Mark Beyer

BHP Group executive Edgar Basto has been elected president of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA, which has also unveiled new branding.

Engineering firm Worley is set to consolidate all its Perth offices at 240 St Georges Terrace, including the recently acquired energy chemical and resources (ECR) division of Jacobs.

Alternative legal services provider LOD, which was founded in Perth as Balance Legal and grown to have international operations, has expanded by acquiring national competitor lexvoco.

Fortescue Metals Group has agreed to revise the alignment of its Eliwana rail line, currently under construction in the Pilbara, to avoid damaging Aboriginal heritage sites. FMG’s decision is a win for Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation.

Gindalbie Metals has estimated that shares in its part-owned Karara iron ore project have a negative value in excess of $3.5 billion, as it seeks to convince shareholders to accept a takeover offer.

Energy sector analyst Wood Mackenzie has declared the liquefied natural gas (LNG) boom is back, with a prediction that more than $US200 billion will be invested in the sector over the next six years.

PODCAST: Mark Beyer and Matt Mckenzie discuss two major private WA companies – Andrew Forrest’s Harvest Road Group and mining contractor Byrnecut – plus the outlook for the Perth Basin and LNG projects, female directors, China’s Huawei, and our special report on construction companies.

Mount Gibson Iron is set to become Australia’s highest-grade exporter of direct-shipping hematite iron ore when its first shipment leaves from Koolan Island later today.

Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s agricultural investment company, Harvest Road Group, has reported a big surge in annual profit to $7 million after a restructure combined the family’s expansive pastoral stations with their Harvey Beef business.

The proportion of women on the boards of ASX200 companies has fallen for the first time in four years, putting a dent in the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ 30 per cent gender diversity target.

Wayne Martin’s time as a judge has informed his new career as a mediator and arbitrator, and board member.

A flurry of hostile takeover deals has provided a boost for corporate lawyers, with an expectation there are more on the way.

The ranking of Perth’s major law firms has changed substantially over the past two years.

PODCAST: Mark Pownall and Mark Beyer discuss house price fundamentals — positive or negative? Perth tech deals, hostile takeovers, election called, Lester art prize, and our special report on the legal sector.

The state government has outlined a major shift in the delivery of health services, with planning to get under way for a new maternity hospital and a greater focus on prevention, primary care, home care and telehealth.

The state government has attracted just two bidders, both headed by Spanish-owned companies, for its signature Metronet rail projects, despite altering its contracting strategy to boost market interest.

A joint venture between Perth-based Clough and Italy's Salini Impregilo has been awarded a $5.1 billion engineering, procurement and construction contract for the federal government’s Snowy 2.0 project.

PODCAST: Mark Pownall and Mark Beyer discuss the AHG takeover, FMG’s Iron Bridge project, house prices and apartment sales, who is WA’s biggest manufacturer, tourism statistics and indigenous cultural precinct plans, P&N bank merger and our special report on agribusiness.

Perth-based P&N Bank has agreed to merge with its smaller east coast counterpart bcu, creating one of the largest customer-owned banks in Australia with $6 billion of assets.

Shares in gold explorer Matador Mining closed nearly 40 per cent higher today after prominent industry figures Mark Clark and Nick Giorgetta backed a $5 million share placement.

Recent policy disputes have shone a light on political and business influence in WA.

The looming federal election could mark a big shift in political power, not just in Canberra but also WA.

PODCAST: Mark Beyer and Matt Mckenzie discuss Scott Morrison and roads funding, Perth's wave park, the Hopman Cup and other tourist attractions we don't have in Perth, urban sprawl, Wesfarmers' surprise takeover target, growth in WA's resources sector, and our new supplement Great for the State.

The McGowan government has brought a sudden end to long-running plans for a $28 million wave park on the Swan River, ironically just one day after the Tourism Council WA complained that the wave park was one of 16 new tourist experiences being held up by government red tape.

Outer suburbs such as Alkimos, Baldivis and Ellenbrook are continuing to account for most of the growth in Perth’s population while inner suburbs like Mosman Park and Subiaco are shrinking, despite long-standing policies to boost urban infill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Low awareness of cyber security risks remains a key issue for the business sector.

SPECIAL REPORT: Staying abreast of rapidly changing business technologies is a growing challenge for many SMEs.

To mark the launch of BDO’s 2019 remuneration report, Business News spoke to three leading executive search consultants in Perth about market trends

PODCAST: Mark Pownall and Mark Beyer discuss Perth's cost of living, tourism marketing, Golden Group and Far East Consortium's apartment projects, election campaign, wages and unemployment, court battles, Woodside and Sapien Cyber, and our special report on ICT.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten has dismissed a critique of Labor’s wages policy, describing the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA as a trade union for employers and insisting wage increases were sensible.

Private equity investors have bought the assets and business of Welshpool-based coatings distributor Robayne, two months after the company was placed into voluntary administration.

Woodside Petroleum has made a multi-million dollar investment in Edith Cowan University spin-out Sapien Cyber, which has become the third tech startup to attract financial backing from the gas producer over the past month.