AAP

Supermarket private label product sales have grown by an enormous 85 per cent in the past five years and will account for a quarter of the $86 billion Australians spend on groceries in the next yea

Domestic labour will be favoured in the hunt for more than 5000 workers for Chevron's $US29 billion ($28. billion) Wheatstone gas project, the state government says.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has highlighted the potential for the Kimberley region to become the food bowl of Asia on the final leg of a three-day media blitz in the state.

Australian economic conditions are at their strongest in 10 months and are expected to improve as the central bank further stimulates the economy.

BHP Billiton is expected to face a challenging few months as risk-averse investors abandon the stock despite positive production numbers.

The Australian sharemarket has held on to Tuesday's gains after Wall Street closed higher overnight.

The federal government says thousands and not hundreds of jobs could have been lost if it had not provided financial support to Ford earlier in the year.

The Australian dollar has reached a six-week high on commentary from the US central bank.

US stocks have closed higher after Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke gave a gloomy assessment of the economy to Congress and said the Fed would act if the situation gets worse.

More Aussie workers say they feel dissatisfied with their jobs and are less trusting of their employers than during the global financial crisis.

The Australian dollar rose to its highest level in almost two weeks after the Reserve Bank of Australia showed some optimism about the economic outlook.

Australia's largest gold producer Newcrest has a new executive general manager for projects, the company announced.

The Australian share market has closed higher, boosted by commentary from the nation's central bank that there were recent positive signs for the Australian economy.

Rupert Murdoch's group of Australian media companies have won a long-running battle with the Australian Taxation Office over more than $2 billion in tax deductions.

Former Greens senator Bob Brown has traded in his political hat for a pair of sea legs by joining the crew of the Sea Shepherd for an anti-gas hub campaign.

Anti-nuclear activists say six people have been arrested during protest action at the Olympic Dam uranium and copper mine in South Australia's north.

When the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia met on July 3, its members saw no case to cut the cash rate again and gave no hint that a cut was in the pipeline.

The carbon tax is not popular but Australians are warming to it, Prime Minister Julia Gillard says.

Treasurer Wayne Swan has thrown his support behind Prime Minister Julia Gillard amid renewed leadership speculation.

Rio Tinto has awarded a $317 million contract to build its driverless high tech train that will haul iron ore to port to Ansaldo STS Australia.

The federal government won't be handing over more cash to prop up the car industry, despite Ford Australia downgrading production and axing 440 jobs.

Fortescue Metals Group says its exports will continue to grow, despite lower iron ore prices and global jitters about a slowdown in China.

The Australian shares are higher despite falls on Wall Street and European markets overnight.

Treasurer Wayne Swan says the latest assessment by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows how strong Australia's economic fundamentals are compared with the rest of the advanced world.

US stocks have closed lower after an unexpected fall in retail sales in June, the third consecutive drop that fuelled concerns about the strength of consumer spending, a key driver of the economy.

The Australian dollar is half a US cent higher thanks to higher commodity prices and some relief over the Chinese economy.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has accused Premier Colin Barnett of trying to fool the public about the impact of the carbon tax.

 The Australian share market finished higher, with investors feeling more confident about taking risks following positive Chinese economic data last week.

Seven West Media says it is still interested in gaining the television rights to at least some National Rugby League games, but only if the price is right.

Motorists are set to pay up to five cents a litre more for unleaded petrol in the next fortnight as global oil prices rise on a more stable outlook for the world economy, an economist says.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she understands the state government's push to protect beach goers from sharks.