AAP

 BHP Billiton may cut up to 155 jobs from its Nickel West business as it curbs activity and restructures roles in reaction to a depressed nickel price and a strong Australian dollar.

Australian shares ended lower for the third straight day as brokers took profits ahead of the reporting season and after one of the best monthly starts to the calendar year in around 40 years.

More than 10,000 angry St George and Bank SA customers are trying to recoup bank fees after joining the largest collective action in Australian legal history.

SALES by small businesses over the Christmas period were better than expected, but calendar 2011 figures were less impressive amid subdued market conditions.

 Australian manufacturing activity expanded in January for a second consecutive month, a private survey shows.The largest gains were in the food and beverages sub-sector.

Official data showing further falls in house prices have lent fuel to the case for another interest rate cut, economists say.

Federal opposition frontbenchers have defended Tony Abbott's outlook for tax cuts under a coalition government, ahead of a keynote speech by the prime minister on the economy.

Qantas says it is in a strong financial position despite having its credit rating downgraded by Moody's ratings agency.

Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey says he is comfortable with the country's richest person increasing her stake in Fairfax Media.

 Australian shares have posted another slow start after a soft session on Wall Street despite gains on European bourses.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has reaffirmed without qualification that the federal government will deliver a budget surplus.

It's the best start for US stocks in 15 years.

Households will be hit with double-digit percentage jumps for insurance for a second year as insurers restore profits after the industry's worst year on record for disaster claims, a survey finds.

The Australian dollar rose nearly three quarters of a US cent on hopes that a bailout for Greece might be nearing completion.

Australia's largest cattle producer, Australian Agricultural Company (AACo), exported more live cattle during 2011 despite the Australian government's temporary ban on live exports to Indonesia.

Australian shares gave up earlier gains to end lower as renewed investor concerns about the European debt crisis took the steam out of a retailer-driven rally.

An independent inquiry is the only way to find out if other senior media advisers to Premier Colin Barnett were involved in leaking false information to the media about new Labor Leader Mark McGowa

Prime Minister Julia Gillard should stop interfering in the mining industry and Western Australia, and focus on manufacturing job losses elsewhere, Premier Colin Barnett says.

Two-thirds of Australians are expecting an interest rate cut when the Reserve Bank of Australia board meets on February 7, with some anticipating a large 50 basis points reduction.

Australian entrepreneur Dick Smith fears the electronics chain he founded could be sold to foreign owners by retail giant Woolworths.

Telstra has won a $39 million contract to improve mobile telecommunications infrastructure in rural Western Australia.

Oil and gas producer AWE is on track to meet its full-year production and revenue targets, while it has lowered its risk exposure to the troubled BassGas project.

Australian fruit and vegetable growers fear they will become the latest victims in the supermarket price wars after Coles slashed its fresh produce prices.

Education provider Navitas expects second-half earnings to be weaker amid uncertainty over student visa rules.

Woolworths says its first half sales rose five per cent to $29.7 billion despite the supermarket giant facing subdued consumer confidence and falling prices.

The International Monetary Fund believes Australia is probably the best-positioned of the developed countries to handle a further deterioration in the global economy.

Lynas Corporation says construction of its rare earths processing plant in Malaysia is 91 per cent complete.

 Worries about whether Greece and its creditors will agree a debt deal have pushed Australian shares lower at the open.

The Australian dollar is a quarter of a US cent higher after some promising news from the European Union leaders summit.

All European Union countries, except Britain and the Czech Republic, have agreed to sign up to a new treaty designed to stop overspending on the eurozone and put an end to the bloc's crippling debt

A media adviser for Premier Colin Barnett has resigned after admitting he leaked false information to the media about Opposition Leader Mark McGowan and circulated a photograph of his house.

The Australian dollar has dropped from its recent three-month high, in the lead-up to a key European Union summit to tackle sovereign debt.