Tim Treadgold

SPECIAL REPORT: Mining stocks are again leading the way in shareholder returns, but this time it’s not the iron ore players doing the business.

Wesfarmers remains confident its move into the British home improvement scene will be a winner, despite recent criticism.

Amid a few bright spots on the earnings front, the WA economy’s rebound is being thwarted by still-low global prices for iron ore.

Kwinana’s future as an important centre of value-added mineral processing is being threatened by a potential double closure of major projects – the BHP Billiton-run nickel refinery and the Alcoa of Australia-operated alumina refinery.

Pressure is mounting on local media players amid growing digital disruption. 

A stubbornly low market price and the growing focus on renewables have WA’s fledgling uranium sector on the ropes.

Tipping future residential property prices is tricky, but in Western Australia there is a potential technique that is so obvious it’s a surprise no-one has used it before – linking property to the state’s biggest industry, resources.

The clock is ticking for the leaders of some of WA’s biggest businesses, beset by low growth and a sluggish outlook.

ANALYSIS: WA’s resources-focused business community is eagerly awaiting the next round of figures for iron ore production costs.

Does BHP Billiton really want to expand its loss-making Nickel West division, or is it engaging in a strange game of promoting an expansion plan of the Western Australian business in order to restart the sales process that collapsed last year?

A three-pronged global financial storm is brewing, and it’s a sure bet resources sales to China won’t bail WA out this time.

ANALYSIS: The recent state budget did little to convince voters the Barnett government is on the right track ahead of the 2017 election.

The return of gold mining as Western Australia’s fastest-growing industry is becoming more interesting, with a near-record price for the metal in Australian dollars triggering increased exploration and a pair of possible mine developments in the Wheatbelt.

A tough business environment is bringing an increasing number of corporate malfeasance cases to the fore.

The worst might be over for many of the state’s mining services businesses, as they seek to bounce back from the effects of the slowdown in resources project development.

How do you budget for an iron ore boom that no-one believes will survive more than a few months?

Businesses operating in WA’s cyclical resources sector need to deal prudently with debt, or trouble is just around the corner.

ANALYSIS: Worldwide demand for lithium is rising and more than 20 companies in WA are on board for the ride.

Spot the difference in these two statements: one in two households rely on pensions to make ends meet; and one in two reliant on public purse’.

TPG’s half-year profit statement suggests where a company is headquartered may be less important than the value for money of its offering.

ANALYSIS: WA potash hopefuls may have the backing of some high-profile local mining entrepreneurs, but startup costs and a worldwide product glut are major barriers. 

If money, careers and future investment in Western Australia were not being jeopardised, it would be amusing to watch some of Australian biggest companies adopt a management policy best described as ‘run and hide’.

ANALYSIS: It’s not often that hyperbole merges with reality when it comes to resources, but WA’s gold sector has just thrown conventional wisdom out the window.

Any complacency on behalf of Australia’s banks may be ratcheted down a notch as some concerning practices are investigated.

Perth’s importance as a national business centre may have faded during recent months, but it’s a different matter in the inner suburb of West Perth, where several small mining companies have sprung back to life.

South Australia’s push for renewable energy is an experiment worth watching for the other states.

ANALYSIS: CBH has served WA grain growers for more than 80 years, but debate is raging about whether now is the time to kill the co-op.

To most people it seems inconceivable that a bank would pay its customers to borrow money, but that scenario was played out, albeit briefly, in Denmark last year, when homebuyers were on the winning side of negative interest rates.

Some ill-advised business decisions are coming back to haunt some of well-known local resources players.

ANALYSIS: Rubbery figures and projections aside, WA’s iron ore miners are breathing a little easier thanks to improving prices and a favourable exchange rate.

Living life in reverse is an amusing fictional concept that involves being born old and growing young, but if you look at some of the forces at work in the economy today you might imagine that everything is running backwards – starting with the puzzle of negative interest rates.

Healthy employees bring obvious benefits to the workplace, but how their personal medical details are used may have unintended consequences.