AAP

Gold prices have retreated from a six-week high, as some traders take profits on the recent rally and others adjust their expectations for the timing of interest-rate increases in the US.

The state opposition claims the MAX Light Rail project is doomed, after a Parliamentary Estimates hearing was today told the government was considering constructing an underground rail line to service the same transport corridor.

A slump in consumer sentiment and fears commodity prices will continue to tumble have driven the Australian share market lower.

Movie companies may soon be able to get court orders requiring Australian internet providers to block foreign illegal download websites.

China's consumer inflation fell to a five-year low of 1.4 per cent in November, the government says, amid concerns over the risk of deflation in the world's second-largest economy.

The number of new home loans in October has bounced back after two months of falls.

Australian consumers are the gloomiest they have been in three years.

Vacuum cleaner retailer Godfreys Group has made a strong start to trade on the share market.

The Australian sharemarket has continued its slide following fresh concerns about political instability in Greece.

Wall Street stocks have shaken off much of the negative momentum from Asian and European equity markets, finishing the day mixed after a bruising open.

The Australian dollar is firmer as profit takers sell the greenback.

Global oil prices have rallied modestly from five-year lows after a US agency trimmed its forecast for 2015 US output because of drilling-budget cutbacks.

Gold futures have surged to their highest level in more than six weeks as losses in US stocks and the greenback stir up investor appetite for haven assets.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced the government will ditch plans for the $7 Medicare co-payment and instead pursue an optional co-payment, to be introduced at the same time the Medicare rebate to GPs is reduced by $5.

Shares in energy company Santos have shed more than a third of their value in less than three weeks after further falls in oil prices and a credit rating downgrade.

Treasurer Joe Hockey insists the mood inside federal cabinet is good despite a difficult year for the government.

National Australia Bank has become the second of the big four to reverse its interest rate forecasts, predicting the Reserve Bank will need to slash rates twice in 2015.

Further changes will be made to the way official employment statistics are compiled following an independent review of the process, but not this month.

Australian tax officials have been embedded in the offices of 10 multinationals as the federal government tries to capture as much as $3 billion in dodged revenue each year.

An academic who's doing a thesis on the politics of shark attacks has compared Western Australia's policy to the Hollywood blockbuster Jaws.

Further rate cuts from the Reserve Bank could create more concern for consumers, ANZ's chief economist says.

Business confidence and conditions have taken a tumble, as the lower Australian dollar fails to stoke an upturn.

The Australian share market is lower, pulled back by the big miners and oil stocks.

Petroleum equities and tech names, including Apple, have led US stocks lower following weak Chinese and Japanese data.

Global oil prices have tumbled more than four per cent to fresh five-year lows on mounting oversupply worries as global economic growth slows.

The Australian dollar is straining to keep its head above 83 US cents following disappointing Chinese numbers and surprisingly strong US jobs data.

Gold futures have edged up amid signs of slowing global growth and concerns that central banks around the world could respond with stimulus measures that would drive currency values lower.

The Australian share market has closed higher, with the big banks well up on the back of the Financial System Inquiry's call for them to hold more capital.

Commercial TV networks say the decision to allow SBS to run more advertising will affect local content and damage their businesses.

It's not often that industry begs government for more regulation, but private education providers are doing just that.

Beverages supplier Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) will axe more jobs as part of its $100 million cost-cutting campaign.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has finally announced a new head of Treasury.