The editor of The West Australian, Brett McCarthy, has resigned with immediate effect, after nearly a decade at the helm of the state’s only major newspaper.
The Australian share market has opened lower with Coles and Coca-Cola Amatil dragging consumer staples into the red, and the heavyweight mining and financial sectors also under water.
Oil reversed course and rose as much as three per cent overnight after industry sources said Russia had accepted the need to cut production, together with OPEC ahead of its meeting next week.
Gold held steady but pared some gains as the dollar recovered and minutes from the US Federal Reserve's recent meeting showed an interest rate hike was imminent in December.
Shares in Norwest Minerals fell 10 per cent to close its first day of trading at 18 cents each, after the company raised $6.6 million via an initial public offering.
The Australian share market burst out of the gates after a strong lead from Wall Street and held onto most of its gains by the close, buoyed by the banking sector and mining stocks on higher commodity prices.
The administrators in charge of RCR Tomlinson have secured funding to support the engineering contractor’s operations, and disclosed that more than 180 parties have expressed interest in the planned sale of its business.
Andrew Forrest has made a $23 million share purchase in Fortescue Metals Group, confirming his position at the top of Business News’ director shareholdings list.
The number of new homes being built in Western Australia has fallen to its lowest level since records started in 1984, with little signs of improvement predicted in the next few years, according to the latest report from the Housing Industry Forecasting Group.
Rio Tinto has approved a $3.5 billion investment to develop its Koodaideri iron ore mine in the Pilbara, lifting the total amount to be spent on new iron ore projects in Western Australia to $12 billion.
A recent deterioration in profits among China’s steel producers is boosting the prospects of lower-grade iron ore producers such as Fortescue Metals Group, with steelmakers expected to shift their focus to reducing costs rather than boosting volumes if margins continue to decline.
Gold prices have risen by as much as one per cent from two-week lows as the US dollar tumbled after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that interest rates were near normal, soothing investor worries over the pace of rate hikes.
Shares in Gascoyne Resources have fallen more than 12 per cent today, after the gold producer downgraded its production guidance for the second time in less than a month.
Construction group Doric has clocked up another tactical win in its legal battle with the property developers it partnered with on the ill-fated Rivershores apartment project in North Fremantle.
Local tech company Nuheara has won a two-year contract to provide the UK’s National Health Service with its IQbuds Boost hearing bud for adults and children with mild to moderate hearing loss.
West African Resources has awarded a five-year, $152 million underground mining contract to fellow Perth-based miner Byrnecut at its Sanbrado gold project in Burkina Faso.
