Latest Headlines

A judge has thrown out Gina Rinehart's latest bid to keep secret her family court battle, rejecting claims the publicity would increase kidnapping or extortion risks.

 The first half of 2012 could be the best period in years for Australian agriculture, underpinned by a sizeable increase in Western Australian average farm cash.

Unions will launch a test case to lift apprentice wages to at least the minimum wages in their industry.

The Australian share market has opened more than half a per cent lower.

The Australian dollar has fallen almost half of a US cent as global markets reacted to China's reduced growth target.

Confidence among small and medium businesses took a backward step in the March quarter, a quarterly survey by information management firm Sensis found.

US stocks have fallen on worries about the slowing global economy after China lowered its growth estimate eclipsed positive numbers on the US services sector.

Fortescue Metals Group has hit back at Treasurer Wayne Swan, calling his attack on company founder Andrew Forrest “extreme”, “irrational” and “very disappointing”.

The Australian dollar rose 0.3 of a US cent in the absence of any major market-moving data, by contrast to what has otherwise been a volatile week.

Cape Lambert Resources will become the major shareholder in Chameleon Mining after announcing an agreement to take its stake to 14.94 per cent.

The mining boom has helped cities in Western Australia and Queensland top a list of property hotspots to look out for this year.

The Australian stock market closed higher after a positive lead from Wall Street, shrugging off higher unemployment levels in Europe.

Sundance Resources shares were heavily traded on the ASX after the iron ore explorer entered an agreement with a private West African company about sharing infrastructure planned for the Perth-base

Water Minister Bill Marmion admits a 13.5 per cent interest rate being charged on unpaid water bills is high and says he will ask the Water Corporation to justify it.

Consumer goods retailer Harvey Norman is drastically scaling back plans to conduct five per cent of its trade online, only months after launching a brand new website.

Leighton Contractors is the latest firm to sign a framework agreement with Rio Tinto, as the mining giant pushes towards its target of exporting 353 million tonnes of iron ore per year by 2015.

Major shareholders in UCL Resources will not accept a hostile takeover offer from Minemakers, casting a cloud over the likelihood of the proposal succeeding.

Entrust Private Wealth Management has announced a merger with Finovia, a Melbourne-based funds manager backed by the private investment arm of the Wyllie family.

A Western Australian parliamentary committee will investigate whether organisers of the Kimberley Ultramarathon, in which two women were badly burned in a bushfire, took reasonable steps to ensure

In a surprise turn of events, former New South Wales Premier Bob Carr will join the Senate and take the role of Foreign Minister in the wake of Kevin Rudd’s failed leadership challenge.

Engineering firm Downer EDI will supply mining giant BHP Billiton with trains in a deal that could be worth more than $400 million.

The Australian stock market opened higher this morning, led by the big miners after strong gains in the US overnight.

The Australian dollar has risen as demand grew around European bonds.

ta and a key ruling for the pending Greek debt write-off that had boosted the Dow back above the 13,000 line.

Perth’s housing market is on the cusp of a comeback, with home values up nearly one per cent over the past three months despite a weak monthly result for February, new data says.

Perth-based investment manager NWQ Capital Management has been ranked as the top fund in the Asia Pacific region and ninth globally for investment returns.

The Australian dollar lost ground as strong demand for the US dollar overshadowed domestic capital expenditure data.

Norwegian company Yara International has signed an agreement with Orica and Apache to develop a $US700 million ammonium nitrate plant on the Burrup Peninsula in a joint venture.

Developer Port Bouvard has pushed back the commencement of its 3,000-lot Point Grey residential project to 2013, after reporting an interim loss of $15.7 million, driven down by a $19.2 million imp

Export commodity prices edged up for the second month in a row in February.

A male worker has died at AngloGold Ashanti's Sunrise Dam gold mine near Laverton.

The Australian share market closed lower as cautious investors searched for an elusive lead.