The Telstra outage that left tens of thousands of customers' without NBN and ADSL services last week was caused by a faulty software update, the telecommunications giant has revealed.

A relatively flat week on the ASX belied some dramatic moves as a busy five days of earnings results revealed some big winners and losers.

'Tis the season for outlooks, so amid a flood of worrying to outright gloomy forecasts for the coming year, Saxo Bank has once again flagged its most "outrageous predictions" for global markets.

Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Russia will invoice gas buyers in “unfriendly countries” in roubles is either tactical genius or just a stunt that might backfire. It’s most likely the latter.

Westpac has become the latest big listed company - and the first bank - to be targeted by a shareholder campaign on business lobby groups amid Australia's long-running and vexed climate policy debate.

The federal government is locking in a wholesale price cap on internet services providers looking to take on the NBN Co with their own high-speed rollout.

The superjumbo may not be around for long anymore, with airlines preferring smaller, more fuel-efficient planes and not placing a single order this year.

The 175-year old agribusiness group will shift headquarters from its historic building in the Adelaide CBD in a move which chief Mark Allison says is another symbol of a "new" Elders focused on investor returns.

Extortion, blackmail, cash back scams and slavery are happening every day under our noses.

Fairfax Media and John Singleton's Macquarie Radio network are very close to finalising a $200 million talkback radio merger, less than a year after talks collapsed in bitter circumstances.

Geoff Wilson is used to making big calls but this time he admits he's feeling the heat.

Qantas has reported its third consecutive month of growth in yields – or return on fares – as it benefits from a truce in the capacity war.

Flight Centre has warned that pretax earnings could fall as much as 4 per cent this financial year due to a slowdown in spending on leisure travel in Australia in recent months.

The move by the banking regulator, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, to fire a shot across the bows of home lenders to curb riskier practices has two important ramifications.

Trading volumes for commercial property in the Asia Pacific region are likely to remain at record highs next year, with an estimated US$200 billion to $250 billion looking for quality assets, JLL's Asia Pacific chief executive Alastair Hughes says.

Like the punchline to a joke, Joe Hockey saved the best twist in the Coalition's war on wages until the end.

The Australian market looks set to open higher, as market optimism turns positive after overseas stock markets rose overnight.

Moves by the banking regulator to clamp down on property investors will be felt most keenly in the overheated New South Wales market, according to ANZ's economics team.

The telecommunications industry and competition watchdog have been asked to help develop new conditions to stop Telstra getting unfair advantages from NBN Co following the completion of a new deal on Sunday.

Home automation is going beyond science fiction to become a technological reality, but what is driving this rapid push to make Australian homes smarter?