AAP

Former federal opposition leader Dr John Hewson says the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) should continue slashing interest rates so they are in line with other developed economies.

The Australian share market closed marginally stronger at a nine-month high after gains by miners were offset falls among the big four banks.

Aquila Resources' $430 million sale of its half interest in the Isaac Plains coal mine in Queensland is a step closer to being officially sold, following Foreign Investment Review Board's (FIRB) ap

Leighton Holdings has won a $604 million, three-year, contract for mining services at the Peak Downs Mine in central Queensland.

The state government is under pressure to ease the impact of ballooning utilities bills on poorer households in the state's budget this month.

Fortescue Metals Group founder Andrew Forrest expects his company will pay "little or no" minerals resource rent tax when it comes into effect from July 1.

You don't have to get your hands dirty to reap the benefit of the mining boom.

Telecommunications giant Optus has slashed 750 jobs as part of a restructure, but none will be lost in Western Australia.

Brambles says it is on track to meet its full year profit target after unveiling a 33 per cent rise in its latest sales results.

The Australian stock market has opened higher, as gains among the big miners helped offset a weak start from the retail banks.

ANZ Banking Group has lifted its first half profit by 10 per cent to $2.92 billion but says margins in its Australian business are declining.

One of the country's leading economists says there is no economic imperative for the government to return the budget to surplus so quickly.

A better-than-expected read on US manufacturing in April and encouraging construction data drove Wall Street shares higher Tuesday as traders shrugged off some poor earnings reports.

The Australian share market lifted to a nine-month high after the central bank surprised investors with a bigger than expected interest rate.

Premier Colin Barnett says if the distribution of the GST revenue is not fairly shared between the states, the bigger states will take the matter into their own hands.

 Labor frontbencher Martin Ferguson has urged the embattled party to stop its in-fighting, move on from the leadership spill and focus on next Tuesday's budget.

A peak accounting body says the federal government should continue to target weaker parts of the local economy rather than its "commendable" aim to return the budget to surplus.

Labor frontbenchers are playing down the latest Newspoll which shows voter support has neared rock bottom.

Global property developer Stockland Group says it is on track to achieve its recent earnings guidance for the 2012 financial year.

Australian shares have opened slightly higher as confidence grows in the local market following gains in resources stocks and on high expectations of an interest rate cut.

Qantas will sack around 400 workers from across its heavy maintenance bases.

Mining companies are so desperate for workers some are throwing their selection criteria in the bin and spending money on training raw recruits, the Department of Treasury has found.

US stocks closed out April Monday with all three indices slipping lower, helped by weak US consumer spending data and ongoing worries about Spain and the eurozone.

The Australian dollar is almost a full US cent higher as global markets priced in the possibility that the US central bank could embark on a new round of economic stimulus.

National Australia Bank will spend £456 million ($A713 million) and cut 1,400 British jobs to prevent its struggling UK business from causing more damage to its bottom line.

 The Australian share market closed stronger, driven by resource and banking stocks on the expectations of a cut in domestic interest rates and a soft economic landing in China.

Retail gas prices in Western Australia will increase 8.3 per cent from tomorrow, costing an average family an extra 90 cents a week.

Fortescue boss Andrew Forrest has accused Treasurer Wayne Swan of lying about the amount of revenue the federal government will get from its mining tax.

Engineering groups UGL and CH2M Hill have won a $550 million contract to build the combined cycle power plant for the Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Northern Territory.

Low-income Australians are being priced out of the private rental market in capital cities and miningboom towns, a welfare group says.

Controversial Queensland mining magnate Clive Palmer doesn't think he'd have to "give up anything" if he stands against Treasurer Wayne Swan at the next federal election.

Australia's housing and retail sectors have called on the Reserve Bank to deliver a 50 basis point interest rate cut to boost consumer sentiment, after a survey showed new home sales have fallen to