Gold prices have eased after soaring five per cent the previous day, pressured by profit-taking after the biggest rally in more than seven years, but the metal was still set for its best week in four years as investors rushed to safe-haven assets.
Western Australian MP Ian Goodenough has called for a ministerial review into the federal government's tightening of offshore investment regulations, saying the policy change is having an unintended detrimental impact on property development.
Veteran Labor Party politician Alannah MacTiernan has confirmed she will not seek to stay in federal parliament after the election due later this year.
The state government has completed the first in a series of planned asset sales, announcing that it has concluded negotiations with an industry consortium to purchase the Perth Market Authority's Market City.
Treasurer Mike Nahan will not contest the deputy leadership of the state Liberal party, paving the way for Police Minister Liza Harvey, who is likely to be voted in unopposed.
Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens painted a mildly positive picture of the nation when he fronted a House of Representatives economics committee hearing today, saying the economy is growing at a modest pace despite the challenges of falling terms of trade and a wind-down in mining sector investment.
Bank shares have dragged Wall Street lower on concerns the slowing global economy will continue to pressure interest rates, while energy shares helped pare losses late in the session.
Gold has vaulted more than 5 per cent to a one-year high, on track for its biggest daily jump in more than seven years as financial uncertainty, a lower US dollar and tumbling stock prices around the world prompt investors to seek refuge in bullion.
Highly indebted mining companies with limited cash flow need to make brave decisions as they face a protracted period of low commodities prices, Deloitte says.
The S&P 500 has ended flat, losing gains late in the session as investors digested comments by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who kept options open for more rate rises but also saw risks to the US economy.
Gold prices has stabilised below a seven-and-a-half-month high after US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said that only "gradual" adjustments to monetary policy are likely and stressed that global headwinds could hurt US growth.
Global industrial products group Siemens has opened a $20 million service centre at Perth Airport, highlighting the growing competitive shift from the construction to the operational phase in Western Australia.
A new lobby group associated with influential players in the power industry has warned the state government it risks a voter backlash at the 2017 poll if proposed changes to the sector trigger higher prices to households.
Gold has turned higher but hovers beneath the previous session's seven-and-a-half-month high of $US1,200 an ounce, buoyed by risk aversion as equities remain volatile and the dollar extends losses.
Global oil supply fell by 0.2 million barrels per day in January, while falling demand growth and resilience of high cost suppliers could lead to continued downward pressure on prices, according to the International Energy Agency.
There is little immediate prospect of the state government expanding its current $5 billion asset sales program, despite Premier Colin Barnett seeming to flirt with the possibility this week.
The state government's asset sales program has taken a step forward today, with Gresham Advisory Partners appointed as lead adviser for the partial sale of Keystart's loan book.
