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Iron ore prices have plunged to a fresh six-year low as the commodity gets caught up in the fallout from China's massive sharemarket plunge.

The jobless rate in Western Australia rose to 5.8 per cent in June, while a small increase in the national rate has economists warning it hasn't yet peaked.

A group of determined local business people have come together for the first time in Perth's history to create a museum dedicated to the city's past and present.

At 1028 AEST on Thursday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 64.5 points, or 1.18 per cent, at 5,405 points.

The Australian dollar has bounced back from a six-year low after the greenback fell amid a lengthy outage on the New York Stock Exchange.

The New York Stock Exchange halted trading Wednesday for more than three hours due to technical problems that it said were not caused by hacking.

US oil prices have dropped for the fifth straight trading session as domestic crude stockpiles rose again, but London prices inched higher.

Gold has risen as the US dollar has softened, reversing after touching a four-month low as markets watched the tumble in Chinese equities and the unfolding Greek debt crisis.

The Greek crisis may have spooked Australia's financial markets, but it is China that will potentially give Treasurer Joe Hockey nightmares.

The Shanghai composite index was down 5.9 per cent in trading today as more than 1,300 Chinese companies entered trading halts.

Worries about China have been added to concerns about Greece, pushing the Australian share market down 2 per cent.

Singapore-founded property crowdfunding business CoAssets wrapped up its first day of trading on the Newcastle-based National Stock Exchange of Australia today, with its shares closing flat at 10 cents each.

A local subsidiary of Norway's Global Maritime Group is the latest company to be awarded a contract for work at Woodside Petroleum's operations in the North West Shelf.

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ATCO Australia has announced the appointment of Bobbi Lambright as its new managing director and chief operating officer, replacing Wayne Stensby in the Perth-based role overseeing a major energy utility and mobile accommodation builder.

Yangebup building company Bellagio Homes has been formally cautioned by the Building Commission's building services board for falling to comply with State Administrative Tribunal orders.

Atlas Iron says it has protected its finances against an iron ore price that has plunged below $US50 a tonne.

Last year's Business News Rising Stars winner, emergency response and security services provider Executive Risk Solutions, has taken the top prize as the 2015 Telstra Western Australian business of the year.

Centaurus Metals has announced that it is selling its Candonga DSO iron ore project in Brazil to the Brazilian group Ecosinter for R$4 million (A$1.69 million).

The corporate watchdog is investigating whether key market indexes, such as the Australian share market's top 200 companies, are being rorted.

Two local miners have announced plans to exit the resources industry and move into other fields, by way of backdoor listings.

Peter Prendiville and Howard Cearns will continue as Tourism WA chair and deputy chair respectively for another three year term, Tourism Minister Kim Hames announced today.

Perth-based Zeta Petroleum will acquire a substantial shareholding in oil explorer Oilex, when the company completes a planned $US23 million ($A30 million) capital raising.

The Australian share market has opened lower.

The Australian dollar has broken a new six-year low as the greenback rallies.

US stocks have finished higher in a topsy-turvy session, rallying after worries about Greece and China caused deep losses in early trade.

The state government will head off any potential oversupply in Perth's booming hotel building sector by ramping up marketing Western Australia to interstate and international visitors.

Gold has fallen to a near four-month low, while silver has sunk nearly seven per cent and platinum has dropped to a 2009 low, as the US dollar rallied ahead of an emergency eurozone summit on Greece with the country's banks rapidly running out of cash.

WA business is well positioned to bring forward a new era of research and development in technology, but hurdles remain.

The third DoubleTree by Hilton hotel announced for Perth will likely be the first to open, with forward works about to start and a ground-breaking ceremony held at the Northbridge site today.

Local aquaculture firm Seafarms Group has announced plans to raise up to $16.6 million, with major shareholders Ian Trahar and Paul Favretto committing to a large portion of the raising.

Former VDM Group boss Andrew Broad has returned to his former employer, mining services business Ausdrill, and will become its chief operating officer of Australian operations.