AAP

Shares in ThinkSmart gained 3.7 per cent after the computer and office equipment financing company completed a new multi-funder securitisation platform.

Australian beef is being placed under the microscope after a restaurant owner said he suspected it was to blame for an outbreak of E.coli in Japan.

West Australian Labor Party frontbencher Ben Wyatt says he's appalled and embarrassed by the federal government's decision to send unaccompanied children to Malaysia as part of its asylum seeker deal.

Shares in Qantas Airways have slumped to their lowest point in nearly two years due to an analyst downgrade of the stock and more cost cutting measures.

Aboriginal traditional owners, tourism operators and environmentalists fear one of Australia's last remaining wilderness areas could become a giant quarry if it is not heritage listed.

Rio Tinto's boss of Australian operations says exports such as coal and iron ore were too important to economy to be lost offshore due to a carbon tax.

Australian shares lost further ground today due to low expectations for the next round of economic data due out of the United States.

Borrowers are likely to be spared an interest rate rise when the board of Reserve Bank of Australia meets next week, but a hike is coming soon and there may be more than one before the end of 2011.

Foster's Brewing Group has moved to hose down speculation that two international brewers could be planning a joint takeover of the Australian beer company.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is facing pressure from the Greens, unions, lobby groups and Labor colleagues to ban live animal exports.

Former Leighton Holdings chief executive Wal King says he hasn't been offered, nor is he seeking, a position on the construction company's board.

Retailers will be forced to cut down on staff and reduce hours for casuals on the back of the minimum wage rise, a lobby group says.

Australia's lowest paid workers will get an extra $19.40 a week but unions say the increase is not enough and fails to close the gap between minimum wage earners and the rest of the workforce.

Qantas hopes 350 or five per cent of its cabin crew will take up voluntary redundancy, as the airline tries to cut costs in the face of rising jet fuel prices.

Rio Tinto has secured land use partnerships with five indigenous groups, paving the way for the group's planned $3.9 billion Pilbara iron ore expansion.

The Australian market has opened flat after suffering its worst one-day performance in a year yesterday.

The Australian dollar was higher this morning, helped by some good news about he Greek debt crisis and poor US economic data.

Rio brokers indigenous deal – The Fin; Pilbara miners could be hit with higher port bills – The West; Mine v wine debate heats up – The Fin; Wesfarmers to keep cash for expansion – The Fin; Cattle baron lays down export law – The Fin

Wall Street stocks finished mixed on Thursday as investors braced for the May jobs report and digested Moody's warning on the US debt.

The rise in the number of home owners falling behind in mortgage repayments is concerning, a senior executive of a major Australian bank says.

Overseas online retailers are still a big threat to local businesses and recent figures are proof tax reform is needed, a lobby group says.

More than $33 billion was wiped from the value of the Australian share market, which in fell in line with other global bourses on renewed concerns about a world economic slowdown.

Transport Minister Troy Buswell says the state will be relying on revenue from the federal government's mining tax to help fund one of its major road projects.

Illegally harvested sandalwood in the Goldfields is fetching millions of dollars on the black market, a state government department says.

Fremantle MP Melissa Parke has lodged a petition with the federal parliament signed by 40,000 Australians calling for an end to live animal exports.

Constructing a new stadium at Subiaco would be "more problematic" than building at the government's preferred site of Burswood, West Australian Transport Minister Troy Buswell says.

Taxpayers subject to the Fringe Benefits Tax on their motor vehicles will now pay a flat rate of 20 per cent regardless of the kilometres they clock up.

The Department of Treasury has already started making preparations for the federal government's planned two-day tax forum in October.

The world's biggest resources company, BHP Billiton, has exercised its right to buy a gas exploration permit offshore Western Australia from Tap Oil, ahead of a Japanese consortium.

Research funded by the federal government has raised doubts about the effectiveness of its proposed expansion of marine parks in Western Australian.

The outlook for interest rates has not changed appreciably, despite a surprisingly strong rise in retail trade in April, as coal exports are struggling to recover.

As Australian retailers wake up to a growing demand from customers for internet-based shopping, some of the major players are vying to become the biggest and best online shopping mall.