AAP

Assistant Treasurer Arthur Sinodinos has resigned from the ministry today, and the decision is expected to trigger a ministerial reshuffle.

Telstra has secured a contract to provide planning and design for the National Broadband Network worth up to $390 million.

Energy giant Santos has secured $1 billion in new debt ahead of a potential balance sheet shake up in the new year.

The Australian stockmarket has opened sharply higher, following a rally on Wall Street.

The Australian dollar has followed metal prices and Wall Street higher, bouncing from the record lows it reached after the US Federal Reserve meeting.

US stocks have surged for the second day in a row following Wednesday's Federal Reserve meeting as investors brushed aside concerns over another drop in oil prices.

Oil prices have skidded sharply lower in volatile trade, pushing the US benchmark futures contract to a new five-year low amid concerns about ample global supplies.

Gold prices edged higher Thursday after Switzerland's central bank said it would introduce negative interest rates next year and as traders continued to adjust their outlook on US monetary policy.

Fairfax Media's radio merger talks with the owner of Sydney station 2GB are back on.

ANZ chairman David Gonski insists the bank has a heart, but not the power to cancel debts owed by investors in failed agribusiness Timbercorp.

People who use ride sharing taxi services are being warned to be cautious when booking private cars.

National Australia Bank chairman Michael Chaney launched a defence of coal-fired power as the lender, and rival ANZ, rejected calls to stop funding mining projects.

Energy and mining stocks have led the share market nearly one per cent higher.

The falling Australian dollar may take expected interest rate cuts off the table next year, National Australia Bank chairman Michael Chaney says.

Building materials firms Boral and CSR have been given the all-clear to merge their east coast clay brick operations.

Plans to upgrade a major Perth highway using proceeds from a trucking toll have drawn widespread criticism, with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Labor Party and the Greens all finding fault with the project and its funding.

Grains marketer and maltster GrainCorp is facing a challenging year, with smaller crops, dry weather and tough competition from rivals.

Gina Rinehart's Roy Hill mining company has told caterers to tighten food security after a worker at its West Australian site bit into a poisoned piece of fruit.

Agribusiness Elders says initiatives undertaken so far as part of a major plan to improve the performance of the company are making progress.

Flight Centre shares have dived by more than nine per cent after the travel agency issued a surprise profit warning.

Quickflix's effort to raise almost $6 million to allow it to compete with the likes of Netflix in 2015 has fallen dramatically short of target.

The Australian sharemarket is one per cent higher after an upbeat assessment of the American economy by the US central bank and a bounce in oil prices.

The Australian dollar has fallen to a new four-and-a-half-year low after the US central bank issued a more upbeat assessment of the US economy.

The Dow has jumped nearly 300 points after the US Federal Reserve made no changes to its monetary policy, saying it can remain "patient" before moving to raise interest rates.

World oil prices have rallied somewhat after the Russian rouble stabilised and the US reported lower crude inventories.

Gold prices have shuffled between gains and losses in electronic trading, after the Federal Reserve made few changes to its statement at the end of its monetary policy meeting.

Grab your wheelbarrow and shovel.

Struggling TV broadcaster and takeover target Ten Network is hoping for a pick-up in the advertising market this financial year.

The share market has closed higher for the first time in more than a week as the energy sector rebounded after recent heavy falls.

There will be no exploration access to Western Australia's famed Pinnacles and its surrounding deserts after a request by Norwest Energy to amend its permit.

Telstra is in talks to buy the company that owns the world's largest private submarine cable network, Pacnet.

Embattled Boart Longyear says a recovery in demand for its drilling services could be more than a year away, as it secured the final piece of a $US342 million bailout plan.