Australia's current account deficit has narrowed 33 per cent to $7.2 billion in the three months to December as higher commodity prices boosted the value of exports.
Research released today by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has found a gender pay gap of $162,000 between Australia's highest paid men and women, but women are progressing into full-time management roles at a faster rate than men.
The federal government has today announced new and renewed appointments to its Takeovers Panel including Perth-based John McGlue, Shirley In't Veld and Denise McComish.
The big banks will be slugged an extra $640 million under a future Labor government to pay for a new ‘‘fairness'' fund to give consumers a better chance to fight back against financial institutions
Oil prices sank below recent 2019 highs as US government data overnight showed a sharp build in crude stocks and record production, while concerns about slowing global economic growth weighed on the market.
Gold slipped from a 10-month peak overnight, pressured by signals the US Federal Reserve will not adopt as dovish a stance on monetary policy as previously thought and as investors booked profits, while palladium retreated from a record high.
Palladium jumped above the $US1,500 per ounce mark for the first time overnight, propelled by a stark supply deficit, while gold hit a 10-month high on a weaker US dollar as investors awaited cues on US monetary policy.
Crude prices rose more than 1 per cent overnight to their highest level this year on hopes that oil markets will balance later this year, helped by output cuts from top producers as well as US sanctions on OPEC members Iran and Venezuela.
