AAP

Western Australia's corruption watchdog has recorded an increase in allegations it receives about misconduct by public officers, plus a 100 per cent conviction rate, its annual report shows.

Western Australian industrial design firm Form Designs says its shark barrier technology is a more viable cost-effective solution to the shark nets proposed for 22 WA beaches by Premier Colin Barnett in media reports today.

Petrol retailers have rejected any suggestion a third-party website listing petrol pump prices every 15 minutes enabled them to engage in price-fixing.

BHP Billiton is teaming with Mexican oil company Pemex in a bid to develop deepwater petroleum reserves in the Gulf of Mexico.

Businesses are not adequately engaging with Asia, despite Australia's future economic growth depending strongly on the expanding region, a new report shows.

Investigations into the $100 million collapse of fuel-saving pill maker Firepower have failed to dig up enough evidence to warrant legal action.

Standard & Poor's says Western Australia is unlikely to get a credit rating upgrade soon, but it seems encouraged by government measures to improve the state's finances.

Clive Palmer's Mineralogy has moved to terminate CITIC Pacific Mining's rights to mine his iron ore in Western Australia, casting doubt over an $8 billion project.

The Australian Stock market is sharply lower, following a big selloff on Wall Street overnight.

Gold futures have carved out a slight gain as the US dollar weakened against the yen and US equities tumbled to a five-week low.

The Australian dollar has hit a fresh eight-month low after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand tried to talk down its own currency.

US stocks have sunk led by Apple's 3.8 per cent drop, amid a combination of worries over heady valuations and quarter-end profit taking.

Global oil prices have remained weak in choppy trade, buffeted by the strong dollar and rebounding Libyan output.

The Australian share market has closed slightly higher after the big miners lifted the overall index.

The competition watchdog has cleared the way for an Asian consortium to buy Australia's biggest foodmaker, Goodman Fielder.

Coles has published a list of Asian factories behind its clothing range as part of the supermarket giant's bid to be more transparent.

BHP Billiton boss Andrew Mackenzie earned $US8 million in the 2014 financial year, but he will have his salary frozen amid the resources giant's cost cutting campaign.

The final federal budget deficit for the 2013/14 year has come in at $48.5 billion, $30 billion more than initially forecast.

A new estimate of job vacancies fails to give any credence to the reported surge in the number of people with jobs between July and August.

Tough new traffic penalties are about to come into force in Western Australia, with some fines skyrocketing more than five-fold.

The Australian share market has opened higher in the wake of positive leads from overseas markets.

BHP Billiton is considering listing its new resources entity NewCo on the London stock market.

The Australian dollar is trading in a narrow range, having recovered some of its losses from earlier in the week.

Oil prices in New York have rallied after a surprisingly big drop in US crude inventories, even as higher output from Libya pressured the main London oil contract.

US stocks have finished with solid gains as a strong housing report helped equities regain territory after losses earlier this week.

The Australian share market has closed lower as the major banking stocks fell after the central bank warned it may take action against risky lending.

About 25 per cent of first home buyers have saved for more than five years before buying a property, according to a survey by financial services provider Mortgage Choice.

Western Australian Treasurer Mike Nahan has defended his government's optimistic outlook for the state's most valuable export commodity in the past financial year, saying iron ore prices are "bloody hard" to predict.

Virgin Australia says it will redesign and improve its business and economy class cabins throughout its aircraft fleet, relabelling business class as the ‘super diamond’.

A review of Western Australia's Office of Road Safety shows it has proved ineffective in managing a huge fund fed by speed and red light camera fines.

The amount of money Australia reaps from resources and energy commodity exports is expected to fall this financial year, despite a pickup in volumes shipped overseas.

The Singapore bidder for Australand will wrap up its takeover of the property developer by snapping up the remaining batch of securities it does not already own - a deal that thrusts the combined entity's Western Australian operations into the top 10 land developers.