Financial Services

The Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA has backed the Barnett government's proposal to keep mining royalties under the control of the state and rejected plans for a federal resources tax.

Job advertisements in Western Australia have slumped more than 56 per cent over the past 12 months as the engineering sector takes the biggest hit, new figures show.

Increase GST, lift taxes on 4WDs, says Barnett; China fails in ore price deal; Bid to derail Rio-BHP exclusivity; OZ rejects $1.5bn, sticks with Minmetals; Sage poised to close deal on platinum play

Premier Colin Barnett is not convinced the merger between BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto's WA iron ore assets is in the best interests of the state, saying the miners could be seeking to avoid paying land taxes.

Fortescue Metals Group executive director Graeme Rowley has pocketed more than $2.3 million after selling a sizeable chunk of shares on the Australian market.

The state government's new exploration incentive scheme has attracted nearly 170 applications with the bulk looking for financial support in their exploration efforts for gold.

Miner Kagara and mining services company NRW Holdings have been removed from the S&P/ASX 200 index while two Western Australian companies with an African focus have been added.

London-listed miner and explorer Polo Resources has expanded its presence in the state after taking up shareholdings in junior explorers Impact Minerals and West Australian Metals.

BHP Billiton may eventually launch a full-blown takeover bid for Rio Tinto, further to the mining giants' iron ore joint venture announced on Friday.

Carbon Energy has completed a $32 million capital raising with funds to be applied to the development of the existing underground coal gasification project in Queensland.

Rio Tinto has confirmed today its deal with Chinalco has been "terminated" with the miner instead opting to raise $US15.2 billion ($A19 billion) through a rights issue that will reduce its net debt to $US23.2 billion ($A29 billion).

Drilling company Brandrill says it expects to incur a loss for the second half of the 2009 financial year on the back of project deferrals.

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto will set up a production joint venture comprising all of their iron ore assets in Western Australia, in a move expected to save them billions of dollars.

Rio deal with Chinalco is dead; Troubled Mirvac launches $1.1bn capital raising; BHP tempts China with index-linked ore prices; Investors pull back as mining falls off; Brandrill warns of loss for second half

Three Western Australian junior explorers are the latest in a string of companies to head to market for fresh equity, today unveiling plans to raise a total of nearly $10 million.

Aquila Resources has had a win in the Queensland Supreme Court case relating to its dispute with its joint venture partner in the West Pilbara iron ore project.

Shares in office equipment financing company ThinkSmart have jumped after the execution of a new wholesale funding deal with Societe Generale (SG) in Spain.

An independent expert has deemed the merger between gold juniors Chalice Gold Mines and Sub-Sahara Resources as reasonable but not fair.

Shares in West Perth-based Syngas have risen after it entered a 10-year deal to supply sulphur to Metals X's nickel project in South Australia.

A Chinese government agency is set to take a 13 per cent interest through a near $10 million placement in East Perth-based Bauxite Resources following Foreign Investment Review Board approval.

Perdaman Chemicals and Fertilisers, the company behind the $3.5 billion urea plant near Collie, has awarded an engineering and construction contract to a Korean and Indonesian consortium.

A joint venture led by engineering and construction company Clough has been awarded a contract for early works on a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) project being developed by Exxon Mobil in Papua New Guinea.

Stocks soar on rise in GDP; Kagara poised to raise close to $200m; Ore price fall puts China on spot, boosts miners; WA may privatise assets to aid books; Union fury as Gillard talks tough

PERTH universities have embarked on major capital works programs, developing award-winning, world-class research and learning facilities without sacrificing design aesthetics.

Most countries have taken the wrong approach to the economic crisis.

THE post-boom environment has given rise to a surge in demand for outsourced chief financial officers, as small to medium-sized enterprises look to implement similar systems to larger businesses.

WESTERN Australian farmers and growers are feeling the effects of the economic downturn as the big supermarket chains put the squeeze on their supply chain.

A COUPLE of Western Australian exploration minnows have this week secured deals and appointments that are likely to breathe new life into the companies.

THE experience of working with a heritage building can present architects with both major constraints and a unique opportunity.

ONE by one they fall.he council investment saga started almost two years ago with the realisation that one of their popular investments, a Lehman Brothers-arranged investment branded Federation, was exposed to the American sub-prime mortgage market, and l

The true price of power will soon become apparent to Western Australians.

THE state government will prosecute Apache Energy over the Varanus Island explosion, but many businesses believe the response pales in comparison with the Victorian Esso-Longford explosion of 1998, which generated a Royal Commission.