AAP

Australia's construction sector contracted further in January, marking the industry's 32nd consecutive month in decline.

Property developer and owner Australand's full-year profit has risen by 28 per cent and the company expects further earnings growth in 2013.

The Australian share market has opened flat.

Job seekers had more advertisements to sift through in the first month of the new year, with an increase in ads on Australia's main job website.

US stocks closed fairly flat on Wednesday after a choppy day of trading, with some positive earnings reports providing support.

The Liberal-National coalition has questioned the value of Labor's $37 billion national broadband network, but farmers appear to be happy with its progress.

The Australian dollar fell to a two and a half month low after official data showed that retail spending fell for a third consecutive month.

The Australian share market has closed higher on the back of a positive lead from the United States market and the prospect of a cut to interest rates.

Gina Rinehart may have fought in court to keep details of her finances private but now the life of Australia's richest woman is reportedly coming to television.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has challenged the opposition to show how it would have achieved budget surpluses during the global financial crisis.

Environment Minister Tony Burke will wait for legal advice before deciding if a banned super trawler should be allowed to operate as a giant freezer for smaller ships fishing in Australian waters.

The number of Chinese tourists visiting Australia has tripled during the past decade, despite the strong dollar, new figures show.

Internet search giant Google has won a legal battle with the competition watchdog over claims it engaged in misleading or deceptive advertising.

BHP Billiton has told workers at its Olympic Dam project about further losses as the global miner seeks to slash costs.

Unions are calling on Labor and the coalition to enshrine penalty rates in law and make annual and sick leave portable.

Australia faces a tough period of economic adjustment as China's demand for coal and mineral exports decreases, a leading economist says.

The federal government will continue to rely on legal advice to defy opposition and Greens moves to make public how much money is being collected from Labor's mining tax.

Retailers are demanding an interest rate cut after new figures confirmed poor shopping conditions during the Christmas period.

Finance Minister Penny Wong has backed the Reserve Bank's assessment that global risks have abated for now.

The Australian share market has opened more than half a per cent higher.

The decline in Australian wine production is tipped to continue over the next five years but the industry could eventually be more sustainable and profitable as a result.

US stocks jumped on Tuesday, recovering much of Monday's losses and picking up momentum from solid economic indicators.

Mining giant Rio Tinto says its future iron ore operations are secure after it struck a land-use agreement with an indigenous group in the Pilbara.

Australia's Future Fund gained more than $9 billion in 2012 as improving global markets drove returns of more than 12 per cent.

Retail and housing industry groups have questioned the central bank's decision to leave the official cash rate unchanged at its first board meeting of the year.

The Australian share market pared back early losses to finish lower for the second consecutive day as weaker global markets weighed on local sentiment.

Atlas Iron says estimates for its Pilbara iron ore reserves have increased by 21 per cent to almost 500 million tonnes over the past seven months.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has kept the cash rate at three per cent, saying that fears about global economic growth have abated.

New vehicle sales made a strong start in 2013, despite a sharp drop in purchases by state and federal governments.

Hundreds of nurses plan to walk off the job at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and adopt work bans on Tuesday as they press their pay claim with the state government.

Perth house prices rose 2.9 per cent in the December quarter, according to official data released today.

Australia's services sector contracted for the 12th consecutive month in January amid slowing activity in the mining sector and soft retail sales.