Senior judge Panagiotis Pikramenos has been named Greece's caretaker prime minister, with new elections to be held on June 17, Greek state TV says.

Shopping centre giant Westfield is punting on interest rate cuts and $5 billion worth of federal government handouts to families to help entice people to spend again.Chief executive Steven Lowy believes ...

Building products maker CSR expects Australia's housing construction market to remain bleak for the foreseeable future and says it is difficult to predict the timing of a recovery.The company estimates ...

Shale gas might be booming in the United States but it faces many hurdles before it can be commercially viable in Australia.Industry consultants KPMG said extracting shale gas was currently too expensive ...

The Australian dollar is extending its fall below below parity with the US dollar as renewed worries about debt-stricken Greece weighs on the currency.Greece is expected to hold new elections, possibly ...

Westfield Group has again come under fire over the treatment of low-paid shopping centre cleaners hired through third parties.Community service provider Uniting Care said cost-cutting was being imposed ...

Australian stocks plunged to two-month lows, led by the resources sector, with $32 billion wiped from the value of the market as Greece's problems kept investor confidence at depressing lows.The benchmark ...

BHP Billiton chairman Jacques Nasser says the global miner will not spend the $80 billion on growth projects that it said it would, stepping back from previous commitments.Mr Nasser, speaking in Sydney, ...

Total loan approvals rose 5.2 per cent in March, despite a dip in mortgage lending.The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Monday said seasonally-adjusted personal finance commitments rose 1.1 per ...

Australian bond future prices inched higher on continued worries about the euro zone but remain just below their record highs set just a day ago .At 1630 AEST on Wednesday, the 10-year bond futures contract ...

Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange at close on Wednesday:BHP - BHP BILLITON LTD - down $1.37 - or 4.04 per cent - at $32.49BHP Billiton chairman Jacques Nasser says the global miner will ...

Australian stocks closed at a two-month low, after one of its sharpest one-day percentage falls this year.The local bourse took its lead from much weaker European and US markets overnight, which dropped ...

An industry report says software piracy in Asia cost businesses more than $US20 billion ($A20.18 billion) in lost sales last year.The Business Software Alliance's study released on Wednesday said consumers ...