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Oil settled little changed on Thursday after sliding to its lowest level in a week in volatile trade, but a surging US dollar did not pressure prices below technical support levels as OPEC members told customers they would cut crude supplies.

Gold fell more than one per cent to a 10.5 month low on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve sounded an unexpectedly hawkish note on US interest rates, sparking a surge in Treasury yields and sending the dollar to a 14-year high.

US stocks rose on Thursday, led by gains in bank shares, a day after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the second time in nearly a decade.

Yellen rate hikes rattle marketsThe US Federal Reserve’s forecast for three interest rate rises in 2017 has rattled markets, raising fears that rising rates and bond yield

Perth’s domestic gas users could have a choice between four retailers by July next year, with Sydney-based utility Origin Energy putting forward an application to the Economic Regulation Authority to enter the market.

Bhagwan Marine has been awarded a contract to supply marine vessels and crew to support construction on Rio Tinto’s Amrun bauxite project in north Queensland.

Two Perth-based gold miners have run into trouble, with Troy Resources striking problems at its mine and Kingsrose Mining falling into voluntary administration.

Perth-based architecture firm DAPM Architects is in the hands of liquidators, less than a week after it was spun-out of national group DesignInc, but its managing director says the collapse represents an opportunity for a new beginning.

One of 1-Page’s substantial shareholders, a subsidiary of Nedlands-based financial services firm Merchant Group, has called for the removal of the majority of the tech company’s board and a new direction for the business, after a year of poor performance on the share market.

Energy and resources companies including Santos, Origin Energy and Newcrest Mining have dragged the share market lower following a drop in oil prices and the US Federal Reserve's rate hike.

The 12-year old scandal over the Australian Wheat Board’s payments to the government of Iraq has moved closer to final resolution, with its former chairman Trevor Flugge convicted today of breaching his duties as a director but cleared of more serious charges concerning his knowledge of the payments.

OPINION: Reiwa members reported a decline in weekly sales to 552. The overall 9 per cent decrease in weekly sales is attributed to a 4 per cent decrease in sales for houses, 23 per cent for units and 27 per cent for vacant land.

Initiatives to encourage indigenous entrepreneurship such as accelerators, incubators and a government-backed venture capital fund were part of a suite of policies recommended by KPMG at the recent Indigenous Business, Enterprise and Corporations Conference held at the University of Western Australia.

Fuel refiner and retailer Caltex Australia expects its underlying profit to fall by about 20 per cent because of weaker margins in its refining operations.

Gold junior KIN Mining has released a pre-feasibility study on its Leonora project with a smaller capital cost estimate than that flagged in a scoping study earlier this year.

Perth businessman Gavin Rezos has announced his retirement from the board of Iluka Resources after 10 years with the mineral sands miner.

Casinos giant Crown Resorts has dumped plans to spin-off its international assets and further reduced its stake in its Macau joint venture, Melco Crown Entertainment amid a suite of strategic changes.

Unemployment in Western Australia is now at its highest since 2002 with new figures today revealing a 0.4 percentage point increase to 6.9 per cent in November.

The Australian share market is lower in early trade, following overnight falls on Wall Street after the US Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate and flagged three more rate cuts next year

The Australian dollar has plunged, falling more than one US cent in overnight trade in the wake of the US Federal Reserve's move to lift its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of one per cent.

Gold turned lower and tapped the lowest in more than 10 months on Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve raised US interest rates by a quarter point and signalled a faster pace of increases next year, causing the US dollar to rally.

Oil prices slid more than three per cent on Wednesday as the dollar jumped after the US Federal Reserve's decision to hike US interest rates and after a jump in crude inventories at the biggest US storage centre renewed concerns about a glut.

US stocks fell the most in two months on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter point and signalled hikes could come next year at a faster pace than some expected.

AAA could go at any timeThe fate of the nation’s AAA credit rating – and the impact of any change on interest rates – could be known before Christmas, with key rating agen

The state government’s co-working hub Spur has announced nine local startup companies which will share in $91,000 of grants to help develop their products.

The planned three-way merger between Perth-based Emeco Holdings and east coast companies Orionstone and Andy’s Earthmovers will not proceed as planned after the deal failed to win sufficient backing from creditors.

In a rare move for the pro-mining Barnett government, environment minister Albert Jacob has sided with the Environmental Protection Authority and rejected appeals by Canadian company Cameco over its proposed Yeelirrie uranium mine in the Goldfields.

Paladin Energy has offloaded its entire shareholding in Deep Yellow, taking advantage of a share price spike after the uranium miner’s former managing director John Borshoff joined the junior explorer.

Perth-based Strike Resources has sold its Apurimac and Cusco iron ore projects in Peru for about $13.5 million, as the company shifts its focus to other commodities.

SPECIAL REPORT: Big businesses are employing an increasing share of the WA workforce, while the services-oriented economy maintains its growth, the latest BNiQ Biggest Employers survey has uncovered. Click through to see details on Western Australia's 170 largest employers.

The share market has closed higher with almost all sectors in positive territory ahead of the US central bank's interest rate decision.

Holding an even exposure to base metals and gold will be the key to keeping Independence Group’s performance consistent across the commodity cycle, according to managing director Peter Bradford, although the time was not yet right to be looking for new gold projects.