AAP

The Australian sharemarket has closed higher, following gains on US and European markets in the wake of last week's summit of European Union leaders.

Mining and materials group OneSteel has officially kissed goodbye to its name and said it is on track to deliver a positive earnings result for its steel operations.

Lend Lease shares increased by more than five per cent after the company announced that it expects to post a modest rise in operating profit for its 2011/12 financial year.

Managing the completion of road, rail and port projects in the resources sector is critical to Australia retaining its share of the commodity exports market, a government report says.

A leading business lobby group has dismissed as a marketing exercise, a statement signed by hundreds of businesses backing the federal government's carbon tax.

Incitec Pivot has appointed Paul Brasher as chairman of the fertiliser and explosives maker.Mr Brasher, a former chairman of accounting firm PwC, replaces John Watson in the top role.

Hopes of a $1.65 billion takeover deal for David Jones have been dashed, with the mystery British private equity group behind the proposal making a quick retreat.

Australia's rate of inflation has fallen to its lowest level since the global financial crisis, a survey shows, giving the central bank room to cut interest rates further.

The Australian sharemarket has opened almost one per cent higher after European and US markets rallied on measures to fight the debt crisis in Europe.

Australia's central bank cut interest rates in May and June, but is not expected to make it three in a row when its board meets tomorrow.

Premier Colin Barnett says it's not too late for the federal government to halve its carbon price "to something around $10 a tonne", even though he does not believe it will reduce greenhouse gases.

The Australian dollar has climbed to a two-month high against its US counterpart after European leaders agreed to measures aimed at alleviating the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis.

US stocks leaped two per cent on Friday sparked by the dramatic measures adopted in Brussels to stem the eurozone crisis and stimulate growth, giving the markets a strong end to a rocky first half.

The Australian dollar has risen to its highest level in more than a week after European leaders announced a deal aimed at reducing borrowing costs for Spain and Italy.

Pacific Equity Partners is to acquire Nestle's Peters Ice Cream business for an undisclosed sum as the international food business shifts its range away from refrigerated products in Australia.

The Australian sharemarket has closed higher in the last trading session of the financial year, with investors heartened by the fact that European leaders looked like they had settled on a plan to

Outgoing police minister Rob Johnson says he doesn't know why he was axed ahead of next year's election and is disappointed by Premier Colin Barnett's cabinet shake-up.

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart is likely to succeed in wresting control of Fairfax Media, but it could take at least six months of manoeuvring, an academic says.

Australia's federal and state governments are failing to ease a national housing affordability crisis, according to a new report.

The communications watchdog has slammed Telstra for publishing the personal details of more than 700,000 customers online for most of last year.

A federal-state government rescue package of more than $40 million will keep Alcoa's Victorian smelter open for at least another two years and most of its workforce in a job.

The Australian sharemarket has opened slightly down as investors look for signs of a solution in Europe on the last trading day of the financial year.

News Corp's Australian newspapers and pay TV companies will stay together while worldwide the media group's publishing assets are split off from TV and film under a restructure announced by the com

The Australian dollar has weakened as a meeting of European Union (EU) leaders begins in Brussels on the region's debt crisis.

US stocks have slashed steep early losses in the last hour of trade to end moderately lower, amid short covering and hopes that EU leaders would agree measures to stem the eurozone crisis.

Beleaguered grocery wholesaler Metcash is diversifying into the car spare parts business to help bolster its bottom line and will undertake a $375 million capital raising to help pay for the new bu

Economists doubt that the central bank will cut interest rates for a third month in a row when its board meets next week, despite further signs of weakness in demand for workers and new houses.

The Australian dollar has moved back above 101 US cents for the first time in a week, buoyed by a solid performance from Asian share markets.

Fairfax Media shares have posted fresh lows as market players mulled over Gina Rinehart's next move after her request for a board seat was denied.

The Australian share market surrendered most of its early gains to close almost flat as local investors waited to see if European Union leaders meeting in Brussels would act to contain the euro zon

Caltex Australia, which is pondering closing its refining operations, expects its first half profit to rise by as much as 81 per cent per cent due to higher refinery production.

Alkane Resources says it's on track to bring one of the world's largest undeveloped zirconium resources into production by 2015.