AAP

US stocks have closed firmly in the red as Greece's political stalemate and Spain's banking problems drove new fears about the strength of the eurozone.

More Australians think the federal budget is bad for the economy than good, a new poll shows.

Unions risk stifling flexibility in workplaces for happy casual workers if they succeed in imposing new restrictions, the Australian Industry Group says.

Australian shares have closed slightly higher, driven by gains in the telecommunications and financial sectors.

Explosives and fertiliser producer Incitec Pivot says it has no plans to drop its fertiliser business despite its lower earnings leading to a 13 per cent drop in first half profit.

More than 100 police officers have converged on James Price Point north of Broome to escort a convoy of equipment past protesters to a proposed gas hub development site.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says the coalition's workplace reforms would tackle flexibility and growing union "militancy".

Up to half of all new jobs created in the next few years will be in sectors related to the booming mining industry, the Reserve Bank of Australia says.

The once-mighty Aussie dollar is losing purchasing power as it slips below its US counterpart, but TVs and electrical gadgets are likely to stay dirt cheap - for a while at least.

Africa-focused uranium miner Paladin Energy says production at its mine in Malawi has been stalled after local workers walked off the job.

Australia has identified gas reserves that could keep up the rate of current production for nearly two centuries, Resources Minister Martin Ferguson says.

Australia's offshore petroleum industry is to have its safety benchmarks strengthened.

National Australia Bank will raise up to $500 million by issuing subordinated notes to investors.

Local stocks have opened firmer with market players buoyed by the Chinese central bank's actions to support lending in one of Australia's key trading partners.

The Australian dollar has fallen closer to parity with the US dollar political turmoil continues in Greece.

US stocks took a beating last week, only to face more turbulence from Europe as Greece grapples with rising political uncertainty that could cost the country's crucial EU-IMF bailout.

The "bully boy tactics" of Coles and Woolworths are threatening the future of Australian food production, Australian Workers' Union boss Paul Howes says.

Fears of a new financial crisis in the wake of Greece's elections have dragged the Australian dollar perilously close to parity with its US counterpart.

Oil and gas companies operating in Australian waters tend to fail to recognise at a corporate level the occupational health and safety risks posed by ageing facilities, a report says.

The Australian share market has closed lower, after some bad news about the largest bank in the US, JPMorgan Chase, spooked investors.

Australia's banking watchdog says outsourcing does not always lead to cost savings, rather it can lead to higher costs and a loss of expertise.

ANZ has trimmed its standard variable home loan and business lending rates by 37 basis points.

The High Court will hear a class action by customers of the ANZ Bank alleging it charged excessive fees for overdrafts, overdrawn accounts, dishonour fees and over-the-limit credit card accounts.

Australia's competition watchdog says it has already come across businesses using the imminent introduction of the carbon tax to gouge consumers.

Australian stocks have opened flat as market players wait for key economic data from China.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has promised the fiscal details of the its alternative budget will be revealed before the next election as he hits back on criticism his budget reply was short on deta

US stocks mostly bounced back slightly after a six-day losing streak, amid hopes that Greece's moderate socialists might be able to form a government and avoid a new eurozone debt crisis.

A surprise drop in unemployment has pushed the Australian dollar higher and away from parity with its US counterpart, for the time being.

The chief economist of one of the nation's biggest financial service companies says the federal budget will not help Australia's economic growth and risks damaging the effectiveness of superannuati

The Australian share market has closed higher, boosted by a better-than-expected unemployment rate and expectations that another cut to interest rates will be forthcoming despite the stronger jobs

Woodside Petroleum's has had its credit rating reaffirmed by Moody's Investors Service and the outlook has been changed from to stable from negative.