AAP

National Australia Bank will raise up to $500 million by issuing subordinated notes to investors.

Local stocks have opened firmer with market players buoyed by the Chinese central bank's actions to support lending in one of Australia's key trading partners.

The Australian dollar has fallen closer to parity with the US dollar political turmoil continues in Greece.

US stocks took a beating last week, only to face more turbulence from Europe as Greece grapples with rising political uncertainty that could cost the country's crucial EU-IMF bailout.

The "bully boy tactics" of Coles and Woolworths are threatening the future of Australian food production, Australian Workers' Union boss Paul Howes says.

Fears of a new financial crisis in the wake of Greece's elections have dragged the Australian dollar perilously close to parity with its US counterpart.

Oil and gas companies operating in Australian waters tend to fail to recognise at a corporate level the occupational health and safety risks posed by ageing facilities, a report says.

The Australian share market has closed lower, after some bad news about the largest bank in the US, JPMorgan Chase, spooked investors.

Australia's banking watchdog says outsourcing does not always lead to cost savings, rather it can lead to higher costs and a loss of expertise.

ANZ has trimmed its standard variable home loan and business lending rates by 37 basis points.

The High Court will hear a class action by customers of the ANZ Bank alleging it charged excessive fees for overdrafts, overdrawn accounts, dishonour fees and over-the-limit credit card accounts.

Australia's competition watchdog says it has already come across businesses using the imminent introduction of the carbon tax to gouge consumers.

Australian stocks have opened flat as market players wait for key economic data from China.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has promised the fiscal details of the its alternative budget will be revealed before the next election as he hits back on criticism his budget reply was short on deta

US stocks mostly bounced back slightly after a six-day losing streak, amid hopes that Greece's moderate socialists might be able to form a government and avoid a new eurozone debt crisis.

A surprise drop in unemployment has pushed the Australian dollar higher and away from parity with its US counterpart, for the time being.

The chief economist of one of the nation's biggest financial service companies says the federal budget will not help Australia's economic growth and risks damaging the effectiveness of superannuati

The Australian share market has closed higher, boosted by a better-than-expected unemployment rate and expectations that another cut to interest rates will be forthcoming despite the stronger jobs

Woodside Petroleum's has had its credit rating reaffirmed by Moody's Investors Service and the outlook has been changed from to stable from negative.

Regional charter flight operator Alligator Airways has failed in its bid to return to the air after being grounded amid serious safety fears.

Qantas pilots have lost their Federal Court challenge to a ban preventing them from taking industrial action.

Western Australia continues to lead the nation in employment, with the creation of about 6,800 jobs in April pushing the state's jobless rate to a three-and-a-half-year low.

The Western Australian branch of the embattled Health Services Union has decided to look at withdrawing from the national organisation, saying it is strongly dismayed by abuse of mem

Australian shares opened slightly higher despite sharp falls on Wall Street and on European markets. 

Leighton Holdings has been awarded $800 million in gas and water infrastructure contracts in Queensland.

Optus has managed to lift its annual net profit by 1.5 per cent to $787 million despite intense competition from its telco rivals.

National Australia Bank's net profit for the six months to March 31 fell 15.5 per cent to $2.05 billion due to its underperforming operations in the United Kingdom.

US stocks have pared early sharp losses to close with moderate falls after European Union (EU) officials confirmed that Greece would get the next installment of bailout funds this week.

Fears gripping global markets have seen the Australian dollar fall almost one US cent and could could sink it below parity with its American counterpart in the next few days.

The Australian share market has closed lower over the uncertain future of austerity measures aimed at stabilising some debt-ridden countries in the euro zone, especially Greece.

Optus added 80,000 customers in the three months to the end of March, taking its total to nearly 9.5 million.