AAP

Australian stocks have opened firmer, with the major miners leading the broader market on track to close at a fresh high for calendar 2012.

Small business confidence may have reached a turning point after some difficult times in the past couple of years.

US stocks ended slightly higher on Monday amid hopes that a political deal over the looming fiscal cliff was in the works.

Investors who jump into the sharemarket in December might just get an early christmas present - if history is any guide.

Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths will be investigated by a new government body as it looks for a link between road safety and the pay and conditions of the nation's truck drivers.

The Australian dollar is unchanged after weak Chinese trade data reduced earlier gains made on strong US job numbers.

The federal government has hit out at a senior Liberal MP for suggesting the global financial crisis would not have had a budget impact under a coalition government, describing the remarks as "delu

Australian households won't see instant cuts in their power bills if the federal Labor government's carbon tax is abolished, energy retailers say.

The Australian stock market has closed marginally higher as upbeat Chinese data helped to sustain the momentum of the market.

Investors have given Ten Network Holdings's latest capital raising a thumbs down amid doubts about the struggling broadcaster's ability to reverse its flagging fortunes.

Mining contractor Macmahon Holdings is poised for a capital raising as it battles to reverse a drop in earnings and tries to cut costs.

Property company GPT Group has made a bid for Australand's commercial and industrial and investment property portfolio.

Woodside Petroleum has reached another joint venture agreement to expand its exploration interests in Myanmar (Burma).

Weaker-than-expected housing loan figures suggest the Reserve Bank of Australia may need to cut the cash rate further in 2013.

The Australian market has opened flat as trading volumes start to thin out heading into the festive season.

Shopping centre owner Centro Retail Australia is changing its name just 12 months after a massive company overhaul that kept the once debt-laden company afloat.

The coalition could lose a swag of marginal seats at next year's federal election as new electoral laws automatically enrol up to 1.5 million voters.

A surprise slide in the US unemployment rate to 7.7 per cent for November gave markets an initial boost on Friday, but shares ended the session mixed.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has struck a deal with the state and territory leaders on a plan she says could save households $250 a year on their power bills.

The Australian dollar is slightly higher, enjoying support following a busy week of economic data releases, most of which were quite good.

The Australian market closed at a seven-week high, with across-the-board gains aided by strong overseas leads.

Labour productivity rose strongly in 2011/12, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Mining billionaire Gina Rinehart is believed to have given her last-minute support to the troubled Ten Network's $230 million capital raising.

Returning the federal budget to surplus this financial year should not be priority as it could further slow the economy, an economist says.

A bushfire that almost forced the evacuation of people by boat from a remote West Australian beach has burnt out the peninsula, local authorities say.

Suggestions Clive Palmer has transferred the registered address of his companies to Western Australia because of dissatisfaction with the Queensland government are overstated, the mining tycoon say

Lower commodity prices and the high value of the Australian dollar have seen Australia post its biggest trade deficit since 2008.

Myer has blamed economic conditions, the introduction of the carbon tax and a GST loophole on goods bought overseas for its weak performance.

Australian stocks have opened firmer amid broad-based gains with the big banks and miners all higher in early trade.

Lower interest rates have slowed the decline of Australia's construction sector, but the industry is expected to remain in a slump into 2013.

US stocks finished in positive territory on Thursday after circling the breakeven line for much of the session, with a mild rebound by volatile Apple buoying the Nasdaq for a 0.5 per cent gain.