Sharon Olalia

The Australian currency had kept most of the gains made in the past 24 hours, but failed to remake a five-month high reached on Monday.

Australian gold company Cleveland Mining today announced it has secured mining heavy-weight Donald Bailey as a non-executive director.

The Australian sharemarket ended the day in positive territory despite gains being shaved in afternoon trade.

Food and retail franchisor Allied Brands (ASX:ABQ) said today it still has the rights to distribute Baskin Robbins products in Australia.

The Australian stockmarket maintained a four-month high on Tuesday noon following positive offshore leads and better-than-expected results from a domestic business confidence survey.

The Australian currency was stronger at Tuesday noon, although investors avoided any big moves as they awaited the resolution of Japan's leadership struggle.

Australian business sentiment returned to levels last seen in April as profits increased although sales and employment conditions weakened, data released in Sydney today show.

The Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) has given private equity firms The Carlyle Group and TPG Capital the green light to takeover health provider Healthscope Ltd (ASX:HSP).

The Australian currency finished at a five-month high on Monday following reassuring Chinese economic data and a strong performance in the local share market.

The Australian bourse finished strongly in the black, past the 4600-point mark on the back of positive offshore leads.

Second-tier lenders Suncorp-Metway Ltd (ASX:SUN) and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX:BEN) have received regulatory approval to not charge each other's cardholders a fee for transactions at ATMs they own.

A study commissioned by Woolworths (ASX:WOW) has found that hardware stores established by the Woolworths-Lowe's joint venture could generate $30 million a year in sales from a standard hardware outlet and slice the revenue of rivals Bunnings and Mitre 10 by up to 16 per cent.

The Australian currency was higher at Monday noon, hitting a four-month high as traders took heart in strong Chinese economic data released over the weekend.

The Australian stockmarket was up more than 1 per cent by Monday noon, after strong economic data from China buoyed resources stocks.

Melbourne drug developer Biota Holdings (ASX:BTA) has soared more than 20 per cent on reports its Japanese partner has been given the go-ahead to sell an influenza drug.

Authorities in the Asian nation has given the green light to the $30 million joint venture between Australian coal-based energy company MetroCoal Ltd (ASX: MTE) and a Chinese state-owned company.

The Australian currency was higher at Friday noon after touching a four-month high as it continued to ride a bullish sentiment coming from positive economic data.

The Australian currency finished at four-month highs, underpinned by news that China's trade surplus had unexpectedly shrunk.

The Australian stockmarket has closed lower on Friday, paring weekly gains as miners and energy stocks posted losses.

China, Australia's biggest trade partner and a major buyer of its commodities, reported a surprising jump in August imports, showing a strengthening of domestic demand in an economy that has become a major driver of global growth.

The Australian stock market was slightly stronger at Friday noon, with gains in banking stocks offsetting losses in the resource sector.

The legal team representing the woman behind a multimillion-dollar sexual harassment claim against Australian department store David Jones (ASX: DJS) are tipped to file an amended statement of claim this afternoon.

Toyota Australia announced on Friday it will build a new engine plant that will inject approximately $300 million of project expenditure into the domestic economy.

The August jobs report, which beat expectations on all fronts, is raising speculations that the Reserve Bank of Australia may resume hiking interest rates soon.

The Australian currency reached lifetime peaks against the euro and four-month highs on the US dollar after official jobs data showed a surge in full time employment in August.

The Australian bourse posted strong gains on Thursday, buoyed by better-than-expected employment figures.

In a last-ditch effort to purchase cheap shares, trader David Tweed has launched a legal bid to force diversified conglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) to open its register.

Australian supermarket chain Woolworths Ltd (ASX:WOW) remains open to further acquisitions as work continues on its venture into the multibillion-dollar hardware market.

The Australian currency reached a four-month high on Thursday noon after gaining almost half a US cent on the release of better-than-expected employment figures.