AAP

Food prices soar as bank eyes rate rise – The West; Lanco accused of 'undermining' deal – The Fin; Brownes milk deal with Coles goes sour – The West; Cattle export ban 'cost 326 jobs' – The Aus; Worst performer, yearly data shows – The Fin

Rio Tinto-majority owned Coal & Allied has achieved a 25 per cent surge in first half revenue due to higher production and strong prices, and despite wet weather in NSW.

Former Opes Prime directors Laurie Emini and Anthony Blumberg have been jailed on dishonesty charges relating to the firm's collapse, which left creditors owed more than $630 million.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia's full year financial results next month will include several changes to the balance sheet it says will improve transparency.

Optus will axe up to 180 jobs from senior and middle management and leave a further 70 vacancies unfilled in a bid to cut costs at Australia's number two telco.

The Australian stock market closed lower after the release of worse-than-expected inflation data and as the US debt ceiling stalemate continued.

Aquila Resources is still pursuing legal action against its Issac Plains coal mine joint venture partner, Brazil's Vale, but the pair have resolved a dispute that threatened to close the operation.

Tiger Airways looks likely to seek a second adjournment in its Federal Court hearing until after the aviation watchdog hands down a decision on the airline's bid to return to the skies.

Business groups have warned it would be wrong for the Reserve Bank to lift interest rates next week in the wake of today's stronger than expected inflation numbers.

The escalating fuel price will have a greater impact on Australian air travel than the federal government's planned carbon tax, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce says.

Developer Australand Property Group says it's well-placed to deliver guidance in fiscal 2011 after posting a 17 per cent first half profit in a cautious environment.

OM Holdings has hit back at attacks from its largest shareholder, Consolidated Minerals, by announcing record quarterly production at its flagship manganese mine.

The Australian dollar hit a 28-year high after stronger than expected inflation figures raised expectations of an interest rate rise, and continuing squabbling over US government debt.

Atlas Iron is gaining exposure to the large Brazilian iron ore mining sector by buying a 19.9 per cent stake in fellow Perth-based Centaurus Metals.

ROC Oil Company has trimmed its full year exploration and capital spend as it continues to seek new projects in Malaysia.

Shell will stop refining at its Clyde Refinery and will import petroleum products into Sydney because it can't compete with Asia's mega refineries.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde warned yesterday the clock was ticking on a US debt deal, as the dollar slid to new lows amid concerns of a looming and unprecedented default by the world's top economy.

Shares in Mirabela Nickel eased after the miner reported a rise in June quarter cash costs at its flagship Brazilian operation, although nickel production rose by 20 per cent.

The Australian dollar is nearing its post-float record, broken earlier this year, as the United States debt crisis forces traders to sell their greenbacks and invest in other currencies.

A White House threat to veto legislation that would avert a debt default pushed stocks lower on Tuesday.

US ratings downgrade looms as crisis escalates – The Fin; Productivity critical now the good old days are gone: RBA – The Aus; BCA on attack over union strike-first laws – The Aus; Insurance premiums to rocket on disasters – The West; Golden bets $100m on Perth – The West

Australian shares closed higher despite the failure by the United States to resolve its debt-ceiling stalemate.

Discovery Metals says it's on track to start copper and silver production at its Boseto project in northwest Botswana in the first half of calendar 2012.

Higher oil prices helped drive a surge in Oil Search's June quarter revenue, as its Exxon Mobil-led joint venture in Papua New Guinea progresses towards first production.

Engineering firm Downer EDI has secured a contract worth more than $400 million for work on Xstrata Coal's Ravensworth North coal project in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales.

Western Australian Labor stalwart Ron Davies, a man described as the "ultimate local member", has died aged 85.

Employers found it hard recruiting skilled workers in the past financial year, though not as hard as it was just before the global financial crisis, government data shows.

The Australian dollar broke through 109 US cents to a 12-week high, benefiting from weakness in the US dollar as uncertainty over America's debt crisis grows.

The current trend for household income to outpace consumer spending is no less sustainable than the opposite pattern - spending rising faster than income - seen in the decade beginning in the mid-1

A technical glitch in Westpac's system has caused delays in payments for customers across Australia's four major banks.

Generation Y is putting aside their aspirations to own their dream home and instead are looking to enter the market through an investment property.

A landmark victory in the Federal Court looks set to give unions more power to bargain on behalf of workers at Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton iron ore operations in the Pilbara.