Government

Federal Labor is having a bet each way on the government's new billion-dollar bank levy, backing its introduction but supporting a banker's call for a public inquiry.

Embattled Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi will have to wait until at least June to learn her penalty for seriously breaching local government laws. 

Perth businessman John Langoulant has been appointed to lead the state government’s commission of inquiry into the Barnett government’s spending on 26 projects over the past eight years.

The Australian share market has slipped in early trade, as a soft lead from Wall Street trading on Friday and mixed results for commodities weighed on investor sentiment.

Belgium and Luxembourg have been among the biggest contributors to growing overseas investment in Australia, as the level of foreign-owned assets in Australia doubled in the past 10 years to hit nearly $3.2 trillion at the end of calendar 2016.

The Australian share market has closed around 0.7 per cent lower as the stoush between the Turnbull government and the big banks over a proposed $6.2 billion levy on big financial institutions weighed on investors' minds.

Ratings agency Moody's says Australia's triple-A credit rating remains intact but has expressed doubt about the federal government's timetable for reducing the budget deficit.

Premier Mark McGowan will seek to freeze the wages of all politicians, public service heads, judges, magistrates, the WA governor, and local council chief executives for the next four years, while offering a $1,000 increase to all public sector employees.

 Corrective Services Minister Fran Logan says he has put private prison operator Sodexo on notice over repeated contract breaches, and claims the Melaleuca women's jail is so poorly run that lawyers visiting inmates feel unsafe there.

The Australian dollar is higher against its US counterpart after being held in a tight range by risk aversion and falls in commodity prices.

Oil prices have risen for a second day, closing more than 1 per cent higher as support grew for OPEC output cuts a day after the US government reported a big draw in crude inventories, boosting confidence that a global glut might diminish.

Gold has risen as US and European stock markets retreated, but its gains have been curtailed after data showing a tightening jobs market and accelerating inflation briefly lifted the US dollar.

The new bank levy has opened a Pandora's box that leaves Australia's biggest financial institutions exposed to even higher costs in future, according to a leading industry analyst.

The Australian dollar is higher against its US counterpart in spite of a surge in the greenback.

Oil prices have risen more than three per cent, bolstered by the biggest one-week drop in US inventories so far this year, and after Iraq and Algeria joined Saudi Arabia in supporting an extension to OPEC supply cuts.

Gold has turned lower but has held above the previous day's eight-week low as US President Trump's abrupt firing of FBI chief James Comey weighed on US stocks, though gains were capped by expectations of further interest rate increases.

Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi has accused the premier and opposition leader of political interference in a legal process after they demanded her resignation over serious breaches of local government laws.

Big banks have warned that customers and shareholders will carry the cost of the federal government's surprise $6.2 billion levy on Australia's largest financial institutions.

Oil prices have fallen rattled by concern over slowing demand, a rising US dollar and increasing US crude output that has shaken investors' faith in the ability of OPEC to rebalance the market.

The Australian dollar is slightly higher against its US counterpart after having lost almost half a per cent before the federal budget helped prompt a turnaround.

Gold has dropped to an eight-week low as safe-haven demand continues to fade in the wake of Emmanuel Macron's victory in the French election and as expectations for tighter US monetary policy lifted bond yields.

Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi says her resolve to continue in her role is steely and “stronger than ever” despite being found yesterday to have breached the Local Government Act 45 times.

OPINION: The federal government’s recently announced Productivity Commission review of GST sharing among the states is good news for Western Australia, but the state government should be realistic about the outcome.

Opposition leader Mike Nahan has joined Premier Mark McGowan in calling for Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi to resign, after the State Administrative Tribunal today found she had committed 45 serious breaches of the Local Government Act by not disclosing travel and accommodation gifts.

There has been a slight upswing in consumer confidence ahead of the federal budget, which may signal an improvement in the jobs market.

The Australian dollar is sharply lower against its US counterpart ahead of the federal budget.

Oil have risen amid volatile trading, bolstered by statements from major oil-producing countries suggesting that OPEC and non-OPEC supply cuts could be extended into 2018.

Gold prices have bounced off a seven-week low as safe-haven demand ebbs following pro-EU candidate Emmanuel Macron's victory in the French presidential election.

The Australian share market has snapped a four-day losing streak, after encouraging US jobs data, the election of pro-European centrist Emmanuel Macron as French president, and other factors buoyed investors.

SPECIAL REPORT: The number of international students coming to Perth has grown strongly over the past four years, but WA is still underperforming, particularly in the university sector.

The balancing act that allowed Australia's big four banks to lift their combined first-half cash profit to $15.6 billion is getting more precarious, analysts say.

The Australian dollar is up against its US counterpart which has slipped despite stronger-than-expected US jobs figures.