the Pilbara.

Kerry Stokes' Seven West Media is tapping investors for up to $612 million to help it reduce its $1 billion pile of debt.

Supermarket giant Coles has posted strong growth in the March quarter despite its fierce discounting war with Woolworths.

An environment lobby group believes the federal government can save billions of dollars by scrapping diesel fuel tax credits for some of Australia's biggest polluters.

The Australian share market has opened lower.

Gold has risen one per cent after disappointing US data hit the greenback and dampened expectations that the Federal Reserve will hint at this week's policy meeting at an interest rate rise in coming months.

The Australian dollar has surged past the US 80 cent mark on the back of weak US economic data and concerns about the Federal Reserve meeting.

US stocks have finished mostly higher but Apple's sell-off left the Nasdaq in the red and NYSE-traded Twitter's unintentional early earnings release held back overall gains.

Crude oil prices have traded mixed amid reports that Iran had seized a cargo ship in Iranian territorial waters in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key oil transit route.

A Rio Tinto subsidiary has admitted failing to provide a safe working environment after the death of an employee at a Western Australian mine.

The share market has fallen further away from the key 6,000-point level as a recovery in commodity prices failed to boost the big miners.

The Australian share market has opened lower.

People leaving the workforce now have got it much tougher than those who left a decade ago and will need to take a lot more risk in order to fund their retirement, the head of the Reserve Bank says.

The Australian dollar has risen amid softer-than-expected US economic data in the lead-up to this week's US Federal Reserve meeting.

Gold has jumped more than two per cent - to be back above $1,200 an ounce.

US stocks have snapped a three-day rally to record highs as investors awaited Apple earnings results and a Federal Reserve policy meeting.

World oil prices have traded narrowly mixed as traders assessed escalating violence in Yemen and the prospect of another rise in US crude inventories.

The Australian sharemarket ended the week strongly, with gains on the back of a rally in iron ore prices from decade lows.

Mount Gibson Iron has cut 20 per cent of its staff in the past quarter as it focuses on reducing costs and preserving cash to combat weak iron ore prices.

Like ships passing in the night, Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey haven't seen a lot of each other recently.