US crude prices fell to an 18-year low and Brent lost more than 6.0 per cent after the United States reported its biggest weekly inventory build on record, while global demand is expected to fall to quarter-century lows due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Gold prices have fallen, a day after scaling over seven-year highs, as the dollar firmed and investors booked profits, although concerns of a global recession put a floor under prices.
The Australian share market has pulled back after two days of gains, as lower oil prices dragged down energy producers and as warnings mounted of worsening economic conditions because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Opposition leader Liza Harvey has attacked the government’s attempts to reappoint John McKechnie to the Corruption and Crime Commission, calling the urgency with which Premier Mark McGowan has characterised the nomination disingenuous.
Lynas Corp has applied to the Malaysian government for an exemption from some coronavirus-led curbs as reduced work levels drove an 18 per cent drop in the miner's third-quarter rare earths oxides output.
The Australian share market has followed Wall Street higher at the start of trade even as warnings mount of worsening unemployment and economic conditions because of the coronavirus fallout.
Oil prices have dropped sharply, with US prices sliding back toward $US20 a barrel, as investors bet that fuel demand destruction caused by the coronavirus pandemic would be too much for producers embarking on record global output cuts to offset.
Gold soared nearly 2.0 per cent to hit its highest since late 2012, with investors rushing to the safety of bullion as the coronavirus ravaged economies worldwide and triggered the rollout of huge stimulus plans.
A gold price surge and strong gains for Afterpay have propelled the Australian share market to its best levels in a month in a volatile post-Easter session.
The state government says it will circumvent the upper house committee that oversees the state’s Corruption and Crime Commission to renominate John McKechnie as its commissioner, after the committee declined to offer bipartisan support to the incumbent.
Only one new local COVID-19 case has been reported in WA. The state will maintain a hard border closure. New laws have been announced for residential tenancies.
Westpac's money laundering scandal could blow a $1.03 billion hole in its first-half cash profit, with the bank setting aside an eye-watering $900 million for a potential legal penalty.
Oil prices were mixed as the historic production-cut deal inked by major global oil producers was not enough to assuage existing worries about the demand destruction brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Australian share market has finished the week with gains across the board on hopes the coronavirus crisis might be easing in the hardest-hit areas.
WA has reported 14 new infections, including two more healthcare workers in the Kimberley. Premier Mark McGowan has urged Western Australians to stay at home over Easter. Police will patrol Perth beaches over the long weekend.
Fini Group has lodged a development application to build a new $200 million medical and commercial precinct at Murdoch, highlighted by the state's first medihotel, but the project is at least a year behind its original schedule.
Gold prices held steady as investors awaited the release of minutes from the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting, which is expected to provide further clues on stimulus measures amid rapid surge in coronavirus cases.
The Australian share market has dipped in the final minutes of trade to close lower, with the banking sector suffering the most after an APRA suggestion to suspend their dividends and a downgrade to their credit ratings.
The federal government’s $130 billion wage subsidy package clears its first hurdle, Western Australia records an additional 11 cases of COVID-19, and Premier Mark McGowan pledges millions to expand the state’s police force.
St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls has taken remote learning to the next level with the launch of its own online video channel, which aims to maintain students’ social engagement during the COVID- 19 pandemic.
