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.
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.
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.
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 has ended flat after a choppy session as falling oil prices led to more carnage in energy stocks and an "in line" economic report showed slower growth in China.
Western Australian businesses borrowed more in the 12 months to the end of November while consumers borrowed much less, according to the latest lending figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Many small businesses may be unaware they already have access to a major tax incentive to fund research, in addition to the federal government's new innovation package.
The state government will lay underground power lines in areas of the South West after the Yarloop bushfire racked up a $26 million damage bill to the region's electricity network.
Gold on Friday rose nearly two per cent, after dropping for four of the previous five sessions, as a weaker US dollar and falling equity markets underpinned demand for assets perceived as safer.
Gold has risen nearly two per cent, after dropping for four of the previous five sessions, as a weaker US dollar and falling equity markets underpinned demand for assets perceived as safer.
WA chief executives are hoping a federal election year and a new direction from Malcolm Turnbull will ignite reforms needed to get the state moving again, according to the latest CEO survey by Business News.
The Australian share market has opened higher, driven by resource and financial stocks after a strong performance on Wall Street as the US earnings season got off to a strong start.
Gold has fallen sharply to a one-and-a-half-week low, pressured by a US Federal Reserve president's comments about potentially rethinking further rate hikes, triggering technical sell signals while
