AAP

Australian company Alumina's joint venture partner Alcoa has kicked off the US earnings reporting season by announcing a sharp drop in profits on the back of weaker aluminium prices.

Economists are expecting Australia's unemployment rate to have risen slightly in June, while total employment growth remained flat, as the strong jobs growth of previous months grinds to a halt.

Treasurer Troy Buswell says he has a tough task in convincing the GST review panel to hand the state a greater share.

Chocoholics made a run on Darrell Lea stores as news filtered through that the famous brand might have to be sold off.

Australia should encourage more Chinese investment in domestic industries and reap the benefits of its immense capital reserves, a top foreign affairs bureaucrat says.

The takeover battle for energy infrastructure investor Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund is intensifying, with Pipeline Partners Australia making a binding $1.23 billion takeover offer.

Strike action at a key Coles warehouse will have a significant impact on supplies getting through to all Coles Victorian supermarkets, a union says.

 Treasurer Wayne Swan will travel to Hong Kong for currency talks with Chinese authorities.

The Australian share market has opened higher, driven by lower than expected falls on US markets overnight.

US stocks have fallen ahead of the opening of earnings season, with the slow economy and worries about European stability and Chinese growth pressing down on sentiment.

The Australian dollar weakened considerably on disappointing US labour force figures, but then moved very little on Monday.

The Australian sharemarket has closed lower, after the release of a disappointing jobs report in the US on Friday and concerns that China's economy is still weakening.

Rose Porteous, the widow of iron ore magnate Lang Hancock, has declined to comment on reports she has filed for divorce from her fourth husband Willie.

 Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says it would be a "good thing" if the coalition met its target to subsidise more solar energy-powered homes.

 Job advertisements have fallen for the third straight month, led by declines in Victoria and the mining boom states of Western Australia and Queensland.

The Australian sharemarket has opened almost one per cent lower in line with falls in the US after the release of a disappointing jobs report there on Friday.

Construction giant Leighton Holdings has sold its Thiess Waste Management to international water and environmental services company Remondis AG & Co KG for $218 million.

 Shares in Iluka Resources have plunged to 18-month lows after the mineral sands miner surprised the market with a sales downgrade and dire short-term outlook for the global economy.

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan says he is confident the federal government's mining tax will withstand a High Court challenge.

The Australian dollar has fallen to its lowest level in 10 days following the release of disappointing US employment figures.

US stock markets look set for a rough ride this week after a disappointing jobs report underpinned fears the economy's tepid growth is slowing.

The Australian share market closed lower on a cautious day of trading ahead of the release of crucial US employment data.

The independent Alcohol Advertising Review Board (AARB) chaired by esteemed child health advocate Fiona Stanley says an attack on it by the country's top advertising industry group is "nonsense".

Petrol station fuel price boards will be made more consistent and less misleading for motorists, the federal government says.

Qantas says its electronic check-in systems at Perth Airport are being brought back online after a power outage overnight caused delays.

The editor of Australia's largest daily newspaper has suddenly resigned while major changes continue rumbling across an unstable media landscape.

Speculation is growing that billionaire Gina Rinehart will reverse her opposition to Fairfax Media's editorial independence charter to get a board seat and speed up takeover plans.

The Australian sharemarket has opened slightly lower following interest rate cuts in Europe and China.

Australia's construction sector contracted for the 25th straight month in June, showing recent interest rate cuts have failed to revive the struggling sector's fortunes.

Supermarket giant Woolworths has been accused of using "brutal negotiations" to squeeze price cuts from suppliers to help fund a price war with rival Coles.

The Australian dollar hit a two month high after Britain and Europe's central banks announced fresh stimulus measures.

US stocks narrowed early losses but ended lower overall after central banks in China and Europe acted to boost growth but US data did not set a clear path for the Federal Reserve to follow suit.