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Palladium set a fresh record high on Friday amid expectations that China's economic stimulus would drive demand for the autocatalyst metal, while news that Russia may ban exports of precious metal scraps compounded worries of a supply deficit.

Australian shares have closed the week marginally lower after a seesaw day.

A rigger has been fined $4,000 plus $10,000 in court costs after two Irish workers on an East Perth construction site were crushed to death by a tilt-up panel weighing more than three tonnes.

Altura Mining has increased its share purchase plan (SPP) by $4 million, just two days after it upsized the offer from $5 million to $10 million.

Leasing success at The Quadrant on William Street has continued a trend of city fringe and suburban tenants moving to the Perth CBD, while options for firms with large space requirements have become increasingly scarce.

A carefully managed five-year incubation process for new Perth company Respirion Pharmaceuticals has resulted in one of the largest funding deals for Western Australia's biotech sector.

More than 750 guests attended the 2019 Business News 40under40 Awards held this week at Optus Stadium's Riverview Room.

Carnegie Clean Energy has gone into voluntary administration, three days after the state government withdrew funding for its Albany Wave project.

Perth's hotels market has been tipped to be one of the weakest in the country in 2019, with average room rates, occupancy and revenue per room all forecast to fall during the next 12 months.

PODCAST: Mark Pownall and Mark Beyer discuss 40under40, EPA carbon shift, biotech, KPMG buys Ferrier Hodgson, Optus stadium, executive remuneration, and our special report on oil and gas.

Perth recorded 1,609 lot sales for the September 2018 quarter, up by 8.5 per cent for the quarter and 2 per cent from a year prior, according to the latest Housing Industry Association–CoreLogic 'Residential Land Report'.

Plans for the first stage of Golden Group's $3.8 Belmont Park development precinct have been lodged for approval, with the first two buildings comprising residential towers of 32 and 27 storeys.

CIMIC Group subsidiary UGL and joint venture partner Cape plc have secured works at Woodside Petroleum's Karratha gas plant.

Residential property values in Perth are likely to continue to fall throughout 2019 before bottoming out in 2020, according to CoreLogic analyst Cameron Kusher, continuing the longest and largest price correction in the city's history.

Unions to wield $1.4trn IR weapon

Oil prices were mixed overnight, lifted by solid demand and output cuts led by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries though gains were capped by an ongoing surge in US supply.

Gold fell more than one per cent overnight, slipping below $US1,300 for a second time this month, as fears of a "no-deal" Brexit faded and the US dollar gained versus the pound ahead of a vote to extend the deadline for Britain's exit from the European Union.

The S&P 500 has slipped, snapping a three-day streak of gains, as uncertainty over when a trade deal between the United States and China would be reached left investors on edge.

The ASX200 has closed higher for the first time in five days, driven by the energy and tech sectors.

David Flanagan has moved to a new executive chairman role at Battery Minerals, making way for former Atlas Iron chief operating officer Jeremy Sinclair to become managing director, among several board changes at the graphite company.

Builders are pivoting their focus to WA's aged care sector to insulate from downturns in other parts of the construction business.

40under40: Alicia Curtis credits her years of community involvement as providing the foundations of her passion for philanthropy.

40under40: It's said that adversity often provides opportunity, and the success of this year's Medium Business category winner bears that out.

40under40: Tim Topham had to wrestle with big challenges to create one of the Goldfields' most prominent drilling businesses.

40under40: Building a pharmacy empire in the north of the state is simply a by-product of Hannah Mann's determination to make a positive impact in remote health.

Online LNG marketplace GLX has announced a partnership with US-based information service OPIS to create LNG indices, a week after Woodside announced it had invested in the platform.

Emissions guidelines for a series of Western Australian energy mega projects are still unclear after the Environmental Protection Authority announced it would withdraw its net zero carbon policy, released last week, and head into months of consultation.

West Perth-based Serpentine Technologies has signed a non-binding term sheet to merge with fabrication technology business K-TIG.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia is suspending the demerger of its mortgage broking and wealth management businesses to focus on customer remediation and implementing the recommendations of the royal commission.

AMP Capital has acquired a 50 per cent ownership stake in the private company that developed Optus Stadium, adding to several other infrastructure assets it has purchased in Western Australia including Kalgoorlie prison and Port Hedland airport.

Perth-based Matthew Woods will be the joint leader of KPMG's greatly expanded insolvency practice after the 'Big 4' accounting firm finalised a deal to acquire Ferrier Hodgson. The merged entity will have 27 partners nationally and be the largest practice in WA.

The consumer watchdog is calling for an overhaul of Australia's product safety laws to help reduce the two deaths and 145 injuries it says are caused each day by unsafe products.