Today

13:01pm (AEDT)

Pledge to find spot for all ABC kids

THE receiver of ABC Learning says it has a plan to secure a childcare place for every child using the company's centres next year.  Read more

12:32pm (AEDT)

Resources pull share market lower

THE share market was lower at noon as resource stocks dragged the local bourse lower after commodity prices declined.  Read more

12:27pm (AEDT)

Dollar weaker in quiet trade

THE Australian dollar was marginally weaker in quiet trade at noon as investors await key jobs data from the US on Friday night.  Read more

10:52am (AEDT)

City Pacific in trading halt for negotiations

CITY Pacific has gone into a trading halt while it conducts commercially sensitive negotiations to do with court proceedings involving the funds management and property company.  Read more

10:31am (AEDT)

Shares open lower as miners fall

THE share market has opened weaker with the big miners dragging on the local bourse after Wall Street shares were hammered as rising job cuts and economic fears.  Read more

10:28am (AEDT)

David Kirk resigns as Fairfax boss

DAVID Kirk has stepped down as chief executive of Fairfax Media, effective immediately.  Read more

10:25am (AEDT)

150 textile worker jobs to go

ONE hundred and fifty Victorian textile workers will be out of work when their plant closes in March next year.  Read more

10:25am (AEDT)

Fortescue suspends shipping contracts

IRON ore miner Fortescue Metals has suspended contracts on about two-thirds of its ore shipments, in an effort to switch to greater reliance on deals that require the buyer to freight the product.  Read more

10:12am (AEDT)

Building activity falls in November

ACTIVITY in the construction industry contracted sharply in November, as the firms continued to scale back work in response to the global financial crisis, a survey says.  Read more

8:40am (AEDT)

Hopes rise for US carmaker bailout

A POWERFUL Senate Democrat yesterday vowed to try to pass an eleventh-hour, $US34 billion ($53 billion) bailout bill for teetering Big Three auto firms after contrite industry bosses made a fresh plea for help.  Read more

8:06am (AEDT)

Wall St falls as job slashing accelerates

WALL Street shares fell hard overnight as investors sought cover after a series of big job-slashing announcements that highlighted the weak economic outlook.  Read more

8:03am (AEDT)

Oil falls to lowest level since 2005

OIL prices tumbled to their weakest levels in nearly four years overnight as investors fixated on mounting signs of recession in the global economy.  Read more

8:00am (AEDT)

Europe slashes interest rates

LEADING European central banks took historic action overnight to ward off spreading recessions, slashing their key lending rates to boost businesses and consumers.  Read more

7:45am (AEDT)

Dollar firms on Bernanke comments

THE dollar opened marginally firmer after US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said more government funding was needed to prevent home foreclosures.  Read more

4:36am (AEDT)

Euro stocks down after rate cuts

EUROPEAN stock markets closed slightly lower overnight after a volatile trading day featuring dramatic interest cuts from central banks while US shares were little changed.  Read more

1:44am (AEDT)

Job cuts send market down

US stocks fell at the opening on Thursday as a series of big job-slashing announcements soured sentiment and prompted investors to lock in recent gains.  Read more

0:38am (AEDT)

Oil sinks below $44

OIL prices sank under $44 on Thursday, reaching the lowest points for almost four years as the world's biggest energy consuming nation, the United States, faced a deep recession.  Read more

Yesterday

23:21pm (AEDT)

Bank rates hit lowest level since 1939

THE Bank of England has slashed its key lending rate by 100 basis points to 2.0 per cent, the lowest level since 1939, amid mounting evidence that Britain faces a deep recession.  Read more

20:50pm (AEDT)

Permanent clamps put on short selling

PERMANENT restrictions will be placed on the stock market practice of short selling under a bill passed by Federal Parliament today.  Read more

20:24pm (AEDT)

Parliament passes short-selling Bill

PERMANENT restrictions will be placed on the stock market practice of short selling under a Bill passed by federal parliament today.  Read more

17:36pm (AEDT)

Fairfax dumps SMH editor

ALAN Oakley is the latest high-profile casualty at Fairfax Media, stepping aside as The Sydney Morning Herald's editor after three years in the job.  Read more

