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The Australian share market has closed higher on the back of positive corporate news and jobs figures, and hopes for a resolution to Europe's debt crisis.

The state government is seeking developers to deliver a 400-room riverfront hotel and residential tower on the first land made available at Elizabeth Quay (see video fly-through).

NRW Holdings says Fortescue Metals Group's decision to defer $1.6 billion of capital expenditure in the Pilbara will result in a $100 million hit to its revenue.

TFS Corporation shares have jumped after the sandalwood plantation manager announced global investment bank Moelis & Company had been appointed to assist in a strategic review of operations.

Shares in surfwear retailer Billabong are up by almost eight per cent after the company received a second takeover offer.

The High Court has expanded the number of bank charges that will be considered in a class action against allegedly excessive bank charges.

Despite another fall in the unemployment rate, the labour force figures offer plenty of support for the idea that the jobs market is weak.

She brought the big guns - 15 senior cabinet ministers - but in the end, Prime Minister Julia Gillard rarely needed to draw on them in the Labor industrial heartland of Kwinana.

Climate Change Minister Greg Combet has defended $5.5 billion in compensation being paid to the country's dirtiest power stations and dismissed a report that claims coal generators will actually be

Qantas flights to Europe will now stop over in Dubai under a 10-year partnership signed between the Australian airline and Emirates.

The Australian share market has opened more than half a per cent higher as investors find value in beaten-down stocks.

Trade, higher education and green growth will top Prime Minister Julia Gillard's agenda when she meets with Asia-Pacific leaders at a major summit in Russia this weekend.

The US Justice Department has has accused oil giant BP of "gross negligence and willful misconduct" in the massive 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, court documents show.

US stocks have closed essentially flat on the eve of a crucial European Central Bank (ECB) policy meeting amid hopes for action to stem eurozone financial turmoil.

The cost of electricity has doubled over the last five years and the Economic Regulation Authority's decision to reduce Western Power's proposed tariff increases shows promise in quashing 40 per ce

The Australian dollar has retreated to lower ground on concerns about the weaker iron ore price and outlook for global and domestic growth.

Medical research firm Avita Medical has announced a proposal to raise up to $10 million, with Octa Phillip Bioscience Managers committing to tip in $3 million.

Perth Surveying Services has won a $2.7 million contract with John Holland to work on the Wheatstone LNG construction village.

The Australian share market has finished lower as concern about Chinese growth dragged down material and industrial stocks.

Flinders Mines says a steep fall in the iron ore price won't harm the company's prospects, as it heads towards first production.

The development industry has welcomed new guidelines released by the state government today for the preparation of structure plans.

BHP Billiton will push ahead with its $US1 billion ($A981.98 million) Eagle Ford petroleum expansion in Texas as it aims to boost worldwide production levels by eight per cent.

Australia's principal federal political leaders have rejected Gina Rinehart's suggestion local wages are too high and are holding back the nation's competitiveness.

Treasurer Wayne Swan has criticised the standard of national debate about the economy, saying it's being conducted in a "bizarro world".

Macmahon Holdings has become the latest WA-based engineering and construction contractor to say Fortescue Metals Group's deferall of expansion plans will have little to no effect on its bottom line

Chalice Gold Mines is cashed up and on the lookout for acquisitions after completing the sale of its Zara gold project in Eritrea to China's SFECO Group and the Eritrean National Mining Corporation

Australian employers are routinely breaking overtime laws, according to a major new survey of hourly wage earners.

While Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott are shaping up to fight out the next election, their more immediate fates lie with their party colleagues.

A couple of WA's mining entrepreneurs have made prominent contributions to the political debate lately.

It's a shame no-one seems to be listening to the advice of John Maynard Keynes about adjusting to changing circumstances.

The collapse in the iron ore price is a stark reminder of how fast-changing market conditions require fiscal prudence, by governments, businesses and individuals.

An effective lobbyist's true value is in making sure what's being proposed can be achieved.