Three people are charged in connection with an alleged million-dollar gold theft in Western Australia's Goldfields, in which police say more than 8,000 tonnes of gold-bearing ore was stolen.

Single parents will be given federal government assistance to purchase property, under measures included in Tuesday's budget.

INVESTORS who ploughed funds into international shares are set for another year of double-digit returns.

Queensland's books are expected be back in black within the next four years, with Treasurer Cameron Dick predicting the state will return to a $153 million surplus by mid-2025.

The collapse of one of the nation's oldest engineering companies, RCR Tomlinson, has destroyed Christmas for thousands of families, according to the union dealing with the fallout from the unexpected job losses.

The Indonesian Government is reportedly looking to Mexico as an alternate source of live cattle, after Australian cattle hit record prices and Jakarta meat sellers go on strike.

AUSTRALIAN consumers are the gloomiest they have been in three years, survey data released this morning shows.

JOHN Wylie will step down at year’s end as head of Lazard Advisory in Australia to be replaced by ­Andrew Leyden and Lachlan ­Edwards.

The local share market is closed for Australia Day, while rising COVID-19 cases and delays in supplying vaccines have offset Wall Street's optimism about a potential $US1.9 trillion ($2.46 trillion) stimulus package that the Biden administration is trying to pass.

With unprecedented support from global governments, the stock market has boomed, driving up billionaire's wealth even while the real economy has faced the deepest recession in a century and the poor have gotten poorer.