Latest Headlines

Shopping centre owner Centro Retail Australia has posted a $223 million loss, due mainly to costs related to its settlement of a class action.

Industrial hardware and parts supplier Coventry Group has announced a net profit of $19 million for the year ended June 30, lodging a 6 per cent increase in revenue to push it back into the black.

Australia's biggest gold miner Newcrest has suspended production at its Lihir mine in Papua New Guinea due to a dispute with land owners.

The number of apprentices completing their trades training in Australia is a national disgrace, Federal Skills Minister Chris Evans says.

Martin Ferguson is not a baby, but when the Federal Resources Minister let slip an obvious fact last week, that: “the resources boom is over”, it was a classic example of the old saying about truth

Shares in Seven Group Holdings have risen five per cent after the media and earthmoving-machinery company said strong activity in the resources sector was likely to continue.

The Australian share market has opened slightly higher with investors appearing cautious after mixed offshore leads.

The Australian dollar has fallen to a one-month low against the US dollar amid increasing evidence of an economic slowdown in China.

Shares of Apple have hit new record highs after the company won its patent lawsuit against Samsung, but overall stocks traded mixed.

Ausdrill has completed its acquisition of the Best Tractor Parts Group, announcing today it has agreed to pay $165 million for the earthmoving and tractor equipment retailer.

The Australian dollar fell to its lowest level in a month, amid negative sentiment about China's economic outlook and speculation that Australia's mining boom might be waning.

Information technology company ASG Group has announced a dip in full-year profits, reflecting a transformational year for the company which invested heavily in the cloud computing sector over finan

Caltex Australia has played down the strong turnaround for its refining business that it plans to partially close, after the company posted a big rise in profits.

Takeover target IFS Construction Services has appointed administrators to subsidiaries Hire Access and Specialised Scaffolding Services.

National Australia Bank chief executive Cameron Clyne says talk of the resource boom being over is premature.

The Australian share market has closed slightly lower as investors wait to see if the United States and China will take further measures to stimulate their economies.

Swick Mining Services is targeting the Australia-Pacific region and North America for further growth, after lodging a significant jump in net profit for the 2012 financial year.

Investa Office Fund says it is looking to increase its footprint in Western Australia's commercial office market, after acquiring the building at 66 St Georges Terrace for $82.4 million.

The administrators for collapsed miner Kagara have appointed PCF Capital to sell the company's north Queensland assets, while Rothschild Australia will co-ordinate the sale of the Admiral Bay zinc-

Engineering group LogiCamms has delivered a 133 per cent jump in full-year profits, on the back of a 26 per cent spike in revenue.

Azumah Resources says it will make a final investment decision early next year at its Wa gold project in north west Ghana, after releasing a feasibility study and maiden reserve for the development

Troubled surfwear retailer Billabong believes it can improve its earnings in fiscal 2013 after reporting a $275.6 million loss for 2011/12.

Environment Minister Bill Marmion has and allocated $17.2 million to the Waste Authority for the first year of a proposal designed to improve recycling rates.

Atlas Iron expects the price of iron ore to increase over the next two months as China's demand for steel remains strong.

Shares in Sundance Resources have shot up by more than 11 per cent after it accepted a reduced takeover offer from China's Hanlong Mining.

BHP Billiton has sold its Yeelirrie uranium deposit near Wiluna to Canada's Cameco Corporation for $US430 million ($A414 million).

The mining boom - or at least investment in it - will peak in 2014, but the non-resources sector will then drive growth, a report has found.

Australian stocks have opened firmer amid broad-based gains as local market players took their cues from a positive night on Wall Street.

The Australian dollar is slightly higher as the possibility of the US central bank starting a new round of economic stimulus is looking more likely.

US stocks turned lower this week after six straight weekly gains as fresh signs of frailty in the global economy emerged and a number of companies cut their corporate profit forecasts.

After a three year term in the chancellor's role at Curtin University Jim Gill is set to be replaced by Chevron Australia executive Colin Beckett at the end of the year.