It may have gone largely unnoticed in Western Australia, but a recent report into the east coast's electricity market could have major implications for the state, including for government-owned monopoly power business Synergy.
Oil prices rose with US crude futures jumping more than two per cent, as traders continued to focus on supply disruptions and a possible hit to crude output from US sanctions on Iran.
A broad sell-off of technology stocks has pushed the three major US stock indexes lower, with the Nasdaq Composite posting its third consecutive loss of more than 1 per cent for the first time in three years just days after hitting a record high.
The state government today announced a further aligning of Healthway and Lotterywest through the appointment of common board members, including former Labor health minister Jim McGinty.
A specially commissioned Liberal Party WA report is set to reignite controversy over the way Goods and Services Tax revenue is redistributed just as federal treasurer Scott Morrison was hoping the states would accept his recent compromise proposal.
Despite maintaining its position as the worst performing state in the country, Western Australia's economy showed improving levels of investment, according to the latest CommSec State of the States report.
Western Australia registered its largest net population loss from interstate migration on record in the 2016-17 financial year, after nearly 14,000 departed to other parts of the country.
The Nasdaq Composite fell on Thursday as Facebook led a selloff in technology stocks, but the Dow gained as fears of a transatlantic trade war eased after the European Union and the United States agreed to negotiate on tariffs.
Gold has ticked higher, but was still hovering near one-year lows as the dollar slipped, while a lack of clarity over where a trade dispute between the United States and Europe is heading kept markets mostly rangebound.
Oil prices have risen for the second consecutive day after US government data showed domestic crude inventories fell to their lowest levels since February 2015, easing worries about oversupply that have weighed on markets in recent weeks.
The S&P 500 has opened flat as gains in technology shares offset weak earnings from Boeing, General Motors and AT&T, while investors eyed a meeting between President Donald Trump and the head of the European Commission on trade.
Perth inflation has hit its highest level since 2015, with prices rising 1.1 per cent in the year to June, while national data has again come in below expectations, signalling a likely continuation of loose monetary policy.
Oil prices have risen as the market shifts focus to the possibility of increased Chinese demand, drawing attention away from oversupply worries and trade tensions between China and the United States.
US stock indexes have climbed and the Nasdaq hit a new record high as Google-parent Alphabet's strong quarterly results reaffirmed expectations of a robust earnings season and sparked a rally among technology shares.
One of the nation's most respected economists reckons the tide may have turned for the WA economy, but falling metals prices and a global trade war could render that view obsolete.
Oil prices have edged lower as the focus turned to oversupply worries, moving away from escalating tensions between the US and Iran, which had driven prices higher early in the session.
US stock indexes have dipped led by losses in shares of Amazon and technology companies, as investors awaited quarterly reports from a host of marquee names to gauge the impact of an escalating trade conflict between the US and China.
Gold prices rose from one-year lows and spot platinum increased more than three per cent after US President Donald Trump criticised the strength of the dollar and interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve, pushing the greenback sharply lower.
US stocks have closed slightly lower as escalating trade anxieties driven by US President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats against China offset a string of robust earnings led by Microsoft.
Oil prices rose at the end of last week as a weakening dollar and lower expected August crude exports from Saudi Arabia supported the market, offsetting concerns about US-China trade tensions and supply increases.
