AAP

Potential coalition foreign minister Julie Bishop says she'll work to re-establish relationships with Australia's neighbours, especially Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Singapore, if she gets the j

A former director of a stock trading firm that collapsed owing about $630 million to creditors says he hopes to get his life back after being found not guilty of dishonesty using his position.

The local share market finished flat as investors sit on their hands ahead of Saturday's federal election.

The next federal government will need to legislate to raise the country's $300 billion debt ceiling, shadow treasurer Joe Hockey says.

Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott are blitzing the airways and key marginal seats on the final day of a gruelling five-week election campaign, as Labor continues to dig holes in the coalition's costings.

Australian shares are flat as investors on hold until the election is over, with banking and mining stocks taking a hit.

Australia's construction industry continues to struggle despite low interest rates, with activity in the sector falling for the 39th consecutive month.

The coalition's costings are full of holes and dodgy maths, Treasurer Chris Bowen says.Mr Bowen says the coalition's numbers - finally revealed yesterday - are wrong in a number of ways.

The Australian dollar has lost some ground amid more evidence that US employment growth is picking up pace.

US stocks have ended slightly higher as investors looked ahead to Friday's crucial monthly jobs and unemployment report.

The Australian dollar is firmer but off its earlier highs reached after data showed a rise in imports in July.

The Australian market has finished lower, pulled back by falls among resources and banking stocks.

The man hired by Newcrest Mining to investigate its disclosure scandal has found no "smoking gun".

Rio Tinto's aspiration of producing 360 million tonnes of iron ore each year is achievable, despite concern about its Pilbara expansion, analysts say.

Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey says a coalition government will make about $40 billion of savings if it wins the federal election.

Clive Palmer says he will sue Rupert Murdoch over a report published by News Corp Australia.

Experts hired by the coalition to check its election policy costings say the figures are based on "reasonable assumptions".

Wall Street stocks have jumped after surging US auto sales pointed to robustness in the manufacturing sector.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 96.91 (0.65 per cent) to 14,930.87.

Housing is costing some Western Australians almost half of their weekly income, a new report has shown.

The local share market is lower as investors hold out for the federal election and America's response to Syria.

The Australian dollar has extended its rally, heading toward 92 US cents, after official data showed local economic growth was solid in the June quarter.

Wall Street stocks have jumped after surging US auto sales pointed to robustness in the manufacturing sector.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 96.91 (0.65 per cent) to 14,930.87.

The Australian share market has lost ground as renewed concerns about a possible US military strike on Syria outweighed encouraging figures on economic growth.

Premier Colin Barnett has hit back at critics of his education funding cuts, saying they should check out Tasmania and South Australia to realise Western Australia still has a quality school system

The federal coalition is releasing its final policies today and will reveal its full costings "very, very soon", opposition leader Tony Abbott says.

Gross domestic product grew by 0.6 per cent in the June quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported this morning.From a year earlier, GDP in the quarter was up by 2.5 per cent.

Bosses would be paid to hire workers aged 50 years or over under a federal coalition government.

Consumer confidence in Western Australia has plunged because of political uncertainty at the federal level and following a belt-tightening state budget, a survey shows.

Australian stocks have opened lower as investors respond to an increased possibility the US will launch a military strike on Syria.

The Australian dollar rose to a two-week high after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept the cash rate unchanged and issued a neutral statement on the chance of further cuts.

US stocks have kicked off a holiday-shortened week higher, but concerns about a possible US military strike on Syria cut into early gains.

A neutral statement on monetary policy from the central bank has given the Australian dollar a bounce after earlier being dragged down by weak retail sales data.