Mark Beyer

The stock market carnage over the past year has seen the value of Western Australia's blue chip stocks cut by half from their peak value while other stocks have been smashed to as little as 10 per cent of their top price.

THE global financial crisis has been an unmitigated disaster for investors and looks like getting worse, but the impact on the business sector in Western Australia is far from clear-cut.

MANY technology and innovation conferences in Western Australia have a sub theme that can be summed up as 'life after the resources boom', but the chair of next week's Leading Lights conference has a different focus.

THERE was something almost surreal about events last Friday when Western Australia lost the country's single largest resources project as the rest of the world trembled over the fallout from the global financial crisis.

THE formal swearing-in this week of the Barnett ministry marks the start of what should be an exciting period of government in Western Australia, though there will be no shortage of tough challenges.

ONE of the many challenges facing the new state government will be development of a coherent industry policy.

Norwegian fertiliser company Yara International ASA has lifted its stake in Burrup Holdings to 35 per cent after purchasing additional equity from the company's founder and chairman Pankaj Oswal.

If Western Australia plays its cards right, the state will benefit from a succession of giant oil and gas projects over the next decade that will deliver big economic dividends for 30 or more years.

Increased downstream processing of Western Australia's mineral resources has for many years been the goal of successive governments.

WHILE critics have been quick to jump on the Labor-bashing bandwagon after the state election, there hasn't been much reflection on some of the strategic challenges that will face the next state government, whoever leads it.

Two of Premier Alan Carpenter’s hand-picked candidates, Reece Whitby and Karen Brown, have spectacularly failed to win voter support.

The Legislative Assembly is expected to have three independent members, though the final figure could be as little as two and as high as four.

The National Party has resisted overtures to form a governing coalition with the Liberal Party, vowing to deal with whichever party offers the best deal for its supporters in the bush.

Western Australia faces a period of unprecedented political uncertainty after the major parties failed to win a majority of seats in yesterday's state election.

Uranium mining, nuclear waste dumps and genetically modified foods barely rated as significant political issues when the state election was called last month, yet they have become major issues as the campaign has unfolded.

Opinion polls have always been a very rough guide to election outcomes, and this weekend's state election is likely to be no exception.

Gindalbie Metals has adopted an innovative approach for developing its $1.8 billion Karara iron ore project, with four engineering companies being given roles.

When Western Australian voters go to the polling booths on Saturday they have a choice between policy continuity under the Labor Party or the prospect of change under a Liberal government.

Liberal Party leader Colin Barnett's commitment to increased education spending was one of the few standouts in the third week of the state election campaign, which has continued to be a lacklustre affair.

Investors trying to pick the next big thing in the resources boom poured their money into a diverse group of Western Australian companies last year, including iron ore, coal and phosphate stocks.

Iron ore miners and developers feature strongly among the Western Australian stocks to have delivered top returns over the three years to June 30.

Western Australia is in the middle of a once-in-a-generation boom, but you'd struggle to know that if you had closely followed the state election campaign.

Parochial investors who put their money into Western Australian stocks have just experienced their worst year in nearly a decade, judging by the results of WA Business News' annual total shareholder return survey.

Rio Tinto Ltd, the world's third largest mining company, has forecast higher prices for the company's core commodities of iron, alumina and copper after delivering a record first half profit.

Uranium miner Paladin Energy and iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group have for the third year running maintained their status as the top performing Western Australian stocks, based on rolling five-year returns.

Investors looking for sure and steady Western Australian stocks offering capital growth and consistent dividends have limited choices.

There is fascinating debate currently underway over whether the global economy and commodities markets are heading for a major slide.

The Labor government entered the state election campaign with a carefully crafted plan, but despite its best efforts, the second week of campaigning was dominated by unexpected twists.

The short, sharp election campaign called by Premier Alan Carpenter makes it imperative that the major parties focus on the core issues that will affect Western Australia's long-term future.

Three major developments in the gas, iron ore and power sectors this week have once again highlighted the ability of big projects to insulate the Western Australian economy from the global economic slowdown.

Retail trading hours and major project development emerged as the top business issues in the first week of the state election campaign, with Labor and the Liberal opposition both claiming they have a better track record.

Many Western Australians, myself included, consider Ralph Sarich a household name, so I was surprised last week to discover that many people in Perth have little or no awareness of how he built his $1 billion fortune.