Latest Headlines

SPECIAL REPORT: A new high-rise precinct is evolving around Mount Pleasant and Applecross.

Elders has made a $187 million scrip and cash offer for unlisted private wholesale buying group Australian Independent Rural Retailers.

AMP shares have hit a new all-time low after the beleaguered wealth manager flagged it would not pay a first-half dividend in anticipation that the $3.3 billion sale of its wealth protection business has failed.

The Australian share market has opened sharply lower as all sectors started the day in negative territory.

Oil prices were little changed on Friday as US Gulf of Mexico crude output dropped by more than half from disruptions caused by a tropical storm but concerns over a global crude surplus in the months ahead limited gains.

Gold prices inched higher on Friday as investors shrugged off concerns that stronger-than-expected consumer inflation in the United States could influence the US central bank's decision on aggressive monetary policy easing.

Mining wages hit boom-time highs

Aurora Minerals has closed its fully underwritten 1-for-1 entitlement offer, raising $1.17 million at 1 cent a share.

The Australian share market has finished lower, ending a lacklustre week on a negative note ahead of a raft of economic data due from China.

The state government today announced an additional $11.8 million towards the redevelopment of Bunbury Hospital, in addition to the $11 million already committed to the redevelopment in the state budget.

Construction has started this week on two apartment projects with a collective end value of $126 million, with Norup + Wilson launching its Beach Shack in Scarborough and Baltinas starting to build its Habitat Residences in Applecross.

PODCAST: Dan Wilkie and Matt Mckenzie discuss Manchester United, Gemmill Homes, BGC asset sales, office rents, Blue Cow Cheese, solar storage, apartment development.

Australians trying to take advantage of new tax breaks have been stymied as the main government services online portal went down for several hours.

Densford Civil has been awarded a $5.8 million contract to complete the Jetty Road causeway upgrades at Casuarina Boat Harbour.

The Chamber of Minerals & Energy of Western Australia has welcomed a major environmental move by the state government today that will slash approval times for BHP's Pilbara iron ore developments by up to half.

OPINION: Having won an election and passed his tax plan, Scott Morrison must now deliver economic growth, while the Greens have a problem of their own.

The Committee for Economic Development of Australia has announced the appointment of Diane Smith-Gander as its new chairperson, alongside two other board appointments.

Western Australia's business confidence has fallen for the second quarter in a row, which the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA says indicates the need to reduce WA's payroll tax.

Office Hours host Damian Stone is joined by one of Perth's foremost retail experts in Lease Equity's Jim Tsagalis, discussing retail challenges in Perth's CBD and high streets, major centre redevelopments and the wider retail environment. Later, Perth MLA John Carey joins Office Hours to talk about what's gone wrong on Beaufort Street, and what can be done to revive the once-popular shopping and hospitality destination.

The company behind a magnesium project proposed for the state's north is seeking government support

National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking Group have both cut their savings rates again in the wake of the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to reduce the interest rate to 1.0 per cent.

The Western Australian government is suing BGC Australia over alleged building defects at the HBF Park stadium.

The Australian share market has opened lower, with only the financial sector able to make any gains.

Now the really big Australian

Oil prices fell overnight as OPEC forecast slower demand for its crude next year, with crude futures easing from their highest in more than a month after US producers cut about half of their output in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of what could be one of the first major storms of the Atlantic hurricane season.

Gold prices slumped one per cent overnight, erasing gains posted earlier in the session after stronger-than-expected consumer inflation in the United States cast doubts whether the US central bank will cut interest rates as aggressively as expected.

Clean technology developer Eden Innovations has dispatched the first order for EdenCrete products from a distributor and announced the same products received government approval in the US.

Michael Hill International says it will spend $10 million to $25 million to compensate employees who were underpaid over a six-year period.

The Australian share market has risen for a second day, with gains across the board after US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell sent a strong signal overnight that the central bank was ready to cut interest rates.

Shares in VRX Silica have surged to 16 cents today, a rise of 33 per cent, after it entered into a strategic alliance with China Southern Glass related to its Muchea silica sand project.

Genex Power has secured a $610 million federal government loan to help finance its 250-megawatt pumped hydro project in far north Queensland.

Despite Perth's house prices continuing to fall, confidence in Western Australia's property industry is now the second highest of any state or territory, according to a new survey.