Lihir Gold Ltd has ceased production at its Ballarat mine in Victoria and sold the poorly performing operation to a junior explorer that expects to reopen it within 20 months. The deal is conditional on Castlemaine shareholders approving the issue of new equity to raise between $20 million

Close The Australian stockmarket rose 0.7 per cent today, led by gains in the resources sector and supported by positive data on the national economy. At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 33.8 points higher, or 0.7 per cent, at 4735.7, while the broader All Ordinaries index

ALLIANZ Australia, the nation's fifth largest general insurer, has reported a large jump in annual pre-tax profit, driven by growth across all key business units. Allianz yesterday posted a pre-tax profit of $484 million for calendar 2009, up 60 per cent from $303 million in 2008. The

ANZ - ANZ BANKING GROUP LTD - $23.14 ANZ Banking Group has increased its underlying profit after tax by 16 per cent to $1.6 billion for the four months to January on higher earnings, wider margins and lower bad debts. ALL - ARISTOCRAT LEISURE LTD - $4.23 Aristocrat Leisure says 2010 is

Brokers said investors were upbeat, despite a poor performance by QBE Insurance, and expect a positive start to trading next week. Bell Potter senior client adviser Stuart Smith said the February profit season was a bit mixed but overall heading the "right way" and helping

QBE Insurance Group Ltd has posted a six per cent rise in net profit for calendar 2009 and says its insurance portfolios are in excellent shape. Gross written premium (GWP), a benchmark measure of insurance businesses , rose 10 per cent, the Sydney-based company said in a slide

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 69.8 points, or 1.48 per cent, at 4648.5 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index shed 65.1 points, or 1.38 per cent, to 4665.9 points. On the Sydney Futures Exchange at 16:16 AEDT, the March share price index futures contract was 74 points

AAP The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 69.8 points, or 1.48 per cent, at 4,648.5 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index shed 65.1 points, or 1.38 per cent, to 4,665.9 points. On the Sydney Futures Exchange at 1616 AEDT, the March share price index futures contract was 74 points

The oil and gas major's net profit was $1.824 billion for 2009, up 2.1 per cent from $1.786 billion in calendar 2008. The company said 2009 sales revenue of $4.352 billion stemmed from a record sales volume of 80.7 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe). "The impact of lower commodity