Staff Reporters

Middle East public and private investment in infrastructure and industrial commercial and residential development is booming in the flip side to oil price rises.

SOME employers are saving millions of dollars with the return of women who have been on maternity leave into the paid workforce, according to case studies from the Affirmative Action Agency.

EDITH Cowan University has responded to the changing economic climate with the establishment of a new Institute for Services – the first of its kind in Australia.

Australia’s largest professional body has a new name.CPA Australia is the new company and business name for the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants.

THE Property Council of Australia has called on the WA Government to use preparations for the State budget to remove policies retarding WA’s property industry.

Channel Nine is active in developing the careers of new local talent according to production manager and senior director Russ Cunneen.

The Douglas mineral sands project has been valued at about $100 million on an output of 150,000 tonnes of concentrate annually.

Brian Rogers has done well to win the job of editor at The West Australian newspaper, though his appointment is causing some catty comments from the staff.

SANFORD Securities is running scared in light of the online discount broking industry price war.

Small business anxiety over the GST has hit new heights, analysis by CPA Australia has revealed.

Curtin academic and consultant to the Ministry for Planning, Carey Curtis, called for better integration of land use and transport planning at the recent Breaking Frontiers conference.

IT’S OFFICIAL – the Austra-lian Broadcasting Corporation board has endorsed East Perth’s new media village as the preferred site for its relocation.

A positive prognosis for the future of gold, despite the many problems, was highlighted at the recent Australian Gold Conference held at Burswood Convention Centre.

Australia needs its farmers, or so we are told. They feed us, earn lots of export dollars and populate the less pleasant parts of the country far from the coast.

WA-based Quick Sign plans to open new franchises in West Perth and Joondalup by the end of the year.

THE ADVERTISING fraternity must learn to adapt to the new digital environment, according to Murdoch University chair of marketing and media program Duane Varan.

ANOTHER olive oil project is off the ground, this time north of Perth near Gingin.

Talon Resources NL’s subsidiary Supersorb Minerals is set to launch a new range of high-performance products for the horticultural industry after signing an agreement to secure a supply of zeolite.

The boom in flexible staffing is currently growing at 20 per cent, according to a recent survey by recruitment company Drake.

Despite the volume of GST seminars and information available, many businesses still have unanswered questions.

THE MOST positive thing about the Northbridge Tunnel development is that it’s over, says Snap Printing Northbridge owner Ian Wood.

A PROTEST rally targeting the Premier is planned to disrupt the opening of the Northbridge Tunnel on 22 April.

THE Reserve Bank is applying a heavy-handed approach to the economy, warned CPA Australia after the recent announcement of a further 0.25 percentage point increase in interest rates.

The Property Council of Australia has asked the Office of Energy to review the start date of new wiring standards.

WHILE the mandatory Franchising Code of Conduct has reportedly been successful in cleaning up the franchising industry, not all are happy with it.

Perth-based LionOre Australia (Nickel) Limited has moved a significant step forward in its plan to develop the Emily Ann nickel sulphide project in WA.

WITH the opening of the Graham Farmer Freeway at Easter, I urge anyone who ever travels east-west through Perth to take the time to check out the new route.

CPA Australia considers that the forthcoming congress is an essential event for all those who want to stay on top of what’s happening in accounting, finance and management.

A new voluntary star rating scheme to estimate the greenhouse emissions of buildings has been proposed for WA by the Office of Energy.

PERTH’S top creatives got a kick out of AdShel’s ‘creatives’ campaign last month.

Perth-based hydrocarbon explorer Anzoil NL has developed a joint venture with Success Oil Company to market and apply new technology to enhance oil production, especially on depleted fields.

Bond watch. Hot from the back streets of Cottesloe come reports that our Alan is working on his first property deal since leaving the comforts of Karnet.