AAP

Virgin Australia will invest $8 million in regional carrier Skywest Airlines to help expand their existing partnership.

The Australian sharemarket has opened one per cent lower as investors reacted to weak US jobs figures released at the start of easter break.

Treasurer Wayne Swan is talking up carbon tax compensation cheques for Australian households a month before the federal budget.

US stocks tumbled Monday after last week's disappointing jobs report showed a slowdown in hiring that raised concerns about the strength of the economic recovery.

A rally on Chinese equity markets has helped the Australian dollar to recover from a three month low.

The Australian share market closed lower on the back of sharply weaker commodity prices and a negative offshore lead amid fresh concerns about the euro zone debt crisis.

The annual Diggers and Dealers mining conference may be forced to move to Perth if Kalgoorlie's conference centre is forced to close, organisers say.

It used to be the great Australian dream: a big house on a quarter acre block with a couple of kids and maybe a pet or two thrown in.

Central Petroleum is in talks to attract new joint venture partners for its ambitious helium project in the Northern Territory near the South Australian border.

BC Iron and equal joint venture partner Fortescue Metals Group have extended the life of their Nullagine iron ore mine in the Pilbara by 18 months.

Programmed Maintenance Services has bought golf course and race track maintenance company Turnpoint in a deal worth up to $12 million. 

The Australian market has opened half a per cent lower due to falling commodity prices and a weakness on overseas markets.

World oil prices have tumbled as soaring American stockpiles indicate weak demand in the world's biggest oil consuming nation, dealers say.

A dreadful Spanish bond auction and the reluctance of the Federal Reserve to launch a fresh round of US stimulus have sent Wall Street share prices tumbling.

Australia has unexpectedly recorded a trade deficit for the second month in a row, in a further sign the country's buoyant trade performance of recent years has peaked.

he Australian share market has closed flat despite a sell-off triggered by disappointing trade balance numbers.

Those overseas holidays and bargain internet purchases may be about to get more expensive as the Australian dollar slides back towards parity with its US counterpart.

Shares in construction and maintenance firm Transfield Services plunged almost 12 per cent as analysts anticipate a writedown on its newly acquired Easternwell business.

The supposed link between interest rates set by Australia's central bank and the rates set by the commercial banks is a myth that needs to be busted, says the ANZ's head of Australian operations Ph

Bad weather and trouble with coal exports have caused a surprise second consecutive monthly trade deficit.

Australia should focus on becoming a high-wage, high-productivity country or risk falling further behind the rest of the world, Business Council of Australia president Tony Shepherd says.

Seven West Media, the owner of the Seven Network and West Australian Newspapers, has withdrawn from the Australian Press Council.

Western Australia may as well leave its minerals in the ground while its GST revenue continues to be stolen by Canberra and the eastern states, Premier Colin Barnett says.

Nine animal rights activists have been arrested after they chained themselves to a live-sheep export ship and gates at Fremantle Port for nearly seven hours.

The Australian share market has opened more than a third of a per cent lower.

Gold futures have fallen in after-market trading after the latest US Federal Open Market Committee minutes showed few hints of imminent monetary stimulus.

Signs that the Federal Reserve may be reticent to launch a fresh round of stimulus sent Wall Street lower Tuesday.

A writ has been lodged in the Western Australian Supreme Court on behalf of an organic farmer seeking damages for losses suffered after genetically modified canola contaminated his crops.

The Australian share market closed marginally firmer despite slipping in late trade after the central bank kept interest rates on hold.

Australia could be on the verge of another rental crisis, with Perth expected to be hit the hardest, Australia's largest property developer says.

Transfield Services shareholders are bracing themselves for a possible profit downgrade from the construction and maintenance company.

OneSteel is switching its name to Arrium in the hope the new tag better reflects its various mining businesses rather than its steel-making heritage.