On the present trajectory of political fiddling about housing affordability, the odds are reasonable that Scott Morrison's second budget will include National Housing Lotto. It's not much worse an idea than some that have been suggested and apparently are about to be tried.

The big miners dragged the sharemarket lower as commodity prices fell, while BHP and South32 traded ex-dividend.

Big drops in miners and energy stocks pull shares lower, while 10-year bond yields surge to 15-month highs as traders get ready for higher US rates.

The ASX200's growth this year has been modest, and has vastly lagged other major indices.

​A parliamentary review has found that the system of handling injured workers' complaints is 'dysfunctional'.

Rio Tinto is to get a new chairman later in the year, with Jan du Plessis expected to leave the company.

Snap said last week it expected investors buying up to a quarter of the shares in the IPO to agree not to sell them for a year.

Declaring that Australia is in the midst of an energy crisis, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said he will call together the chief executives of east coast gas companies to address the threat to their customers.

US President Donald Trump has won preliminary approval to register 27 new trademarks in China for industries including restaurants and advertising, business interests that could add to criticism over his potential conflicts.

Network Ten is flummoxed by the regulator's finding that a pro-family ad directing viewers to an anti-abortion site should have aired with a political authorisation statement.

Mario Draghi has embraced, with increasing mindfulness, the task of normalising European monetary policy.

Oil dropped below $US50 in New York for the first time since December on concerns about the resilience of a global glut.

​Iron ore and steel futures in China fell to one-month lows. Spot iron ore slid below $U87 a tonne.

It sounds like the Hollywood thriller with everything: The prime minister, the movie mogul, spy boss and pop chanteuse – and an Aussie billionaire who is probably wondering what on earth he has blundered into.

They are only starting to gain a foothold in the Australian market, but could batteries provide a near overnight solution to the energy woes that have hit South Australia and risk spreading east?

Policymakers should stop sticking their heads in the sand and ignore the fact that "there are going to be a massive amount of jobs destroyed" from the digital revolution, says Michael Cannon-Brookes co-founder of Australia's most successful tech company, Atlassian.

A former Spotless executive will get to keep a $477,400 entitlement awarded to him as part of a "handshake" agreement after fighting the listed cleaning company all the way to the High Court.

As the federal government grapples with talk of an energy crisis, two tech billionaires appear to be getting a ground-breaking deal done on Twitter.

Despite a slide in global bonds, the ASX managed to finish the week higher as attention turns to a possible US rate hike.

The S&P 500 index has surged 249 per cent since it bottomed out in March 2009 – investors are asking whether the golden run can last.