Government

Wesfarmers firing on most cylinders

Wall Street has suffered its first loss in four sessions after a mixed bag of quarterly reports and a warning by Verizon Communications that a strike by workers would likely impact its bottom line

The Australian dollar has plunged on the back of mixed economic data.

Colin Barnett’s political fellow travellers seem unwilling to help him in his efforts to achieve GST distribution reform.

The suggestion Treasurer Mike Nahan threatened to quit if the privatisation of electricity utility Western Power was not contemplated has been shot down by the premier.

SPECIAL REPORT: The state government is pursuing major reforms to the training sector, at a time when national data on traineeships and apprenticeships tells a surprising story for WA.

Flexible work contracts too hot for Coalition

Surging iron ore and commodity prices could maintain support for the Australian dollar and help it above the 78 US cent level.

Gold has steadied as a firmer tone to the US dollar has held gains in check, though silver extended gains to an 11-month peak, boosted by technical momentum and perceptions it is undervalued versus gold.

Oil prices have jumped as government data showed US crude stocks rose slightly less than expected last week, while the US dollar advanced against the euro ahead of a European Central Bank meeting.

Wall Street ended less than two per cent short of a record-high close as a rebound in oil prices added to optimism sparked by a raft of earnings reports.

State politicians will get a 1.5 per cent rise in their base salaries, with Premier Colin Barnett’s paycheque to rise to $355,681 per annum.

Australia's corporate regulator will have a new commissioner with a special focus on prosecutions in the financial sector as part of a boost to its capabilities and funding.

The S&P 500 climbed closer to a record high, lifted by energy stocks and a solid quarterly report from Johnson & Johnson. 

Gold rose as much as two per cent, silver hit a 10-month high and platinum climbed to its highest in six months, as the US dollar weakened after US data came in below forecasts.

Fortescue calls for Woodside to be stripped of Browse LNG

Rising oil, copper and iron ore prices have helped push the Australian dollar to a fresh 10-month high.

One in four Australian business leaders is concerned about bribery and corruption in their own workplaces, an EY report has found.

Treasurer Mike Nahan will embark on a regional pitch for the sale of Fremantle Ports, today revealing that the package could include a redevelopment of the passenger terminal, and a long-term fund to pay for infrastructure at the future outer harbour.

The Reserve Bank says continuing low inflation could allow for a future rate cut if the jobs market needs a boost.

A report into Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi's travel scandal is in its final stages and will be released publicly, Local Government Minister Tony Simpson says.

Big shipbuilding win for local companies

The Dow Jones industrial average has climbed to a nine-month high in a market buoyed by Hasbro and Disney, as investors braced for a flurry of quarterly earnings reports through the week.

The Australian dollar has surged more than one US cent on the back of an oil price recovery.

Oil prices edged lower on Monday after producers failed to agree on a plan to curb global supply at a meeting in Qatar, while world stock markets rose and the Dow Jones industrial average closed above 18,000 for the first time since July.

Gold has steadied as the US dollar fell against a basket of major currencies, world stock markets edged higher, and oil prices pared earlier losses that had been triggered by the failure by oil producers to agree an output freeze.

The state’s shipbuilding industry has had a big win, with the federal government selecting Austal to build 21 Pacific Patrol Boats at its yard in Henderson in a contract worth at least $500 million.

More Perth auctions as house prices fall

Saudi Arabia has demanded Iran join a global deal on freezing oil output, jeopardising an agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC producers that was supposed to help ease a glut and prop up the price of crude.

The Australian dollar has plunged sharply as crude oil prices tumble

Gold has risen after three days of declines as the US dollar and major stock markets weakened, but bullion was headed for its first weekly drop in three.

Former police minister Rob Johnson has fired a parting shot at Premier Colin Barnett as he resigned as a member of the Liberal Party, saying the state’s debt burden was out of control, among other issues.