AAP

Woodside Petroleum seems to be making progress with its stalled Sunrise project, saying its new chief executive Peter Coleman has held constructive talks with the East Timor government.

The Australian share market opened slightly higher after mixed overnight leads from the US and falls in base metals prices.

Engineering firm Monadelphous Group has signed new contracts with resources firms including Rio Tinto and Xstrata worth around $230 million.

The Australian dollar rose almost one US cent as traders position themselves in preparation for the weekend's crucial eurozone summit.

US stocks ended a choppy session mixed Thursday amid scepticism that European leaders will forge a deal on resolving the eurozone debt crisis in coming days.

Nickel miner Western Areas has reported a fall in first quarter nickel sales and prices, but stockpiles at its mines in Western Australia have grown and cash costs remain low.

The Australian dollar continued its slide closing at 101.55 US cents, down from 103.13 cents on Wednesday as progress seemed to slow on the Eurozone debt bail-out.

Leighton Holdings has hit out against a downgrade by ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) on the very day it secured a $1.2 billion rail contract in Hong Kong with a joint venture partner

The gap between Australia's weakest and strongest industries is greater than it has ever been, according to a business survey.

Federal Treasury says the government will have to think about boosting household assistance under its carbon price package if the world emissions price is higher than forecast in 2015.

The Indian prime minister's decision to skip a major Commonwealth summit in Perth has nothing to do with Labor's refusal to sell his country uranium, officials insist.

Oil and gas producer Santos has increased third quarter sales revenue by 27 per cent and maintained full year production guidance.

The Australian share market closed firmly in the red after a fall in commodities prices and as it became apparent a full resolution to the European debt crisis was not imminent.

The union representing Qantas engineers has called off all protected industrial action for three weeks.

Australia's Treasury chief has warned the world could be dragged into a second recession if Europe fails to deal with its debt problems.

Australian banks have little direct exposure to risky European government debt and are more resilient to turbulence in international markets, a senior central bank official says.

The federal government has appointed Peter Kell and Greg Tanzer as full-time commissioners to the corporate watchdog, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Manganese miner OM Holdings' production fell in the three months to September and the company has forecast higher production in the final quarter of the year.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says a new report by an international investor group justifies the government's plan to put a price on carbon and shows the risk posed by the coalition.

Australia remains among the top 20 of the world's easiest places to do business but has slipped in the rankings from a year ago, a new report shows.

Newcrest Mining has reported lower gold production in the September quarter but says it still expects to meet production and cost guidance.

The Australian share market opened one per cent lower today due to a weak lead from Wall Street and doubts about the prospects for an effective solution to Europe's debt woes.

The Australian dollar fell more than one US cent as data released overnight highlighted weak US economic conditions and as European officials prepare for their weekend summit.

US stocks fell sharply Wednesday after the Federal Reserve's "Beige Book" portrayed a still-weak economy in September, as big losses from tech stars Apple and Amazon pulled the Nasdaq down more tha

The growth of the Australian economy is set to pick up pace in 2012, according to the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Index.

The Australian share market finished higher despite a late-session weakness by resource heavyweights and the dark shadow of Europe's debt crisis overhanging the market.

Virgin Australia says it will provide additional capacity to minimise the impact of ongoing Qantas industrial action on the Australian travel and tourism industry.

Household confidence is gradually rising and spending could increase as Christmas approaches, research says.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says new modelling showing many Australians will be better off under Labor's carbon tax shows the Coalition's fear campaign is without foundation.

Rail operator QR National says a contract renewal with aluminium maker Alcoa in Western Australia will contribute revenue of more than $400 million over 10 years.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is optimistic about the stability of the Australian banking system, despite recent worries about the European banks and government debt problems.

Chinese economic strength will "trump" any slowdown in Europe and the US to bolster the state's finances, according to treasurer Christian Porter.