Tim Treadgold

OPINION: Political battlelines drawn as the Morrison government delves into the workings of the $2.8 trillion superannuation industry.

OPINION: Every cloud has a silver lining, even the attacks on the Saudi Arabian oil industry, because they could provide the incentive for customers to seek more liquefied natural gas from Western Australia.

Digital disruption seems set to affect the government’s provision of transport services, and other offerings are also ripe for the picking.

Alaska is a long way from Western Australia, but what’s just happened in the oil industry there could have a significant effect on plans to expand this state’s liquefied natural gas industry.

OPINION: Global economic and political events may dampen demand for minerals from some major WA projects.

OPINION: Low interest rates create winners and losers, but ultimately are a sign all’s not well with the world.

ANALYSIS: A recent rise in share prices for listed retailers reflects some positive signs across the economy.

ANALYSIS: An $A record gold price has the sector abuzz, while the sharp correction in iron ore prices will expose the looming reliance on WA’s vast deposits of low-grade ore.

OPINION: The failure of government and business to work together effectively in Chile provides a clear lesson for WA’s lithium players.

OPINION: Several factors have converged to lift the price of gold in $A terms, but local events may yet play a part in how lucrative those returns are to WA producers.

OPINION: Incentives or government intervention might be needed to align the interests of the many joint venture partners in WA’s major LNG assets.

OPINION: Now might be a good time for a walk down memory lane in terms of trade and business, particularly given the behaviour of some of the world’s major economies and political players.

OPINION: Long-term low interest rates could fundamentally alter the way the economy works, with significant social flow-on effects.

The fact that online retail still comprises a relatively small part of total sales is cold comfort to bricks-and-mortar businesses.

OPINION: WA has no control over the biggest issue facing its short-term economic outlook – the US-China trade war, which could cut demand for the state’s commodities.

An exotic mineral once mined Iluka Resources could bring about a resurgence in demand, as US-China tensions persist.

With the Environmental Protection Authority starting public consultation today on its greenhouse gas assessments, the state government could do more to provide certainty for investors in WA’s potential gas projects.

Two new German supermarket businesses covering the top and bottom ends of the market are expected in Australia next year.

OPINION: Could this be another boom moment in WA’s mining industry as global demand for the key commodities picks up pace?

Andrew Forrest has pounced on a potential play to supply WA gas to an east coast industrial market pounded by high prices.

OPINION: Damaging supermarket prices wars and more online shoppers have turned the screws on a besieged retail property sector.

OPINION: The stubbornly high level of unemployment – despite a stronger economy – has many worried, particularly as new mining technologies increasingly cut into workforces.

OPINION: Muffled by the drumbeat of election campaigning as Australia heads towards its May 18 poll is a more sinister noise, demands for a big cut in interest rates, or the dumping of “helicopter” cash on the community – or both.

OPINION: The Western Australian government’s love affair with Western Power is unlikely to be dimmed by local events any time soon, but a new force has been unleashed in the international marketplace as global oil companies morph into global electricity companies.

OPINION: Global oversupply and price pressure, in addition to local environmental regulations, could spell trouble for major LNG projects.

OPINION: The airline industry is tightly controlled, social media not so, but both have highlighted the failures of poor after-sales service.

ANALYSIS: As many retailers struggle to deal with the internet revolution, Wesfarmers is undertaking two significant experiments in managing the disruptive influence of online trading to bricks-and-mortar businesses.

OPINION: Emissions concerns are one factor driving change in the car industry, but the transport habits of a changing demographic are also in play.

OPINION: The clash between domestic politics and international climate-change law was on stark display in WA last week as the EPA weighed in with an emissions recommendation.

OPINION: Australia may have avoided a recession for more than a quarter of a century, but with a whiff of panic wafting off the Sydney property market and the Reserve Bank tipped to cut interest rates, there is growing concern that something nasty is about to bite.

OPINION: China is flexing its muscles on trade, and whatever the motivation Australian businesses should have contingency plans (other customers).

OPINION: While not all WA’s economic indicators are pointing in the right direction, there’s plenty of cause for optimism, particularly in the minerals and agriculture sectors.