Government

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.

China's Guangdong Nuclear Power Co has reduced its take-over offer for London-listed Kalarahi Minerals, the major shareholder of Extract Resources.

The pilots' union is appealing in the Federal Court against Fair Work Australia's decision to stop Qantas industrial action, claiming it wrongfully ruled against members who had only taken minor ac

The prime minister's decision to work with unions on equal pay for community and social welfare workers has been backed by the state government.

Australia's farmers face a positive outlook in the medium term despite a volatile global economy, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) says.

Australia's peak union body has attacked the state government for refusing to sign up to new national occupational health and safety laws.

Australia's unemployment rate fell to 5.2 per cent in October, official figures show.The September figure was an upwardly revised 5.3 per cent.

Leprechauns are "lovable little fellows" and no-one should be offended if they are called one, the Western Australian premier says.

Wesfarmers shareholders have delivered a mild rebuke to their board of directors, delivering a protest vote against a new share options scheme but supporting the company’s remuneration report.

Nine Entertainment chief executive David Gyngell says he is focused on running the company and not on the pile of its debt that will soon require refinancing.

One of Australia's largest accounting firms is standing by its analysis of Labor's mining tax after Treasurer Wayne Swan rebuked it for distorting the public debate.

Myer is closing stores and reducing floor space as it strives to generate as much as 10 per cent of its sales revenue online.

Brews from the north and a Subiaco steak sandwich were among the winners at the state’s Australian Hotels Association Hotel and Hospitality awards this week.

People acting as "lobbyists for hire" will be targeted by proposed legislation in Western Australia.

The coalition has switched tactics on the carbon tax, accusing the Australian Greens of seeking a second wave of climate action, including an end to coal-fired power.

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has warned the world is at risk of plunging into "uncertainty and financial instability" and has urged Asian economies to be on their guard.

The federal government's leading employment index rose for a third consecutive month in November after revisions to the series.