Goldman sees temporary oil bump

Oil prices boosted by global output reductions will be capped because of new supply before long, according to Goldman Sachs.

US drillers extend rig recovery

US energy companies this week added oil rigs for a seventh week in a row, extending a seven-month drilling recovery.

Mayne Pharma shares dive on US price fixing lawsuit

Shares in pharmaceutical company Mayne Pharma Group fell by a quarter on Friday after 20 US states filed a lawsuit against it alleging it engaged in a conspiracy with others to fix prices on two generic drugs.

DB settles US dark pool cases

Deutsche Bank will pay more than $US40 million to settle charges that the bank misled clients about how it routed orders.

German 2-year yield at record low

The yield on the German two-year government bond, the Schatz, hit minus 0.80 per cent for the first time.

Three reasons why bond yields will keep rising

US bond yields, already at two-year highs, are set to keep rising, thanks to rising rates and the premium investors will demand for holding Treasuries during a Trump administration, experts say.

ACCC walks away from Woolworths cash-demand case

The competition watchdog will not appeal a Federal Court ruling that Woolworths did not act unconscionably when it demanded up to $60 million in cash from suppliers to plug a profit shortfall.

From firefighting to the life insurance frying pan

• COMMENT

When Col Fullagar isn’t jumping out of helicopters volunteering as a firefighter in remote areas of NSW he works in the cutthroat world of life insurance.

Float flops: Why investors are giving IPOs a wide berth

• IN DEPTH

Several companies that have listed on the ASX have proven to be major disappointments.

Australia's retail industry is still a boys' club

• IN DEPTH

Coles, Woolworths, Target, Bunnings, Kmart, Myer, David Jones, JB Hi-Fi and now Big W are all run by men.

Why Packer's Crown is cashing in its chips at Macau

• COMMENT

You can read James Packer's sell down and impending exit out of the Macau market many ways.

$100m payday for $1-an-hour staff with disabilities

Up to 10,000 Australians with intellectual disabilities, who worked for as little as 99 cents an hour, will share in a massive $100 million federal government payout after a landmark discrimination lawsuit.

SurfStitch strikes back against ex-CEO

SurfStitch has alleged that its ex-CEO and would-be suitor conspired to inflate revenues and profits in the first half of 2016.

ASX Santa rally runs out of puff

The ASX finished the week in the red as the Santa rally ran of puff in a week dominated by the Fed Reserve rates.

Star Wars, cricket books and drones: Christmas 2016 shapes up

The shops will be chockers on Fridays as shoppers seek out everything from Harry Potter to fragrances and coffee machines.

Blocking Pirate Bay will not stop VPN-savvy Australians

Despite a Federal Court decision this week obliging internet service providers to block certain piracy-enabling websites, Australians will continue to easily access such sites via VPNs and other technologies they already use.

Fake news is sickening, but don't make the cure worse than the disease

• COMMENT

When a guy with an assault rifle walks into a pizza joint to "self-investigate" the made-up conspiracy theory he found on the internet about a non-existent child-prostitution ring, there's no doubt we've got a problem.

Unemployment, take a step back for the big picture

• COMMENT

It is possible to make sense of what's happening in the labour market, but only if you follow a few rules.

Hastie Services finance boss cooked the books

The former chief financial officer of Hastie Services, a subsidiary of collapsed engineering services group Hastie Group, is intending to plead guilty to three criminal charges.

Trump's Treasury talks tax reform

President-elect Donald Trump's pick for US Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, says the administration would target tax reform and trade pact overhauls as top priorities.

60,000 NAB customers' account details sent to incorrect email

National Australia Bank mistakenly sent the names, addresses and banking details of about 60,000 migrant banking customers to a wrong email account.

Australia must follow Trump's tax cuts: ANZ's Gonski

Australia must match president-elect Donald Trump's promised tax cuts, ANZ's chairman said.

Hacked Yahoo data for sale on dark web

Michael J. de la Merced contributed reporting.

'Enough is enough' in CEO bonanza, says NAB's Ken Henry

National Australia Bank chairman Ken Henry says he believes the gulf between the hefty pay packets of chief executives and what average workers are paid can't get any wider.

EpiPen price hike draws White House slap down

In August, White House spokesman Josh Earnest criticised "greedy" pharmaceutical companies damaging their reputations through price hikes.

AI beer: taste testing robot brew

The world's first beer brewed with the help of artificial intelligence is on sale in the UK.

Markets Live: Tough times for gold

• Live

Stocks flatline as the early Santa rally runs out of puff, while gold stocks and Mayne Pharma plunge.

Why big CEO pay is bad news for investors

Investors are better off sticking with companies that avoid inflated pay packets, a new study shows. So why do shareholders keep approving overly generous executive pay?

Pirating sites to be blocked after judge rules in movie studios' favour

Telcos will have to block access to piracy sites and divert Australians towards a web page created by movie studios, the Federal court ruled on Thursday afternoon.