AAP

Gold futures have eked out a new six-month high as optimism for demand remained strong in the wake of the US Federal Reserve's newest monetary-easing initiative.

A Chinese government office is forecasting economic growth of between 7.7 and 7.8 per cent for the year in a sign of an expected improvement in prospects for the world's second-largest economy.

The Federal Reserve's open-ended QE3 has pulled US stocks out of their slumber and into a two-day rally, taking indices to new multi-year highs.

The Australian dollar has surged to its highest level in a month after the US Federal Reserve announced a renewed program to give the flagging American economy a boost.

Fortescue Metals Group has had a High Court win that opens the way for a further review of its access to Pilbara rail lines owned by mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.

Productivity Commission chairman Gary Banks will retire from his position in December, federal Treasurer Wayne Swan says.

Australian shares finished at a four-and-a-half-month high, after the announcement of fresh US Federal Reserve economic stimulus measures buoyed investor confidence.

Shareholders could lose their once-a-year opportunity to mingle with the company directors, if the government's corporate law adviser has its way and scraps annual general meetings.

Treasurer Wayne Swan says the federal government's Asian Century White Paper will be a long-term planning tool setting ambitious targets to be achieved by 2025.

James Packer's Crown Casino has raised $532 million through its subordinated notes offer.The amount exceeded the $400 million Crown in August said it was seeking to raise.

Supermarket retailer Woolworths insists it has not yet made a decision on whether to sell more of its multi-billion-dollar property portfolio.

It obviously takes a bit more than a couple of positive economic statistics to put a smile on people's faces.

ANZ Bank says its variable interest rates for Australian retail mortgages and small business lending will remain unchanged after its September interest rate review.

Billionaire businessmen Kerry Stokes and James Packer believe Australia has to show China a little more love and respect if it wants to deepen its trade relationship.

Australian stocks have opened more than one per cent higher after the US Federal Reserve's announced stimulus measures led to shares soaring on Wall Street.

Retailers have launched another campaign to have GST charged on internet purchases from overseas, warning that Australian governments would forgo revenue of more than $2.4 billion revenue over the

The Australian dollar has surged to its highest level in a month after the US Federal Reserve announced fresh measures to stimulate the country's sluggish economy.

US stocks have soared after the Federal Reserve announced a new "QE3" bond-buying program focused on boosting jobs and pulling the housing market back to life.

The Australian dollar is slightly lower as traders play it safe ahead of an expected economic stimulus announcement by the US Federal Reserve.

Australian stocks closed lower amid broad-based weakness, with mining-related sectors posting some of the steepest declines.

Production at Newcrest's Cadia Valley underground gold and copper mine in central western NSW has been suspended due to an equipment failure.

Energy Resources of Australia says the shelving of the Olympic Dam expansion and the high costs for Japan to dump nuclear power should see uranium prices rebound strongly.

The construction sector posted the biggest drop in employment over the past year, a fall of 70,200 or 6.7 per cent.

The federal government has dismissed as "scaremongering" reports it has indefinitely frozen a promised $1 billion regional development fund.

 One of Australia's leading economic forecasters says it is shocked and disappointed at how poorly Australia's non-mining sector is performing at a time it should be offsetting a slowdown in t

The competition watchdog has delayed making a decision on the potential acquisition of pay TV investor Consolidated Media Holdings by Kerry Stokes' Seven Group amid concerns about TV sports rights.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman says the chief executive of the world's largest miner has himself to blame for the impost of federal taxes.

Finance Minister Penny Wong says she won't pre-empt a review into the way GST revenue is distributed among states when it comes to reimbursing mining companies for state royalties through the feder

Myer shares are down by more than three per cent after the department store issued no profit guidance for the year ahead because of the troubled retail environment.

Australian stocks have opened weaker, with falls among mining and financial stocks leading the broader market lower.

Former treasurer and attorney-general Christian Porter has backed Gina Rinehart's call for a special economic zone in the nation's north.

US stocks have followed European markets higher after a German court gave its approval to the eurozone's permanent crisis fund, opening the door to more aid to embattled Spain.