The state government has attracted just two bidders, both headed by Spanish-owned companies, for its signature Metronet rail projects, despite altering its contracting strategy to boost market interest.
Oil prices gained 1.5 per cent on Friday as strong US employment data tempered fears about weakening global crude oil demand, and on expectations that an escalating conflict in Libya could tighten oil supplies.
Gold eased on Friday as Wall Street gained on data pointing to a rebound in jobs growth in the United States but bullion's losses were limited by a simultaneous slowdown in wage growth.
Bill Shorten is promising voters billions of extra dollars for health and bigger personal income tax cuts for low income workers if Labor wins the next election.
Brent oil prices rose overnight, briefly touching $US70 a barrel for the first time since November as expectations of tight global supply outweighed pressure from rising US production and less robust global demand indicators.
Gold inched higher overnight after touching a near 10-week low earlier in the session as the US dollar firmed on US jobs data, while investors awaited clarity on US-China trade talks.
Oil prices edged down overnight after US government data showed a surprise build in crude inventories, but futures held near their highest in almost five months as OPEC-led output cuts and sanctions on Iran tightened the supply outlook.
Gold prices slipped overnight as stock markets rallied globally on hopes the United States and China could clinch a trade deal, while a weaker US dollar limited bullion's losses.
An investigation of Synergy’s bidding behaviour by the state’s Economic Regulation Authority found the power generator may have breached pricing rules in nearly 13,000 half-hour trading intervals between March 2016 and July 2017.
Gold firmed overnight, recovering from a near four-week low, as US stock markets retreated, but a strong US dollar and robust economic data from the US and China eased fears of a global slowdown, capping bullion's advance.
Oil prices hit their highest level so far in 2019 overnight, with Brent crude approaching $US70 a barrel, on the prospect that more sanctions against Iran and further Venezuelan disruptions could deepen an OPEC-led supply cut.
Millions of Australian workers will get an extra $1000 back and commuters will see a decade of road and rail upgrades in the nation's first surplus budget in 12 years.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has kept the official cash rate at a record low of 1.5 per cent as widely expected, but most economists believe a rate cut is around the corner.
Oil climbed about two per cent overnight to new 2019 highs, with Brent crude touching $US69 a barrel after positive signs for the global economy and tighter supplies drove both benchmarks' largest first-quarter gains in nearly a decade.
Gold inched lower overnight as stronger-than-expected US manufacturing data offset support from sluggish retail sales numbers while palladium surged three per cent.
Oil prices rose about one per cent on Friday, posting their biggest quarterly rise in a decade, as US sanctions against Iran and Venezuela as well as OPEC-led supply cuts overshadowed concerns over a slowing global economy.
Gold gained on Friday en route to its second quarterly rise as the US dollar eased on tepid US economic data, while palladium snapped three straight sessions of sharp losses, ending the quarter on a positive note.
Palladium slumped more than seven per cent overnight, adding to the previous session's sharp slide, on concerns an economic slowdown could dent demand and as a weak technical picture pushed investors to book profits after a record run.
Oil futures were near flat overnight after recovering from the day's worst losses that came when US President Donald Trump called for OPEC to boost crude output in an effort to lower prices that were headed for their best quarterly gains in a decade.
Albany and Bunbury Ring Roads, Fremantle Traffic Bridge, and an extension of Tonkin Highway were among the list of local road projects to receive $1.6 billion of funding from Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Perth today.
The McGowan government has brought a sudden end to long-running plans for a $28 million wave park on the Swan River, ironically just one day after the Tourism Council WA complained that the wave park was one of 16 new tourist experiences being held up by government red tape.
Congested roads around Perth will benefit from $1.6 billion worth of road and rail projects across Western Australia, as Scott Morrison tries to woo voters in the west.
Oil prices slumped overnight after government data showed US crude inventories grew more than expected last week as a Texas chemical spill hampered exports.
Palladium prices plummeted about 7 per cent overnight - the biggest daily percentage drop in more than two years - as investors worried that prices had risen too far too fast and breaks below technical levels triggered automatic selling.
Outer suburbs such as Alkimos, Baldivis and Ellenbrook are continuing to account for most of the growth in Perth’s population while inner suburbs like Mosman Park and Subiaco are shrinking, despite long-standing policies to boost urban infill.
Oil rose nearly two per cent overnight as attention centred on geopolitical factors tightening supplies that are leading to falling exports from Venezuela and declining US inventories.
