AAP

Super Retail Group, which owns BCF and Supercheap Auto, has reported a first-half profit increase of 201 per cent as Australians looked for leisure alternatives to travel during the pandemic.

Westpac claimed first-quarter cash earnings were up 54 per cent and boss Peter King says there had been a significant increase in home loan applications.

Coles enjoyed soaring sales during the second half of last year, buoyed in part by customers being forced to stay at home during Christmas.

Facebook is expected to follow Google in striking lucrative lump sum deals with Australian media companies to avoid being stung under world-first laws.

The federal government's attempt to invest taxpayer money in new gas projects faces stiff opposition in parliament.

Australia's securities regulator says it will seek penalties and other orders against Commonwealth Bank after the Federal Court found the country's top lender had overcharged interest to customers.

Australia's share market closed above 6900 points for the first time since February last year, and an analyst expects it will rally in the short term as coronavirus vaccines are distributed.

Australia's media code will be tweaked to make it clear tech giants are expected to pay news organisations a lump sump rather than for every time an internet user clicks on a link.

National Australia Bank enjoyed a 47 per cent increase in cash earnings during its first quarter trading, helped by improving economic and health outcomes in Australia and New Zealand.

Home furnishings group Adairs has had a bumper first half and customers will see fewer discounts as the company tries to maintain sizeable profit margins.

Employment has recovered to where it was a year ago, continuing a marked rebound from last year's recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coca-Cola's European bottling arm has sweetened its final takeover offer for Australian counterpart Coca-Cola Amatil by 75 cents per share.

Australia's medical regulator has approved a second coronavirus vaccine, paving the way for millions of jabs to be administered in coming months.

Australia's winter crop production is expected to be the second biggest harvest on record, mainly due to better conditions in WA and NSW.

Australia's share market regained its ascendancy as miners and banks rose, and several companies received boosts after reporting first-half earnings.

Western Australia has removed a requirement for NSW travellers to quarantine upon arrival but Victorians remain locked out for now.

Transforming the aged sector so older Australians receive appropriate support and care is the driving force behind a new industry alliance urging for reform.

JB Hi-Fi has posted record interim sales after customers scooped up the retailer's gadget and entertainment offerings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australia's COVID-19 vaccine rollout will begin on February 22 after the first doses of the Pfizer jab arrived in Sydney.

Seven West Media has today become the largest Australian news organisation to strike a content sharing agreement with Google, while also announcing a profit recovery.

A week of more confident earnings reporting on the Australian share market has ended on a low note, as Victorians prepare for a five-day coronavirus lockdown.

A multi-party Senate inquiry has backed the federal government's proposed code to force tech giants such as Google and Facebook to pay for news.

Former AFL chief Andrew Demetriou is the latest to step down from the Crown Resorts board but chief executive Ken Barton has not yet resigned.

Oil giant Shell will accelerate near-term and long-term plans aimed at reducing its net carbon emissions intensity to zero by 2050.

Australia's share market closed little changed on a day when executives showed more confidence giving earnings guidance as they better understand COVID-19 trading.

Telstra executives continued to assure investors that the decade-long costs of customers migrating to the NBN are almost over, after the carrier's first-half profit slipped by 2.2 per cent.

Crown Resorts has promised "root and branch' changes to satisfy NSW regulators threatening to deny it a Sydney gaming licence, ahead of the April expiry of the venue's liquor licence.

Energy generator and retailer AGL has reported a massive bottom-line loss and says the outlook for the rest of this financial year looks challenging.

Australia's first shipment of coronavirus vaccines has been formally approved and will arrive in the country within weeks.

Anthony Albanese has promised to enshrine job security in workplace law under a plan to make the industrial umpire shore up employment.

Australia's share market has closed higher despite the Commonwealth Bank posting first-half earnings that show times remain difficult in the banking sector.

The state government has called an urgent meeting to consider the findings of a damning report in which Crown Resorts is accused of facilitating money laundering at its casinos.