The Australian share market is clinging on to the green in early trade after three days of decline, as investors take cues from overnight gains on Wall Street.
Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group has denied media reports stating it had lodged a $1 billion-plus offer for Wesfarmers' Curragh coal mine in Queensland.
US stocks have ended slightly higher and the Dow has closed at a record high for a 12th straight session after President Donald Trump said he would make a "big" infrastructure statement.
Spot gold has fallen after tapping a 3-1/2-month high as US Treasury yields rose and investors waited for US President Donald Trump to outline plans for tax cuts, infrastructure spending, levies on imports and foreign policy.
SPECIAL REPORT: Klen International's work in the gold sector offers a valuable insight into how Western Australian companies are taking the expertise from the state's resources industry and developing it well beyond the mine pit.
SPECIAL REPORT: Eight years after HiSeis was spun out from Curtin University, executive chairman Don Pridmore believes its use of seismic technology in mineral exploration is starting to gain traction.
SPECIAL REPORT: Strong employment growth in the gold sector partially compensated for job losses in iron ore in the 2016 financial year, according to recently released data from the Department of Mines and Petroleum.
Perth-based GR Engineering Services has kept performance up despite trying times in the mining sector, with profit and revenue slightly lower for the December half-year.
Slater & Gordon shares have plumbed fresh depths yet again after the law firm reported a first-half loss of $425 million largely due to another $350 million write-down of its troubled UK business.
OPINION: Voters are deserting the established political order in droves. Many are fatiqued by the constant change, and believe they are bearing the brunt of it.
QBE chief executive John Neal has had his pay docked by more than $500,000 over what the insurer called his "personal decisions", despite him leading the company to a 22 per cent increase in full-year profit.
SPECIAL REPORT - MINING SERVICES: Higher commodity prices and investment to maintain iron ore volumes could help lift mining contractors out of the doldrums after several tough years. Click through to see this and links to four other feature stories.
Macmahon Holdings has called out CIMIC Group for what it says is a low-ball takeover bid, saying the Spanish-controlled company should be aware of the improving market for mining services.
ANALYSIS: Colin Barnett and Mark McGowan face the biggest test of their long political careers over the next 12 days. Each knows that a loss in the March 11 state election will mean the end of their political career.
Oil prices have fallen per cent after US crude inventories rose for a seventh week, showing that the market is still struggling to ease oversupply despite many producers' efforts to rein in production.
Gold has reached its highest in 3-1/2 months as the dollar fell to a one-week low after the new US Treasury chief poured cold water on the "Trumpflation trade" that had boosted the greenback this year.
In this Business News podcast, Mark Pownall and Dan Wilkie discuss election promises, South Perth, mining raisings, Richard Goyder and mining services.
Stockbroker and funds manager Euroz has beaten expectations for its interim profit result, which was achieved on the back of an improved performance of its Euroz Securities business and increase in the share prices of its listed investment companies.
