The Dow and S&P 500 have edged to record closing highs for the second day in a row even as the Nasdaq fell on concerns technology stocks are overvalued.
About 800,000 businesses will benefit from a company tax cut from mid 2015 while miners stand to gain from exploration incentives announced in the federal budget.
A parliamentary inquiry will examine the police investigation into a series of car crashes that led to Troy Buswell's downfall as treasurer of Western Australia.
An unscheduled shutdown by one of its key mining clients has forced Swick Mining Services to again lower its revenue guidance, despite a rebound in fleet utilisation.
Western Australia's residential construction sector is continuing to exhibit rapid growth, with the state government's official forecaster tipping the highest level of activity in more than two decades.
Accounting giant EY is understood to be close to finalising negotiations on a new lease at the six-storey EY Building on Mounts Bay Road, after coming up empty in its search for a new home.
The Australian share market has closed higher, led by big mining stocks, after markets in the United States lifted and investment bank JP Morgan expressed confidence in the resources sector.
Shares in Perth-based oil and gas explorer Tangiers Petroleum have closed lower after the company announced plans to launch a heavily discounted $5 million share placement.
Explosives and chemicals maker and supplier Orica's half-year profit has slumped, with strong demand from miners in the Pilbara region largely offset by flat sentiment on the east coast.
IT services provider ASG Group has secured contracts worth $21 million for the delivery of its cloud-based services, and says it has a further $80 million worth of additional agreements in the pipeline.
Northern Star Resources has continued its aggressive expansion strategy, announcing it will buy the Jundee gold mine in Western Australia from Newmont Mining for $82.5 million.
Gold prices have risen, a day after pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine declared victory in a succession referendum, raising chances that rival factions will split the country in two.
The Dow and S&P 500 has closed at fresh record highs, spurred by a strong rally in technology stocks that lifted the Nasdaq Composite Index by nearly 1.8 per cent.
The $1.4 billion joint bid by Baosteel and Aurizon for control of Perth-based Aquila Resources marks a new wave of Chinese investment interest in WA's iron ore.
Shares in Perth-based oil and gas explorer Neon Energy have soared after the company booked $US27 million from the sale of exploration leases in California to an anonymous buyer.
A union official sent sham invoices for thousands of dollars to a construction firm for work that was never done, the first day of a royal commission into union corruption has heard.
Tugboat workers at Port Hedland are threatening to strike for up to a week, bringing iron ore exports at Australia's largest shipping hub to a standstill.
Australia has been identified as the world's most expensive major economy, with the cost of living in Sydney and Melbourne now greater than in Tokyo, London and New York City.
SPECIAL REPORT: Concerns have been raised over the sustainability of Perth's apartment construction boom, with prominent industry players suggesting Rivervale in particular is in danger of oversupply.
Western Australia's top building industry lobby group has given a lukewarm response to the capital works commitment in last week's state budget, saying the reduction in spending will only create mo
