Mark Beyer

AUSTRALIAN businesses are renowned for being unhappy with their banks but not doing much about it.

PERTH Glory chairman Nick Tana has agreed to personally guarantee a multi-million dollar loan by the Town of Vincent as a bargaining chip in negotiations over the $11.5 million redevelopment of Perth Oval.

MORTGAGE originators are targeting business lending for future growth following their success in the housing loans market. From a standing start in the mid 1990s, mort-gage originators now arrange about 30 per cent of all housing loans.

AN innovative fish handling system developed by Perth company McRobert Aquaculture System (MAS) is attracting growing interest around the world.

FIFTY-SEVEN financial institutions currently provide approximately 720 different debt finance products for small business, according to research group Cannex.

THE ageing of Australia’s population has been widely predicted. Less well understood is the commercial and social impact of this change.

TWO new assignments this month have highlighted Argonaut Capital’s rapid emergence as a prominent player in the corporate finance market.

The Australian economy is constantly changing, with new industries emerging to replace the old. Mark Beyer looks at the forces driving change and identifies sectors with high growth prospects.

THERE is one country that will stand apart from all others in the international tourism market over the coming decade.

OPPORTUNITY through adversity could well be the catchcry of WA’s tree farming industry.

There was a changing of the guard at Perth’s largest stockbroking firm this week. Mark Beyer spoke to the main players at Hartleys. TIM Moore and his detractors are still world’s apart.

PROVIDING seed funding, encouraging better collaboration between universities and industry, and promoting WA as a R&D hub are vital if WA is to make it into the big league.

ORBITAL Engine Corporation has achieved two major breakthroughs this month, removing dark clouds hanging over the company’s future.

TWO separate studies released over the past month have highlighted the risk of insolvency among Australian companies. The studies formed markedly different views on the degree of risk, however, leaving investors and business people with an awkward

STOCKBROKER Euroz Securities is moving to new premises to accommodate recent and planned growth in the business. A major recent initiative was the establishment of a dedicated corporate finance department, headed by new recruits Karl Paganin and Doug

LEAGUE tables always generate plenty of debate, both for the rankings they produce and the methodology employed to construct them. The contentious nature of league tables is illustrated by the fact that four different broking firms could claim to be the

WA Business News’ inaugural survey of Western Australian equity capital markets has highlighted the dominance of a handful of stockbroking firms. Mark Beyer looks at the market in 2002 and its prospects for 2003.

INVESTORS and business people trying to assess the credit quality of other companies can assess a range of financial and non-financial indicators. John Carello, the reconstruction and advisory services partner at accounting firm PKF, said warning signs

A small warehouse office in King Street in the city is an unlikely base for an international cosmetics company. Mark Beyer reports on the remarkable success of Becca.

PHARMACEUTICAL developer Chemeq and gold miner Abelle were two prominent companies that managed to raise fresh equity last year without using broking firms. Chemeq raised a total of $18 million in fresh equity while Abelle completed a successful $10m

CORPORATE finance executives have nominated Croesus Mining’s purchase of Central Norseman Gold as WA’s top deal for 2002. The $65 million Croesus-Great Central deal gained high praise from nearly every corporate finance executive surveyed by WA Business

THE large paperwork and compliance load on small businesses has been highlighted by a new tax office report on its compliance program for 2002-03. The report itemises the volume of paperwork facing Australia’s 2.5 million ‘micro’ businesses;

PERTH-BASED think tank the Centre for International Strategic Analysis has adopted a new name to signify a broadening of its focus. Under its new name, Future Directions International (FDI), it will provide high-level strategic advice to government and

Executive remuneration is one of the most contentious issues in Australian business. Mark Beyer looks behind the raw numbers to find the ‘best value’ executives.

THOSE business people lucky enough to have a break over the next few weeks have an ideal opportunity to review their business’s health. “It’s important to get out of the daily grind and think about where you are going and what you want to achieve

SEVEN WA companies paid more than $1 million to their top executive in their latest financial year. The big payers are heavily biased towards WA’s largest companies, ranked by market capitalisation.

AUDIT independence and professional indemnity insurance remain two of the biggest issues facing the accounting profession, according to the outgoing president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA). Perth-based Geoff Brayshaw will

THE business banking market in WA is dominated by five institutions – Perth-based BankWest plus the four major national banks.These banks are the main financial institution for 99 per cent of WA businesses, according to a Yellow Pages Small Business ...

WA business icon Clough Limited is officially a public company but retains the character of a family company, according to broking analysts.This harsh assessment follows Clough’s shock profit warning earlier this week, which analysts believe reveals ...

THE banking industry is looking to business lending to take up the slack following an expected drop in housing lending.Business lending increased by just 4.3 per cent in the year to September 2002, according to the Reserve Bank.This compares with 19..

A RECENT Macquarie Equities report on SME banking was titled Small Business: River of Gold. It’s a title that should send a chill down the spines of small business operators.Macquarie estimated that SME banking would generate at least $2.8 billion in...

A SWOT analysis is a ‘tried and true’ business planning tool, but business advisers believe many organisations fail to use this tool properly.The process of preparing a SWOT analysis is relatively straightforward. The hard part is the next step. How ...