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Engineering and construction contractor Decmil Group has sold its Osborne Park headquarters to Primewest Funds for $27.5 million.

Fairfax Media shares have hit their highest level in six years after a consortium led by US-based private equity giant TPG Capital upped its takeover bid by $500 million and widened it to now include the entire company.

The Australian share market has slipped in early trade, as a soft lead from Wall Street trading on Friday and mixed results for commodities weighed on investor sentiment.

Gold rose on Friday and was set to end the week little changed as the sudden sacking of the head of the FBI in the United States stoked investor concerns and boosted demand for bullion, and the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields fell.

Oil prices settled slightly higher on Friday as lower U.S. crude inventories and increasing support for continued OPEC-led production cuts inspired hope that the global supply glut can be reduced.

‘Fairness’ budget gets poll boostThe Turnbull government has received a boost in support and voters have applauded its big tax increases and spending measures, accordin

The Australian dollar is slightly higher against the US dollar, which fell following the release of some weaker than expected US retail spending data.

BHP Billiton will begin dropping the "Billiton" from its name in a process beginning this week, and has signalled a further plan to eventually change its registered name, too.

Rox Resources and Marindi Metals will head to trial to resolve a dispute over the Reward zinc joint venture in the Northern Territory.

Diploma Group has been granted a two-week lifeline to finalise its plan to provide a return to creditors of the collapsed building and development firm.

Belgium and Luxembourg have been among the biggest contributors to growing overseas investment in Australia, as the level of foreign-owned assets in Australia doubled in the past 10 years to hit nearly $3.2 trillion at the end of calendar 2016.

The Australian share market has closed around 0.7 per cent lower as the stoush between the Turnbull government and the big banks over a proposed $6.2 billion levy on big financial institutions weighed on investors' minds.

More traditional art forms have taken a back seat as the latest exhibit at the Art Gallery of Western Australia explores the contemporary design and history of pop culture icon – the sneaker.

Perth-based Samson Oil and Gas announced today that it had entered into a purchase and sale agreement with a US-based energy company in respect of its State GC assets in New Mexico.

In this Business News podcast Mark Pownall and Charlie Gunningham discuss the Bank levy, Perth’s Lord Mayor, international property investors and WA’s wine sector.

Diversified energy company Pan Asia Corporation announced today that it has entered in to a heads of agreement with Glory Merry for the sale of its Innovation West Mantewe subsidiary, which has a 75 per cent interest in Indonesian mining operation Transcoal Minergy. 

Ratings agency Moody's says Australia's triple-A credit rating remains intact but has expressed doubt about the federal government's timetable for reducing the budget deficit.

Ratings agencies Moody’s and S&P have downgraded the debt of agribusiness Qunitis, while private equity fund Black Rock revealed it had taken a 5.1 per cent stake in the company.

Premier Mark McGowan will seek to freeze the wages of all politicians, public service heads, judges, magistrates, the WA governor, and local council chief executives for the next four years, while offering a $1,000 increase to all public sector employees.

 Corrective Services Minister Fran Logan says he has put private prison operator Sodexo on notice over repeated contract breaches, and claims the Melaleuca women's jail is so poorly run that lawyers visiting inmates feel unsafe there.

West Perth-based Australian Potash has completed native title work for its Lake Wells project in the Goldfields, and is expected to commence work on a feasibility study in coming months.

Australian shares have fallen slightly at the open, with energy companies among those dragging the market lower.

The Australian dollar is higher against its US counterpart after being held in a tight range by risk aversion and falls in commodity prices.

Oil prices have risen for a second day, closing more than 1 per cent higher as support grew for OPEC output cuts a day after the US government reported a big draw in crude inventories, boosting confidence that a global glut might diminish.

Gold has risen as US and European stock markets retreated, but its gains have been curtailed after data showing a tightening jobs market and accelerating inflation briefly lifted the US dollar.

MPs’ salaries targeted in Premier’s crackdown

Iron ore miners Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group have announced initiatives designed to assist local suppliers, with Rio establishing a dedicated procurement team and FMG shortening payment terms.

The share market ended the day steady after early gains by the big four banks evaporated in afternoon trade, and miners fall on weaker iron ore futures.

Gold hopeful Impact Minerals is aiming to raise $4 million through a share purchase plan to fund exploration at is Commonwealth gold-silver-base metals project in NSW.

The construction union and seven of its officials, including Joe McDonald and Mick Buchan, have incurred penalties totalling $277,000 for unlawful blockades of the Perth Children’s Hospital site.

The new bank levy has opened a Pandora's box that leaves Australia's biggest financial institutions exposed to even higher costs in future, according to a leading industry analyst.

The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies has strongly criticised a federal government decision to abolish the exploration development incentive tax concession, which it warns will have severe consequences in a climate where exploration is already soft.