AAP

Brambles says it is on track to meet its full year profit target after unveiling a 33 per cent rise in its latest sales results.

The Australian stock market has opened higher, as gains among the big miners helped offset a weak start from the retail banks.

ANZ Banking Group has lifted its first half profit by 10 per cent to $2.92 billion but says margins in its Australian business are declining.

One of the country's leading economists says there is no economic imperative for the government to return the budget to surplus so quickly.

A better-than-expected read on US manufacturing in April and encouraging construction data drove Wall Street shares higher Tuesday as traders shrugged off some poor earnings reports.

The Australian share market lifted to a nine-month high after the central bank surprised investors with a bigger than expected interest rate.

Premier Colin Barnett says if the distribution of the GST revenue is not fairly shared between the states, the bigger states will take the matter into their own hands.

 Labor frontbencher Martin Ferguson has urged the embattled party to stop its in-fighting, move on from the leadership spill and focus on next Tuesday's budget.

A peak accounting body says the federal government should continue to target weaker parts of the local economy rather than its "commendable" aim to return the budget to surplus.

Labor frontbenchers are playing down the latest Newspoll which shows voter support has neared rock bottom.

Global property developer Stockland Group says it is on track to achieve its recent earnings guidance for the 2012 financial year.

Australian shares have opened slightly higher as confidence grows in the local market following gains in resources stocks and on high expectations of an interest rate cut.

Qantas will sack around 400 workers from across its heavy maintenance bases.

Mining companies are so desperate for workers some are throwing their selection criteria in the bin and spending money on training raw recruits, the Department of Treasury has found.

US stocks closed out April Monday with all three indices slipping lower, helped by weak US consumer spending data and ongoing worries about Spain and the eurozone.

The Australian dollar is almost a full US cent higher as global markets priced in the possibility that the US central bank could embark on a new round of economic stimulus.

National Australia Bank will spend £456 million ($A713 million) and cut 1,400 British jobs to prevent its struggling UK business from causing more damage to its bottom line.

 The Australian share market closed stronger, driven by resource and banking stocks on the expectations of a cut in domestic interest rates and a soft economic landing in China.

Retail gas prices in Western Australia will increase 8.3 per cent from tomorrow, costing an average family an extra 90 cents a week.

Fortescue boss Andrew Forrest has accused Treasurer Wayne Swan of lying about the amount of revenue the federal government will get from its mining tax.

Engineering groups UGL and CH2M Hill have won a $550 million contract to build the combined cycle power plant for the Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Northern Territory.

Low-income Australians are being priced out of the private rental market in capital cities and miningboom towns, a welfare group says.

Controversial Queensland mining magnate Clive Palmer doesn't think he'd have to "give up anything" if he stands against Treasurer Wayne Swan at the next federal election.

Australia's housing and retail sectors have called on the Reserve Bank to deliver a 50 basis point interest rate cut to boost consumer sentiment, after a survey showed new home sales have fallen to

The Australian share market has opened about half a per cent higher after US investors took a glass half-full approach, leading to gains on Wall Street.

Industrial services company Spotless has agreed to a full take-over by private equity firm Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) for a total cash consideration of $2.71 per share.

Billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest has celebrated his Australian Employment Covenant (AEC) finding 10,000 jobs for Aboriginal people by taking a swipe at the federal government's record on i

The Australian dollar has rallied almost one US cent on weak American growth data.At 0700 AEST on Monday, the local unit was trading at 104.61 US cents, up from 103.64 cents on Friday.

Tech giants Apple and Amazon have proved their mettle to doubting investors once again, leading US stocks higher in the week as the markets showed they had not yet run out of steam.

Unrest over Prime Minister Julia Gillard's handling of the Peter Slipper saga has Labor backbenchers revisiting the leadership question, but ministers have come to her defence.

Mining giant Rio Tinto's drive to recruit up to 6,000 workers must target locals first and include training opportunities for young Australians, federal Skills Minister Chris Evans says.

 The Australian share market closed lower as worries about the Spanish economy and local consumer sentiment overtook a positive lead from Wall Street.