AAP

Tourism Australia has signed a three-year marketing agreement with Etihad Airways worth $6 million as the peak body moves to fill the gap created by the loss of funding from Qantas.

State treasurers have labelled a meeting with their federal counterpart Wayne Swan a lost opportunity for a full discussion on the GST.

Optimism among mid-sized Australian businesses has hit record highs in the lead-up to Christmas, a quarterly survey has found.

US stocks slid lower Friday amid worries about Washington's budget impasse, with a sharp drop in Apple weighing on the Nasdaq.

State parliament has been prorogued, bringing an end to parliamentary business almost three months ahead of the state election.

Treasurer Wayne Swan and his state and territory counterparts will discuss "refinements" to the distribution of GST proceeds and a revamp of mining taxes when they gather next week.

The Australian dollar is slightly lower on concerns about the US fiscal cliff.At 1700 AEDT, the local unit was trading at 105.44 US cents, down from 105.52 cents at yesterday's close.

Perth's fleet of compressed natural gas buses will be kept on the road while an inquiry is undertaken into why one of them was destroyed by a dramatic fire on Friday morning.

Macmahon Holdings' shares have dropped by more than a fifth after resuming trade following an $80.7 million capital raising announcement and the sale of its construction business.

Australian stocks have finished the day at their highest levels for the year after a flat session influenced by good news out of China and bad news out of the US.

Australia has been described as the "Iron Man" of the major industrialised nations, after producing 21 years of uninterrupted economic growth and building conditions that should help insulate it fr

Caltex Australia has pleased the market by forecasting a return to full-year profit in 2012 but a slowdown in its marketing business has raised concerns.

A planned eight-day strike at the busy Port of Fremantle will be called off if assurances about job security are provided to workers, the Maritime Union of Australia says.

A potential worsening crisis in Europe is the biggest challenge facing Australia, but it's not as vulnerable as many other countries, a global agency says.

Australia captain Michael Clarke won the toss and chose to bat first on Friday in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Bellerive Oval.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has dismissed a call from one of her senior MPs to give up on Labor's commitment to a budget surplus.

Australian stocks have opened firmer, as local market players looked past a weak lead from Wall Street.

Australand has rejected an offer from fellow property company GPT Group for its commercial and industrial and investment property portfolio.

US stocks closed lower Thursday under a cloud of fiscal cliff concerns that overshadowed a batch of somewhat positive economic data on jobs, retail sales and inflation.

The Australian dollar has risen after the US central bank announced it would extend its bond buying program, in order to ease lending rates and stimulate spending.

US food processing giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has had its second takeover knockback from Australia's GrainCorp in a month.

Australian stocks have closed flat after a directionless day's trade, with gains among the big miners offset by weakness in the consumer staples sector.

The Australian dollar has become the Stephen Bradbury of currency markets - `winning' by default because all its rivals fell in a heap.

Federal Treasury has dismissed suggestions the Chinese economic "miracle" is coming to an end, saying the Asian giant will grow at a more sustainable rate to become the biggest economy in the world

Australian retailers may be doing it hard, but they are fighting back with a new industry group designed to lobby governments on a range of issues affecting the struggling sector.

The Reserve Bank's interest rate should be cut in the new year to boost ailing consumer and business confidence, Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly says.

Economists believe the federal government can ditch its much promised budget surplus without damaging its triple-A credit rating.

A former top state government official has been fined $1500 after being found guilty of disclosing confidential government information to former premier turned lobbyist Brian Burke.

 Lower interest rates have yet to give a noticeable boost to a manufacturing sector that remains plagued by a high Australian dollar, a new survey suggests.

The head of National Australia Bank has called for an overhaul of Australia's industrial relations and taxation systems as the resources investment boom nears its peak.

Shares in Iluka Resources fell by nearly six per cent on the ASX today after it said sales volumes to the end of November were at the bottom end of guidance.

Westpac does not expect conditions in the banking sector to improve any time soon, but says it is in good shape to deliver sound returns for shareholders.