ASX to rise as Wall Street shrugs off chaotic presidential debate Australian shares are expected to open slightly higher, as Wall Street rebounded on hopes of the United States passing another trillion-dollar stimulus package.

It's time to blow the budget and build infrastructure, argue economists The Federal Government is being urged to spend up big in next week's Budget on nation-building projects large and small to create jobs quickly and lift Australia out of recession.

With overseas travel off the cards, Government plans to 'spruce up Australia's backyard' There will be upgrades to facilities along Tasmania's Overland Track, in Queensland's Wet Tropics and in Gondwana rainforest national parks in New South Wales as part of a $61.7 million environment and heritage package to be announced in the Federal Budget.

COVID-19 catching out thousands of Australians who lied on their mortgage applications It sounds like an idyllic tour of Queensland: The Whitsundays, Noosa, Surfers Paradise, Coolangatta, Broadbeach. Instead it is a grim list of the top mortgage deferral hotspots in Australia.

First bank 'named and shamed' by new industry watchdog A new banking industry watchdog uses its teeth for the first time, publicly shaming Bendigo and Adelaide Bank for "serious and systemic breaches" in how it has treated customers since 2015.

Brazil's misfortune and China's COVID recovery are helping to minimise Australia's Budget hole There is no way to dig next week's budget out of its COVID-19 recession black hole, but Australia's iron ore miners have done their best to prop up one source of Government revenue.

NSW's gas landscape changes as $3.6 billion Narrabri project gets green light NSW planning authorities approve Santos's $3.6 billion Narrabri coal seam gas project despite significant opposition to the blueprint, which will see 850 wells built in the state's north.

Complaints from customers who can't reach their telco up 1,500 per cent, report finds Frustrated consumers are flooding the ombudsman with complaints about internet and phone providers who are unable to solve their problems, with one telco blaming the shutdowns in India for their inaction, a customer says.