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Up to 380 employees will be made redundant when Perth-based manganese miner Consolidated Minerals puts its Woodie Woodie mine in the Pilbara on care and maintenance next month.

Australia’s big four banks and one insurance company have been ranked within the top 100 most sustainable companies in the world, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia leading the charge for the nation.

The sporadic nature of funding is frustrating startups in Perth, and a misunderstanding of how the tech sector actually works is a major factor.

A crackdown on improper health insurance claims is set to boost Medibank Private's full-year profit.

Empired shares lost over a third of their value after the IT services provider announced it had been hit with unexpected costs and was facing lower earnings.

Economist and climate change adviser Ross Garnaut has called on the Barnett government to write down the value of coal-fired power stations and other ageing assets, warning that keeping them online threatened its ability to reduce power prices.

Beach Energy and Santos are the latest Australian oil and gas companies to flag big write-downs, with Beach announcing late today it would cut capital spending and make impairment charges of up to $650 million.

Australian stocks have opened up more than a half per cent after a bounce in oil prices and hints by the head of the European Bank of more stimulus measures.

Vast WA rangelands unlocked

The Australian dollar has soared after comments from the head of the European Central Bank boosted prospects of further stimulus.

Wall Street has staged a modest rally as oil prices recorded their biggest gain this year and ECB President Mario Draghi raised hopes of more stimulus for Europe.

Gold has fallen after posting its biggest one-day gain in two weeks the day before, as hints of further stimulus from the European Central Bank hurt the euro and a rebound in global stocks curbed risk aversion.

Premier Colin Barnett has rejected calls for an independent inquiry into the deadly Yarloop bushfire to also include the recent Esperance bushfires, which killed four people.

BHP Billiton spin-off South32 has slashed its debt and sharply cut costs as it races to stay ahead of weaker earnings amid a slump in commodities prices.

The share market has posted just its third gain for the year as bargain hunters snapped up high-growth health and telecommunication stocks.

Telecom giant Telstra has struck a deal to buy a tech company that helps companies and governments navigate cloud computing.

Not many of the conversations I’ve had about gender really stick in my mind, but I do recall one spirited discussion about women in the workforce with a friend of my father’s, when I was an outspoken 17 year old.

Perth-based contractor AusGroup has recruited former Southern Cross Electrical Engineering boss Simon High as chief executive of its engineering services arm.

The state government will spend $4.7 million on re-sealing parts of the Kwinana Freeway and Forrest Highway, with work to be carried out by a subsidiary of Boral.

Gold and nickel miner Independence Group plans to make about 40 employees redundant after announcing it would cut exploration spending by $20 million in response to weak base metals prices.

Broadspectrum has resoundingly urged shareholders to reject the $692 million takeover offer from Spanish company Ferrovial, saying it significantly undervalues the business.

Former Kimberley Land Council CEO Wayne Bergmann has bought the National Indigenous Times from the liquidator of the company behind the newspaper.

Woodside Petroleum expects to take a hit of up to $US1.2 billion ($A1.7 billion) as it writes down the value of its energy assets following the slump in oil prices.

The Australian share market is up sharply as bargain hunters plough back in.

Shell to give up seat on Woodside board

The Australian dollar is in positive territory despite collapsing oil prices and another wild night of losses on global stock markets.

Gold has risen two per cent, benefiting as global equity markets fell to two-and-a-half-year lows and oil prices continued their relentless slump to a 13-year low, leading other commodity markets broadly lower.

Wall Street's recent sell-off has deepened, with the S&P 500 closing at its lowest in over a year as US oil prices plummeted to 2003 lows.

reiwa.com listings for sale data for the overall market for the week ending 19 January 2016 totalled 14,902.

Lower exploration and construction activity in the energy sector has led Canada-based contractor Enerflex to exit the Australian engineering, procurement and construction market, with most of its Perth operations to be made redundant, Business News understands.

City of Perth chief executive Gary Stevenson has been sacked, three years into a five-year contract, following a horror year for the council.

Is Wesfarmers’ $705 million acquisition of UK hardware chain Homebase a fantastic opportunity or a case of hubris that will lead to disappointment?