AAP

Regular letters will take an extra two days to arrive under a two-speed mail service that Australia Post plans to deliver as it faces a significant structural decline.

Tony Abbott has dumped the Medicare co-payment plan but it's unclear what will replace it.

The sharemarket is on the verge of reaching the 6,000-point mark for the first time since January 2008 as rate cut expectations boost the big banks.

The Nasdaq has finished above 5,000 for the first time in 15 years, capping a long-running recovery in the exchange after the dot-com bubble burst spectacularly in 2000.

Oil prices fell on Monday on renewed concerns about excess global supplies, with the European benchmark contract falling especially hard following a surge late last week.

The Australian dollar is hovering amid belief among some economists that the Reserve Bank could cut interest rates to a new record low.

Gold has turned lower as the US dollar rose and investors cashed in gains after upbeat Asian demand lifted the metal to two-week highs, with expectations for a rise in US interest rates later in 2015 keeping a lid on prices.

Payment and transport business Cabcharge is searching for new income beyond taxis and considering a name change after a 13 per cent fall in half-year profit.

Speculation about a rate cut next week has buoyed the big banks and lifted the share market, securing a sixth consecutive week of gains.

Woolworths has downgraded its full year guidance and announced plans to step up investment in its core supermarkets business after falling further behind arch rival Coles.

Newcrest Mining has sold more than half of its one-third stake in Evolution Mining for about $106 million.

The market has opened weaker, dragged down by losses in the energy sector and a dismal Woolworths half yearly result.

The Australian dollar has fallen sharply after the release of some positive US economic data.

The Nasdaq has powered closer to 5000 points while weakness in oil-linked equities keeps the Dow and S&P 500 in the red.

Workers fear hundreds of jobs are to be cut by mining giant Rio Tinto as it begins a new round of cost cutting by merging its copper and coal divisions.

Gold pared gains after stronger-than-expected US data lifted the dollar and impetus from Chinese buying petered out, but it remained higher after the Federal Reserve indicated this week that it was in no rush to raise interest rates.

World oil prices have fallen sharply as the market seems to do a double-take on a US report showing US crude oil stockpiles have hit a fresh record.

The sharemarket has fallen from its seven-year high after three days of gains, with investors thought to be taking profits in the industrial and financial sectors.

Engineering and contracting firm Transfield Services closed over 6 per cent weaker on the ASX today despite announcing an 80 per cent rise in half-year profit.

Nine Entertainment shares have jumped by nearly 10 per cent after the media group said it had tripled first-half profit and announced a $150 million share buyback.

Mining services firm Ausdrill will cut more jobs as tumbling commodity prices drove a $177 million half-year loss.

The share market is weaker a day after hitting a fresh seven-year high, with the banks and miners in the red.

Qantas says the government's repeal of the carbon tax was a major factor in the airline's return to profit.

Wall Street stocks have finished little changed following mixed corporate earnings and a second day of congressional testimony from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen.

The Australian dollar has pushed above 79 US cents for the first time in a month on the back of some strong Chinese data and easing rate hike expectations in the US.

The share market has edged to yet another seven-year high despite major stocks falling as they traded without dividends.

Fly-in, fly-out workers are increasingly afraid to report mental health issues because they don't want to be made redundant by struggling mining companies, a Western Australian parliamentary inquiry has heard.

Listed companies that hoard large amounts of cash have underperformed since the GFC and should start spending, accounting firm Deloitte says.

Shares in Kerry Stokes' Seven Group Holdings have soared on the firm's plans for a share buy-back and despite a 74 per cent drop in first-half profit to $68.4 million.

The market has opened flat despite fresh records on Wall Street on the back of positive congressional testimony by US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen about interest rates.

Troubled mining services contractor Macmahon Holdings has fallen into the red with a first-half loss of $112.45 million.

The Dow and S&P 500 have bolted to fresh records after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen pledged a cautious approach to raising interest rates.