Australian shares are poised to fall to start the week, extending a 2.3 per cent drop on Friday as concerns about rising interest rates and profitability hurdles; Bitcoin crashes; iron ore rallies. Follow the latest here.

Some investors see bitcoin’s price plunge as an omen for global sharemarkets, but others are hopeful that this week’s Fed meeting can restore the market’s mojo.

Consecutive days of losses, savage selling in the final hour of trade, and the reversal of intraday gains are all worrying signs on global markets.

Omicron has arrived in WA and ‘can’t be eliminated’; Developing antivirals ‘next big COVID-19 mission’, says Greg Hunt; NSW, Victorian students to be tested twice a week; Jacinda Ardern cancels her wedding amid omicron restrictions. Follow updates here.

More jobs, surging house prices, record stock values, rising inflation and a trillion dollar debt bill. Two years since COVID-19 arrived, Australia’s economic report card is far from what was predicted.

The conflicted business model operated by collapsed wealth manager Dixon Advisory may still be rife, say industry leaders, presenting a fresh regulatory risk.

Canberra-born crypto fraudster Stefan Qin has released a tell-all video ahead of his seven-year prison sentence in New York City for stealing $123 million.

The fast food giant has 100 new restaurants in the pipeline over the next three years, many in regional areas. But finding franchisees is proving difficult.

Australia could take a leading role in the development of antiviral drugs to treat COVID-19 and influenza, with more research funding to help combat future pandemics.

The Deputy Prime Minister slammed the WA Premier for failing to prepare WA’s hospitals, while a health expert said the state was “on the tip of an outbreak”.