AAP

Supermarket giant Coles has apologised and offered refunds to suppliers after admitting it crossed the line with many of them.

The Australian share market has opened sharply lower following another slide in oil prices.

The Dow has plummeted more than 300 points as US stocks took cues from a rout in European equities following another big drop in oil prices.

The Australian dollar threatened to break its four-and-a-half-year low after oil and gold prices fell at the end of last week.

Gold has locked in a three-day losing streak as some investors chose to sell their holdings ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting.

Another big-four lender has announced a reprieve for drought-hit farmers in NSW and Queensland.

Illegal, unsafe, job killing, job creating, monopoly-busting, money saving - Uber may be the taxi industry's worst enemy but it's the adjective's best friend.

More cuts, new spending and a deeper deficit will be spelt out in the federal government's budget update next week.

The share market has fallen for a fourth straight day after Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens scotched expectations of interest rate cuts early in 2015.

Westpac expects the economy to improve in 2015, fuelled by further interest rate cuts and a lower Australian dollar.

A single contractor has won a $66 million tender to book $2.1 billion worth of federal government travel over four years.

The world's biggest drilling services company, Boart Longyear, says higher costs and lower prices are weighing on earnings but revenue is expected to pick up.

The Australian share market is lower, pulled back by weakness among the major banks and the resources sector.

Construction giant Leighton Holdings will sell its John Holland subsidiary to a Chinese firm for around $1.15 billion.

US stocks have advanced following an upbeat retail sales report, but the gains were limited by concerns over the rapid fall in oil prices.

The Australian dollar has plummeted to fresh four-and-a-half-year lows after the head of the Reserve Bank said he wanted the currency to fall to 75 US cents.

US oil prices have tumbled below $US60 a barrel for the first time since July 2009, taking the shocking loss since June to about 44 per cent.

Gold futures have closed lower as upbeat US economic data bolster the US dollar and fan expectations of tighter monetary policy from the Federal Reserve.

Manufacturer Bradken is opening its books to its private equity suitors and fielding takeover interest from other parties.

Sharp falls by resources companies caused by further weakness in commodity prices have driven the share market lower.

A Nationals senator wants to make it illegal for banks to foreclose on drought-hit farmers.

Big businesses already raise a hefty chunk of their funds from the bond market rather than banks - and many will go further down that road in 2015.

Caltex expects to lift its full-year profit by about 40 per cent thanks to higher fuel sales as oil prices fall.

Australia is considering selling uranium to Ukraine, home to the world's worst nuclear disaster.

A fire at a margarine factory in Western Australia's south has caused an estimated $1 million worth of damage.

Energy company Santos plans to slash its capital expenditure by 25 per cent as the oil price slides to fresh five-year lows.

Manufacturers are gaining a new lease of life from rising building activity and a sustained depreciation in the Australian dollar.

The unemployment rate has hit a 12-year high, despite a strong rise in the number of people with jobs, while Western Australia continues to have the lowest unemployment of any state.

The Australian stock market has taken another dive after oil prices dropped to fresh five-year lows.

US stocks have tumbled more than 1.5 per cent as a pullback in petroleum stocks sparked a sell-off in the broader market.

The Australian dollar has slipped back below 83 US cents as oil prices come under further pressure after OPEC cut its 2015 demand forecast.

Oil prices have sunk to new five-year lows with the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude nearly hitting $US60 a barrel, 40 per cent down from just six months ago.