AUSTRALIAN STOCKS LIFT: Here's what you need to know

Australian shares closed higher.

Today’s scoreboard:

• ASX 200: 5,720.60 +17.78 +0.31%
• All Ordinaries: 5,773.90 +18.66 +0.32%
• AUD/USD: 0.7982 -0.0004 -0.05%

The local market opened a new trading week in positive territory, lifted by the miners and stronger iron ore futures.

BHP added 2% to close at $25.85, Rio Tinto 2.4% to $65.79 and Fortescue Metals 5.9% to $5.74.

Origin Energy was up 0.8% to $6.92 after announcing a 40% rise in production in 2017, mainly due to increasing LNG output.

Penfolds owner Treasury Wine Estates dropped 4.8% to $12.18 after a broker downgrade.

Top stories:

1. New home sales tumble to a 4-year low. According to Australia’s Housing Industry Association (HIA), sales plummeted by 6.9%.

2. Cochlear's CEO is going. Chris Smith is retiring as CEO of Cochlear after 13 years at the bionic ear maker. Cochlear shares fell 1.6% to $142.85.

2. Cryptocurrency miners are renting entire Boeing 747s. The mining boom is on.

3. The rising cost of necessities, low wages and looming interest rate rises. Australians are increasingly financially stressed.

4. How to get an unexpected pay rise in Australia. And this is why your boss hates it.

5. Surprises. This year's good and and bad of the Australian company reporting season.

6. Australian house price growth cooled last week as auction clearance rates slowed. House price growth in two major markets slowed in the last week of July, according to CoreLogic’s weekly house price data.

7. Designing CEOs. An Australian consultancy takes science to the art of building leaders.

8. Having trouble getting your thoughts together? Here are the ages your brain peaks at everything throughout life.

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