The Australian dollar is stronger with the greenback falling amid news the US Federal Reserve has been concerned about global uncertainty and market volatility hitting the American economy.
Gold has held on to earlier gains and snapped three days of losses, after minutes of the US Federal Reserve's latest meeting showed policymakers considered changing their planned path of interest rate hikes in 2016.
Almost 80 contract variations worth more than $81 million tripled the cost of a Department of Health central computing services contract, with issues including more than 60 per cent of data racks going unused, the auditor general revealed today.
Global equity markets rallied on Tuesday as investors engaged in bargain hunting and shrugged off a downturn in oil prices after hopes for an agreement among top producers to freeze output faded.
Gold has fallen for the third straight session, as global equity markets and the US dollar rose, depressing interest in gold as a safe-haven asset and taking it further below last week's one-year high.
Wall Street minted its second straight session of solid gains on Tuesday, as investors snatched up beaten-down consumer discretionary, industrial and tech shares.
A public sector wage freeze, amalgamations of major departments and a reform of health would be key moves to fix the state government's worsening debt position, according to Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA's pre-budget draft submission.
Prominent Labor MP and former resources minister Gary Gray has dropped another bombshell, announcing last night he will retire at the next federal election, meaning all three of Labor's sitting mem
A visiting Sydney-based infrastructure adviser has suggested Western Australia undertake a pilot project to recapture some of the value created by publicly funded capital works developments.
Gold prices have eased after soaring five per cent the previous day, pressured by profit-taking after the biggest rally in more than seven years, but the metal was still set for its best week in four years as investors rushed to safe-haven assets.
Western Australian MP Ian Goodenough has called for a ministerial review into the federal government's tightening of offshore investment regulations, saying the policy change is having an unintended detrimental impact on property development.
Veteran Labor Party politician Alannah MacTiernan has confirmed she will not seek to stay in federal parliament after the election due later this year.
The state government has completed the first in a series of planned asset sales, announcing that it has concluded negotiations with an industry consortium to purchase the Perth Market Authority's Market City.
Treasurer Mike Nahan will not contest the deputy leadership of the state Liberal party, paving the way for Police Minister Liza Harvey, who is likely to be voted in unopposed.
Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens painted a mildly positive picture of the nation when he fronted a House of Representatives economics committee hearing today, saying the economy is growing at a modest pace despite the challenges of falling terms of trade and a wind-down in mining sector investment.
Bank shares have dragged Wall Street lower on concerns the slowing global economy will continue to pressure interest rates, while energy shares helped pare losses late in the session.
Gold has vaulted more than 5 per cent to a one-year high, on track for its biggest daily jump in more than seven years as financial uncertainty, a lower US dollar and tumbling stock prices around the world prompt investors to seek refuge in bullion.
Highly indebted mining companies with limited cash flow need to make brave decisions as they face a protracted period of low commodities prices, Deloitte says.