17:15pm (AEDT)

Market closes lower as miners fall

THE share market closed almost flat, closing just 1 point lower, after earlier gains evaporated as falling commodity prices dragged down mining stocks.  Read more

16:53pm (AEDT)

Macquarie cuts 100 jobs

ABOUT 100 investment bankers and advisers have been sacked by Macquarie today, in the biggest one-day purge in the bank's history.  Read more

15:10pm (AEDT)

Car sales slump 22pc in November

CAR sales fell by more than 22 percent in November compared to a year earlier, as the global financial crisis put the brakes on Australia's economy, industry figures show.  Read more

14:39pm (AEDT)

Oil sinks below $US46 on demand fears

OIL prices sunk further in Asian trade, falling below $US46 a barrel in a market dominated by falling demand and dismal economic news.  Read more

13:56pm (AEDT)

Crown casino refinances $1.6bn debt

CROWN Casino has refinanced $1.6 billion worth of debt due in two years.  Read more

12:39pm (AEDT)

Shares flat on mixed economic news

THE share market was slightly higher at noon, after falling slightly off earlier gains because of lower commodity prices and more bad economic news.  Read more

12:25pm (AEDT)

Dollar higher after Wall St rally

THE dollar was firmer at noon as a late surge on Wall Street propelled the currency higher, despite local building approvals hitting a seven-and-a-half year low.  Read more

10:34am (AEDT)

Share market up 2pc at open

THE share market has nearly 2 per cent stronger after Wall Street shook off another stream of bad economic readings and closed sharply higher overnight.  Read more

10:29am (AEDT)

Babcock shares jump 112pc

SHARES in Babcock & Brown more than doubled after they resumed trading this morning, after the investment firm secured new funding from its bankers and rearranged aspects of its debt repayment obligations.  Read more

10:01am (AEDT)

Billabong downgrades earnings forecast

SURFWEAR retailer Billabong has downgraded its earnings guidance for fiscal 2009 due to further deterioration in trading condition, particularly in the United States.  Read more

9:39am (AEDT)

Babcock shares to resume trading

SHARES in Babcock & Brown will resume trading this morning after the investment group secured extra funding from its bankers and rearranged aspects of its debt repayment obligations.  Read more

8:14am (AEDT)

Wall Street stocks rally

US stocks rallied for a second straight session overnight, after a robust report on online holiday spending and a surprise jump in mortgage applications offset a new batch of dismal economic data.  Read more

8:10am (AEDT)

US job losses accelerate

THE US labor market shed jobs at a breakneck pace in November amid deteriorating economic conditions, surveys showed yesterday, signaling the world's largest economy is diving into the depths of recession.  Read more

8:07am (AEDT)

Oil prices soften on demand jitters

OIL prices fell overnight in New York to the lowest level since February 2005 as the market focused on declining demand in the face of a barrage of weak global economic news.  Read more

7:45am (AEDT)

US economy weakens further

ECONOMIC activity weakened across the United States over the past several weeks with most sectors facing pressure, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book report overnight.  Read more

7:40am (AEDT)

New Zealand slashes interest rates

NEW Zealand's central bank has cut the official interest rate by a record 1.5 percentage points to tackle the fallout from the global financial crisis.  Read more

7:33am (AEDT)

Dollar down on poor US data

THE dollar opened weaker as the worst US services sector report on record and an estimated 250,000 American workers losing their jobs in November weighed on risk sentiment.  Read more

4:32am (AEDT)

European stocks close higher

EUROPEAN stock markets closed higher today, coming off early lows, with London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares up 1.14 per cent at 4169.96 points.  Read more

2:28am (AEDT)

Oil slides under $US45

OIL prices tumbled under $US45 on Wednesday to reach their lowest level since February 2005 after more weak US economic data sparked concern about slowing global energy demand.  Read more

1:47am (AEDT)

Job concerns see market open lower

US stocks slid lower at the open after a weak private employment report stoked concerns about this week's official November jobs data and the spiraling economic downturn.  Read more