Government

Slower than expected wages growth means the central bank has one less roadblock to cutting interest rates if it is needed, economists say.

Job advertisements on the internet fell by 4.2 per cent in October compared to a month earlier, national data shows.

The state government will spend almost $14 million in the next five years to reduce the risk of shark attacks after three fatal attacks in recent months.

Tiger Airways says it is unable to be profitable in Australia when limited to just 22 daily flights a day, under restrictions imposed after the forced grounding of the airline's fleet earlier this

Consumer worries about interest rates have been overtaken by concerns about the impact of the carbon tax and utility costs on household finances.

A leading business lobby group has urged the federal government not to increase taxes to achieve its budget surplus, as Labor looks for ways to make up for falling revenues.

Premier Colin Barnett says China will play hardball over joining the Oakajee port and rail project but he is optimistic it will go ahead.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says it is possible for Australia to be a close ally of the United States and also be friends with China.

Businesses that incorrectly attribute price rises to carbon pricing are being scrutinised by the competition watchdog.

The builder of the federal government's $36 billion national broadband network (NBN) has signed contracts worth up to $635 million for equipment to install the high speed service in homes and busin

Premier Colin Barnett has welcomed a move by federal Labor to lift its ban on uranium sales to India.

Small business trading conditions and confidence have continued to deteriorate against the backdrop of an escalating European debt crisis, and weak consumer confidence and spending, a new survey sh

Resources giant BHP Billiton says it will spend billions of dollars ramping up shale gas production in the United States this decade.

Former Hogan and Partners stockbroker Jonathan Kur has been charged with fraud after an 18-month investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Australian shares closed marginally higher as investors remained cautious despite changes of leadership in Italy and Greece.

The majority of Australian women reaching retirement have no superannuation savings behind them, the Minister for Employment Participation says.

Petrol prices have fallen to a 10-week low and one economist is tipping cheaper fuel in the weeks ahead.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is pleased with an APEC leaders' agreement to slash the region's energy intensity and cut tariffs on environmental products.

Uranium miner Paladin Energy has posted a much bigger net loss for the September quarter than a year earlier after booking an impairment charge for its Kayelekera mine in Malawi.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce is hopeful the airline will reach contract agreements with workers by next Monday's deadline.

Agriculture and Food Minister Terry Redman says the state’s grain industry has received a significant boost with a new consignment of wheat exports to Saudi Arabia.

New cost-of-living data shows this is not the time to be imposing new taxes on households, federal opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey says.

DuluxGroup predicts it will be more profitable in fiscal 2012 after shrugging off challenging conditions to increase its 2011 full year profit by more than 50 per cent.

Rail operator QR National has signed a deal with Wesfarmers to haul up to 1.5 million tonnes of coal each year from its Curragh mine in Queensland to port.

US President Barack Obama has opened a summit of 21 Pacific Rim economies, including Australia, urging the region to work for quicker, more sturdy and more sustainable economic growth.

Wesfarmers has hit back at critics worried that its Coles supermarkets are abusing market power by squeezing suppliers.

Australian interest rates could be cut again as early as next month amid new warnings that Europe faces tipping into recession.

A spike in recent insolvencies in Australia shows that fallout from the global financial crisis (GFC) is continuing, liquidation firm Dissolve says.

New car sales in Western Australia were down nearly 3 per cent in October compared to the same month last year, taking the year-on-year fall in sales to 7.6 per cent.

The Supreme Court of Western Australia has been promised shiny new digs, in the yet-to-be constructed office tower of the St George’s Cathedral precinct redevelopment.

Striking phosphate miners on Western Australia's remote Christmas Island are threatening to turn the tables on their employer by closing the mine and buying it back.

Treasurer Wayne Swan has urged his Asia-Pacific counterparts to waste no time implementing economic reforms necessary to prevent the sort of turbulence that has gripped Europe.