Australian Workers' Union boss Paul Howes says the Reserve Bank of Australia has signed a "death warrant" for manufacturing by putting its cash rate on hold.
But the coalition insists it is the threat of the carbon tax, which starts on July 1, that is making industry nervous.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard says Labor will bring the federal budget back into surplus in 2012/13 but the opposition cannot make that commitment.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said a coalition government would get the budget back to surplus "as quickly as possible".
The value of Western Australian listed companies rose by 9.6 per cent in January, as Australian markets continue to mirror commodities, new research says.
Job advertisements have posted their largest monthly rise since February 2010, a private survey shows.
Total job advertisements on the internet and in major metropolitan newspapers rose by 6.0 per cent in January, the ANZ job advertisements survey showed.
A strong January jobs report on Friday sent US stocks soaring, pushing the Dow to pre-crisis levels, as investors celebrated a surge in job growth that pointed to new vitality in the fragile recovery.
The effectiveness of the Council of Australian Governments will be put to the test over this year as it tries to drive reforms to make the national economy more seamless.
Premier Colin Barnett has touted the wealth of Western Australia's industry barons, after one of the state's mining billionaires, Gina Rinehart, spent almost $200 million increasing her stake in publisher Fairfax Media.
Export commodity prices rose marginally in January after a run of four monthly falls.
The Reserve Bank of Australia's index of commodity prices rose by 0.2 per cent (on a monthly average basis) in terms of special drawing rights (SDRs)*.
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