AAP

New cost-of-living data shows this is not the time to be imposing new taxes on households, federal opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey says.

DuluxGroup predicts it will be more profitable in fiscal 2012 after shrugging off challenging conditions to increase its 2011 full year profit by more than 50 per cent.

Total personal finance commitments fell 2.5 per cent in September to $6.986 billion, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data shows.

Rail operator QR National has signed a deal with Wesfarmers to haul up to 1.5 million tonnes of coal each year from its Curragh mine in Queensland to port.

Australian stocks gained as changes of leadership in Italy and Greece stoked optimism that Europe's debt crisis would be addressed.

US President Barack Obama has opened a summit of 21 Pacific Rim economies, including Australia, urging the region to work for quicker, more sturdy and more sustainable economic growth.

The Australian dollar is more than one US cent higher as optimism grows that the Italian government will avoid financial disaster.

US blue chip stocks have turned in a solid gain on the back of good earnings reports to rack up a positive week, but feeble tech stocks left the Nasdaq with its second weekly loss in a row.

Wesfarmers has hit back at critics worried that its Coles supermarkets are abusing market power by squeezing suppliers.

Leighton Holdings has reaffirmed it will return to profitability this financial year with a profit of a much as $650 million as it tenders for $27 billion worth of work.

Australian interest rates could be cut again as early as next month amid new warnings that Europe faces tipping into recession.

Australian shares closed firmly higher on positive offshore leads and short-covering ahead of the weekend.

A spike in recent insolvencies in Australia shows that fallout from the global financial crisis (GFC) is continuing, liquidation firm Dissolve says.

Outgoing Commonwealth Bank chief executive Ralph Norris remains the country's highest paid banker, despite a rise in remuneration for Westpac's Gail Kelly.

Carbon forest sink company Carbon Conscious will plant about 10 million native Mallee eucalypt trees the Wheatbelt next year, after Origin Energy exercised about $30 million worth of planting optio

Striking phosphate miners on Western Australia's remote Christmas Island are threatening to turn the tables on their employer by closing the mine and buying it back.

Treasurer Wayne Swan has urged his Asia-Pacific counterparts to waste no time implementing economic reforms necessary to prevent the sort of turbulence that has gripped Europe.

China's Guangdong Nuclear Power Co has reduced its take-over offer for London-listed Kalarahi Minerals, the major shareholder of Extract Resources.

The Australian stock market opened higher, after markets in the United States rebounded on positive developments in the debt-ridden Eurozone.

US stocks rebounded Thursday amid signs that Italy and Greece were moving to form new governments that would address their deep debt problems.

World oil prices drifted higher on Thursday but the market remained plagued by persistent doubts over the eurozone's debt crisis and in particular the plight of Italy, traders said.

The pilots' union is appealing in the Federal Court against Fair Work Australia's decision to stop Qantas industrial action, claiming it wrongfully ruled against members who had only taken minor ac

The prime minister's decision to work with unions on equal pay for community and social welfare workers has been backed by the state government.

Ports and rail operator Asciano says it has performed well in uncertain economic conditions but warned it would be affected by a fall in economic activity.

Australia's farmers face a positive outlook in the medium term despite a volatile global economy, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) says.

Australia's peak union body has attacked the state government for refusing to sign up to new national occupational health and safety laws.

An unexpected fall in the jobless rate is unlikely to prevent the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cutting interest rates again given the continuing turmoil on global markets.

The benefits of the mining boom have peaked and the federal government must abandon its commitment to a budget surplus by 2012/13, a new study says.

Australia's unemployment rate fell to 5.2 per cent in October, official figures show.The September figure was an upwardly revised 5.3 per cent.

The Australian stock market fell the most in almost two months as the ongoing troubles in the Eurozone spooked investors.

The Australian dollar has fallen more than two US cents on renewed fears of a looming debt crisis in Italy.