Dan Wilkie

Another set of figures has underscored the doldrums facing Perth property, with RP Data's monthly look at the housing market showing Perth has overtaken Brisbane as the nation's worst performing capital city.

There will no bargain for Ric Stowe's sprawling Devereaux Farm in Bullsbrook, as it has been withdrawn from sale and an auction scheduled for Wednesday cancelled.

The home-building industry says there is a growing gap between economic activity and housing construction in Western Australia, with the number of new homes sold in April plunging by more than 10 per cent after a healthy March.

Engineering and construction company VDM Group has completed a review of its operations and confirmed Andrew Broad as the permanent successor to Ken Perry as chief executive, effective immediately.

Western Australia-based resources firms Crescent Gold, Latin Resources, and Hot Chili have each announced strong interest and oversubscriptions to capital raisings collectively worth around $16 million.

West Perth-based property developer Cedar Woods has announced a major leasing agreement with supermarkets giant Woolworths to underpin its $1.5 billion master-planned residential community, Williams Landing, in Melbourne.

Gindalbie Metals says its Karara iron ore development has made a significant step towards full-scale production after awarding mining contractor Brierty a $185 million contract for hematite mining services at the Mid West project.

Perth-based Beadell Resources has targeted March next year to begin producing gold from its Tucano project in Brazil, after signing a $75 million deal with Ausenco to manage the delivery of a processing plant at the mine.

A private consortium backed by Lend Lease and Probuild has won the right to design, build and operate a $140 million multi-storey car park at the QEII Medical Centre under a public private partnership.

The expansion of Western Australia's second desalination plant could be put on the backburner forever, Water Minister Bill Marmion says as the government seeks to speed up a trial of recycled drinking water.

Receivers and managers for Finesse Foods have announced its chicken processing and abbatoir facilities in Bunbury will be shut down within two weeks after a prospective buyer was not able to be found.

Financial planning firms Shadforth and Snowball have announced their intention to merge to create a $14.3 billion wealth management business with 188 financial advisers nationally.

Struggling Perth-based scooter retailer Vmoto has told its shareholders that business is operating as usual and urged them to disregard a letter rallying stockholders against its board of directors.

Western Australia's peak business representative body says the wharfies dispute that has shut down Fremantle Port today will have a significant negative impact on the state's economy if it drags on much longer.

Western Australia-based financial adviser Todd King has been banned by the corporate regulator after it found he engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct.

The state government has appointed 27 specialist members to development assessment panels designed to take pressure off of local governments and streamline the approvals process.

Global pipe valves and fittings distributor McJunkin Red Man Corporation has announced it will acquire Jandakot-based Stainless Pipe and Fittings for an undisclosed sum.

Small to medium businesses in Western Australia are growing faster than anywhere else in the nation, according to a new report prepared by Bankwest.

THE vacancy rate in Perth’s CBD office market is forecast to fall to as low as 5 per cent by 2014, leading to rental growth that will outperform the national average.

STRONG growth in engineering construction fuelled by the resources boom is expected to exacerbate skills shortages and increase

The state government has launched a new expressions of interest process for affordable housing and has beefed up its shared equity home loan scheme in the latest initiatives to help ease the high costs of housing in Western Australia.

Austal is shifting the focus of its Henderson shipyard to the defence industry, after it revealed the high Australian dollar and weak European markets slashed full-year profit expectations down to between $20 million and $23 million.

The state government remains resolute in its opposition to a federal offshore gas regulator, even after federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson announced it would be based in Perth.

Construction and development group Pindan has won its third major contract in two months, after being awarded a $22 million mine camp deal by Fortescue Metals Group.

The state government says it wants to nearly double the output of the metropolitan area's most important industrial precincts, including the Kwinana and Rockingham industrial zones, and Latitude 32 and the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson.

Canning MHR Don Randall says residential estates and businesses in his electorate are missing out on communications infrastructure and may not receive it for up to eight years as the Gillard government presses ahead with the national broadband network.

Buru Energy has given up its rights to explore for oil and gas in Roebuck Bay near Broome in a landmark agreement with the region's traditional custodians, the Yawuru people.

Rental growth in Perth's CBD office market is set to outperform the national average over the next five years, thanks to ongoing expansion in the resources sector, with forecasts tipping the vacancy rate to drop under five per cent by 2014.

Base metals explorer Corazon Mining's shares have emerged from a trading halt to surge by more than 90 per cent after it unveiled spectacular drilling results at its Lynn Lake nickel sulphide deposit in Canada.

Engineering firm RCR Tomlinson's subsidiary RCR Energy has enhanced its capabilities in the power and steam generation arena, with the acquisition of clean energy services provider AE&E Australia for an undisclosed sum.

Nickel miner Mincor says it is entering a new era of acquisitions and opportunities outside its home base of Kambalda after entering a $30 million joint venture covering a group of highly prospective gold and copper tenements in Papua New Guinea.

A third of Western Australia's House stores have been placed into the hands of administrators as the downturn in retail spending hits specialty stores.