Mark Beyer

BHP Billiton will reduce its drilling activity in US shale by 40 per cent to try and release cash flow in response to the plunging oil price.

Western Australia's biggest iron ore producer, Rio Tinto, has reported record sales for 2014, on the same day that its major customer, China, announced its slowest rate of economic growth in 24 years.

A surge in the number of backdoor listings was one of the few positives on the stock market in 2014, and two new deals for technology companies show there is more to come.

We've analysed 450 WA takeovers and capital raisings worth $18 billion to rank the top advisers, brokers and lawyers.

Clifford Chance, Ashurst and Gilbert + Tobin have been ranked as the top law firms in the Business News 2014 corporate finance league table, but for very different reasons.

Atlantic is using a big insurance payout to rebuild the Windimurra vanadium plant nearly a year after a fire forced the project to shut down, but the company still faces major operational and financial challenges.

Lithex Resources has scrapped its planned purchase of internet marketing business Mpire Media, which was the second business Perth entrepreneur Zhenya Tsvetnenko was seeking to list on the stock market.

Liberty Resources is set to proceed with its move into the IT sector, through the acquisition of Cirrus Networks, after taking the extraordinary step of having a board spill to hasten the removal of two directors.

The consumer watchdog is probing Woodside Petroleum's $US2.75 billion purchase of oil and gas assets from US energy company Apache, over concerns the deal could affect the supply of wholesale gas in the Western Australian market and lead to higher gas prices.

Medical marijuana company Phytotech Medical is set to be the year’s first listing in Western Australia, after taking special steps to deal with last-minute legal concerns by the ASX and keen demand from investors.

Perth finance house Euroz has reported a first-half loss as a result of weak conditions in its core stockbroking business and write-downs in the value of its listed investment companies.

Western Australia’s newest gold producer, Hanking Gold Mining, expects to lift production to 100,000 ounces in 2015 after approving development of a new underground mine in partnership with local company Pit N Portal Group.

Mining services company ADG Global Supply has been placed in the hands of administrators, after struggling to deal with the collapse of major client African Minerals.

Mineral sands miner Base Resources is pushing on with its takeover bid for World Titanium Resources, despite the target declaring yesterday the bid is not capable of succeeding.

Rob Ferguson has resigned as chairman of litigation funder IMF Bentham after failing in a push for the company’s three executive directors, including founder Hugh McLernon, to retire from the board.

Perth law firm Rockwell Olivier has been placed in the hands of administrators, after its sole director concluded the business was insolvent.

Asciano subsidiary Patrick is looking to expand its operations at the port of Dampier, after announcing the purchase of a floating wharf that US company Apache Energy is close to completing.

Atlas Iron plans to write-down the value of its Pilbara assets by between $700 million and $900 million, after telling the market it is operating just at break-even before restructuring costs.

Perth-based Mineral sands miner Base Resources has launched a scrip takeover offer for ASX-listed World Titanium Resources, which owns the Toliara Sands project in Madagascar, after securing extra funds for its Kwale project.

US company Hess Corporation has moved closer to developing its large Equus gas field off the WA coast, after striking an agreement to process the gas through the North West Shelf venture’s Karratha plant.

Iron ore magnate Gina Rinehart has agreed to invest in WA business Bannister Downs Dairy, to support a planned $20 million-plus expansion of the niche dairy producer.

The state government will hit the business sector with increased payroll tax bills and make further cuts in public sector spending after confirming that its annual budget will plunge to a $1.29 billion deficit in the current financial year.

There are not many mining projects on the cards for WA, but there are still opportunities in the sector for engineers and contractors.

The ASX-listed parent company of law firm Rockwell Olivier has been placed in administration, opening up the possibility of its partners buying back the business.

Monadelphous Group has disclosed that its MMM joint venture in Queensland is embroiled in a contractual dispute with major client, Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal.

Plans to upgrade a major Perth highway using proceeds from a trucking toll have drawn widespread criticism, with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Labor Party and the Greens all finding fault with the project and its funding.

Kerman Contracting has continued its run of success this year, securing a contract to develop new infrastructure at Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore operations and in the process lifting its work in hand to $290 million.

Woodside Petroleum has substantially reshaped its project portfolio after buying a minority interest in Chevron’s half-built Wheatstone LNG plant, postponing its planned Browse LNG project and acquiring a stake in a Canadian LNG development.

Mining contractor Barminco Holdings has taken advantage of the falling Australian dollar to repurchase $US36.9 million of its US high-yield bonds, through a transaction that did not require the use of cash reserves.

After two weeks of controversy over Transport Minister Dean Nalder’s “perceived” conflicts of interest, a government report released today made it clear why Premier Colin Barnett stripped Mr Nalder of the finance ministry.

West Perth-based Red Fork Energy, which has raised $125 million from investors over the past three years to support its shale drilling program in the US, has collapsed after losing the support of its major lender.

Australia’s free trade agreement with China is likely to deliver significant benefits to agricultural exporters but the gains will be mainly indirect and apparent over the longer term, a report by Rabobank has concluded.