AAP

Australian shares closed lower as the Congressional deal to resolve US debt issues failed to allay investor concerns about the faltering American economy.

Australia's third-largest mobile operator Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) says it has lost 375,000 customers so far this year, as users sought alternatives in response to network and customer se

Rural Bank customers will have better access to their money and Australia Post will get a new source of revenue through a deal to provide deposits and loans at regional post offices.

Federal Trade Minister Craig Emerson will lead the biggest-ever business delegation to China this week to promote Australian service exports.

Three women have been arrested and charged with obstructing police during a protest near a proposed $30 billion gas hub site in the Kimberley.

Australia's third-largest nickel miner, Western Areas, says production is so strong that it will complete its obligations early and may negotiate higher contracts for the metal.

Canada's Barrick Gold Corporation says copper prices are set to remain robust as industrial demand from China and India continues to rise.

Education provider Navitas has increased full year profit by 20.5 per cent, and says demand remains robust as students seek training opportunities.

Australian shares opened almost one per cent lower despite the passage through the United States House of Representatives of a bill averting a deft default.

The Australian dollar was almost one US cent lower after the release of disappointing manufacturing data in the US and the UK.

US stocks fell on Monday as a last-minute deal on raising the government's debt ceiling and averting a potentially disastrous default headed for a contentious vote in Congress.

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The state government has agreed to sign up to a national hospitals plan after 18 months of wrangling with Canberra.

US energy company Peabody Energy and European steel giant ArcelorMittal have made a direct appeal to Macarthur Coal's shareholders to accept their hostile all-cash $4.7 billion bid after the target

Australian shares gained more than 1.5 per cent in a "relief rally" after the United States avoided a debt default with an eleventh-hour agreement to cut its deficit.

Two affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate Advisors will acquire all Valad Property Group securities via a company scheme and trust scheme.

New guidelines are to be introduced to provide clearer information for consumers about the risk of their superannuation funds' investments.

Western Australia is moving towards giving all public schools independence so they can manage their own money, staffing and programs, the state's education minister says.

Shareholders in sandalwood supplier TFS Corporation have voted in favour of issuing up to 55.5 million warrants.

The United States' debt ceiling deal will not avert a credit ratings downgrade, leading American economist and former White House director of economic policy Todd Buchholz says.

Gold miner Norton Gold Fields says it doesn't currently feel vulnerable to a takeover by its new largest shareholder, China's Zijin Mining Group.

The air safety regulator is close to making a decision on whether grounded airline Tiger Airways Australia can resume flights.

The state government is under fire for suspending a scheme that pays householders for extra energy pumped into the grid from their solar panels.

The South Australian government has given mining giant BHP Billiton the upper hand in negotiations over the proposed Olympic Dam expansion, the Greens say.

Telstra has submitted the details of its structural separation with the competition watchdog for approval.

Australian shares are soaring after the United States avoided a debt default with an eleventh hour agreement to cut its deficit.

US stocks have had their worst week of 2011 amid fears that the debt-ceiling impasse in Washington would provoke a ruinous default or a downgrade of the United States' credit rating.

The Australian dollar is three quarters of a US cent higher as optimism grows that US politicians will work out a deal to avoid a default on its debts.

Debt talks down to wire – The Fin; West's desal plan scuttled – The Fin; Wheatstone approval this year: Chevron – The Fin; Solar panel scheme to be shut down in weeks – The West; Diggers delegates to get their teeth into Labor – The Aus

A senior pilot and a highly skilled engineer have been stood down by Qantas after they threatened to go on strike.

One of Australia's largest livestock exporters is just a step away from sending the first shipment of cattle to Indonesia since the live trade was banned.

Emerging miners and even some states could launch legal action to fight the Mineral Resource Rent Tax, Fortescue Metals Group executive director Andrew Forrest says.