Latest Headlines

The oil price recovery to more than $US60 a barrel appears to be accelerating one of the biggest corporate shuffles ever by a Western Australian company, with Seven Group getting ready to consolidate ownership of the oilfields of South Australia.

West Perth-based explorer Monto Minerals has joined the wave of backdoor listings, with the company announcing plans to acquire a US tech company for $13 million.

More than 37,000 Cash Converters customers who claimed they were charged excessive interest on short-term loans will get refunds after a multi-million dollar class action was settled out of court.

Nedlands-based sandalwood producer TFS Corporation will buy two US pharmaceutical companies for $US23.4 million ($A30.3 million) in cash and shares.

The federal government plans to use $800 million previously earmarked for Queensland infrastructure to develop Western Australia and Northern Territory projects as well.

MGC Global, which is currently the takeover target of Perth-based Erin Resources, has signed a $60 million agreement to sell its cosmetic cannabis product to a European cosmetic production company.

A damning report detailing corruption in the state authority tasked with prosecuting such misconduct is a reminder of the importance of oversight, an upper house MP says.

Local IT business Empired has secured a $10 million conract to provide infrastructure managed services to an unnamed global oil and gas company, under a three-year term.

Member for Perth Alannah MacTiernan has accused the federal and Western Australian governments of trying to prevent scrutiny of the $1.6 billion Perth Freight Link.

The Australian share market has opened lower following falls in metals and oil prices overnight.

Oil prices in New York have dipped following a mixed US petroleum supply report that showed lower crude supplies but a rise in petrol stocks.

The big number this week is the impending breakthrough of the 8,000 barrier for property listed for lease. Since the beginning of March when seasonal demand tailed off, rental listings have been rising at an average of 118 per week which compares with the average of 44 per week since the same time last year.

Gold prices turned higher after the Federal Reserve said the US economy is likely to be strong enough to support an interest rate increase by the end of 2015.

Wall Street stocks have risen after the US Federal Reserve kept its near-zero benchmark interest rate unchanged and Chair Janet Yellen pledged a methodical approach to raising rates.

The Australian dollar is higher, buoyed by weakness in the US dollar which fell after the US Federal Reserve's meeting failed to spell out the timing of an interest rate hike.

Donations totalling more than $200,000 have been made in the past two days ahead of tonight's CEO Sleepout fundraiser, but organiser St Vincent de Paul Society of WA is still hoping a final surge in contributions will exceed the $1 million mark.

The Australian dollar could fall below US70 cents next year as capital inflows subside, economist Saul Eslake told a WA Mining Club lunch in Perth yesterday.

Work has started on the $21.4 million Port Coogee shopping centre, with national development group Australand signing Adco Constructions to carry out the build.

A Western Australian company is anticipating a surge in global sales following preliminary results of state government-funded research into the effectiveness of shark deterrents.

Cash Converters International is close to settling a class action launched by customers who claimed they were charged excessive levels of interest and fees on personal loans.

Shares in Sandfire Resources were firmer on news it had intersected a zone of sulphides at its Springfield project in the Bryah Basin mineral province.

Just two weeks after its big annual event, Celebrate WA is ushering in a new CEO in a change that reflects a strategic reset at two important culture-focused Perth organisations.

The Australian share market has closed one per cent higher, boosted mostly by the big four banks.

Perth online screening and verification company CVCheck will soon lodge a prospectus on the ASX, detailing plans to raise up to $10 million in an initial public offering.

An investigation into Australia's failed bid for the Fifa world cup should be just the start of a closer look at how taxpayers' money is spent overseas.

LandCorp has unveiled its latest residential project, at the former Kim Beazley school site in White Gum Valley, with the development expected to become a model for future urban infill and sustaina

Fortunis Resources has received positive news about its planned backdoor listing, while Basper and Aziana have had to make amendments to their proposals.

Australia has formalised the most liberal trade deal China has with any country.

Local minerals explorer Helix Resources has offered a 50.1 per cent stake in its Joshua project in Chile to EPG Exploration Fund, in exchange for drilling services and about $3.9 million.

Maverick Liberal backbencher Rob Johnson says "emperor" Colin Barnett can't dictate who the party endorses.

The state government is providing $10 million to fast-track the replacement of a traffic bridge over the Murray River south of Pinjarra.

Woolworths's $3 billion bid to take Bunnings down a peg with its Masters hardware chain could come to an early end following the sudden resignation of the retailer's chief executive, Grant O'Brien.