AAP

Building materials provider Adelaide Brighton is optimistic of increasing its full year earnings, despite the challenges facing the residential and commercial property markets.

Damning findings have been made against organisers of the 2011 Kimberley Ultramarathon which left runners suffering horrific burns after a bushfire swept through the race route.

Global miner BHP Billiton has flagged potential job losses at some of its Australian operations as it reins in costs amid falling commodity prices.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the federal budget will return to surplus as planned, despite the additional cost of its new asylum seeker measures.

Entrepreneur Dick Smith is calling on federal parliament to support farmers and local manufacturers, including his own food business.

Shares in Brambles have slumped despite the pallet and logistics company unveiling a higher annual profit and flagging stronger revenues in the year ahead.

AMP expects further growth after its $4 billion merger with AXA Asia Pacific contributed to a seven per cent rise in underlying first half profit.

Jobs and growth pressures in Western Australia are expected to be the focus of a community cabinet meeting in Perth on September 5.

The Australian market has opened higher following mixed leads from Europe and the US overnight.

Australia's two-decade long economic expansion is at risk unless productivity growth returns to its long term average, according to a new report.

US stocks have closed mixed with the Dow and S&P 500 essentially flat for the second straight day as fresh data releases failed to give any clearer picture of US economic growth.

Community sentiment towards Australia's newest onshore asylum-seeker detention centre remains mixed, Northam Shire president Steve Pollard says.

Shares in Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund (HDF) fell after Pipeline Partners Australia (PPA) Pty Ltd increased its cash offer for the fund by 10 cents to $2.43 per security.

A range of positive factors, including solid wage growth, has failed to lift the mood of consumers.

The Australian stock market finished lower as nervous investors made for the safety of defensive stocks amid thin trading volumes.

Etihad Airways will add to its growth through investments in other airlines such as Virgin Australia, its chief says.

Premier Colin Barnett says he will do all he can to ensure Woodside's planned Browse gas hub remains at James Price Point in the Kimberley.

Westfield has lifted its first half profit by nearly a third and says it will boost investment in its better-performing Australian shopping centres to drive earnings further.

One of the world's largest credit agencies has warned Australia's states and territories to watch their persistent budget deficits and rising debt levels.

Businesses facing a high staff turnover must re-examine hiring policies, or suffer the expense of continually taking on new workers, a specialist recruitment firm has warned.

Wage prices data which came in close to expectations is unlikely to sway the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy too much, economists say.

Mirvac Group has appointed London-based investment executive Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz as its new managing director, replacing Nick Collishaw.

The "world's biggest" carbon tax is partly responsible for a decline in international business confidence in Australia, the federal opposition says.

Oz Minerals has lifted its first half profit to $119.5 million but warned its full year production could come in at the lower end of its forecast.

The Australian stock market opened stronger this morning, with a strong earnings report from the Commonwealth Bank giving the market a boost in the early session of trading.

Commonwealth Bank's record $7.1 billion profit will benefit millions of Australian households, its chief executive says.

US stocks gave up early gains helped by a better-than-expected reading on retail sales and closed flat, with the Dow held up by a strong performance from Home Depot.

The Australian Greens say Woodside Petroleum has heavily underestimated whale numbers off the Western Australian coast, near the site of its proposed $34 billion gas hub.

Four people face a total of six corruption charges over allegedly tampering with urine samples at a laboratory in the Pilbara in order to secure work in the resources sector.

Bipartisan support is expected for proposed new legislation in Western Australia banning taxpayer-funded government advertising within three months of a state election, the oppositio

The Australian share market finished higher, reversing earlier small losses as investors switched into defensive stocks.