Financial Services

OZ Minerals says it will defer $20 million of work at its Golden Grove operation in Western Australia, as part of a wide ranging review of its assets in light of the financial crisis.

BankWest has sold its 49 per cent interest in the IT joint venture company Unisys West to Unisys Australia for an undisclosed sum.

Engineering company Clough has secured a new $84 million contract by ConocoPhillips, operator of the Bayu-Undan joint venture in the Timor Sea.

The owner of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline says it has saved $55 million on current expansion works, which will start operating early next month.

Bedding franchiser Joyce Corporation has reached a deal to sell its Queensland property for $9 million, some $500,000 more than its valuation at the end of the 2008 financial year.

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Yilgarn Infrastructure has continued its rearguard bid for a slice of the planned Oakajee port and rail project, claiming today that its Chinese partners would not work directly with the government's preferred bidder.

Perth-based Mirabela Nickel has extended its $127 million bridge financing facility with Barclays and Credit Suisse to June next year.

The state's mining sector weighed heavily on the market capitalisation of Western Australian stocks, which lost $36 billion during October, a survey has found.

The global economic turmoil has prompted nickel miner Independence Group to stop its on-market share buyback in a bid to maintain cash reserves.

West Perth-based IronClad Mining has entered into an agreement with a Chinese steel making company over the development of two of its iron ore projects in South Australia.

Redcliffe-based Global Construction Services has secured a $24 million contract for works at Brookfield Multiplex's City Square project in Perth.

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Perth-based Stirling Products are aiming to raise $210,000 in immediate capital raising, or up to $960,000 in total before expenses, through a placement of fully paid ordinary shares and convertible notes.

The Esplanade Property Fund is intending to put a proposal to shareholders to unlock value by delisting the fund from the Australian market.

An administrator has been appointed to Aluminex Resources by two directors of the company without the consent of the board.

Engineering firm, SKM has taken out the top prize at the Engineers Australia, Engineering Excellence Awards for its work on Rio Tinto Iron Ore's US$1.4 billion Dampier Port Upgrade in the Pilbara, with two Western Australians taking out individual honours

Cooper Energy has pulled out of the offshore Seruway Production Sharing Contract located in North Sumatra, Indonesia incurring a $19.8 million write-off for the oil producer.

Exploration company Spitfire Resources has finalised its move to take on advanced coal projects in Tasmania with two key exploration licences, covering the Langloh and Avoca thermal coal projects, being granted.

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Perth-based sandalwood products company, TFS Corporation is expecting to deliver a profit increase of at least 15 per cent for the year ending 30 June 2009.

West Perth-based Equinox Minerals has accepted handover of the process plant and related infrastructure at its Lumwana copper project in Zambia.

Eastern states-based law firm, Middletons is merging with two of Perth's boutique corporate law firms, Salter Power and Franklyn Legal.

Straits Resources is reviewing the viability of two if its copper mines, including the Whim Creek copper mine in WA, after a dramatic drop in the world copper price.

Range Resources will be pursuing legal action following an article in published by The Age newspaper in Melbourne under the heading "Mining Firm tied to Somali Oil Pirates."

Despite all the doom and gloom, including today's turmoil on the Australian stockmarket, consumers are still spending up big, particularly on their credit cards.

South Perth-based uranium company Extract Resources' proposed merger agreement with London-listed Kalahari Minerals has been terminated.

Uranio has acquired a thermal coal project in the Sakoa Basin of Madagascar called Imaloto, plus an associated cash injection worth more than $2 million in a deal with Coal of Africa and Oak Nominees for 50 million shares.

There has been a significant decline in student enrolment and completion of institutional-based training courses, with only 16 per cent of IBT students completing their courses in 2007, according to an auditor general report.

WHAT are the chances of Jim McGinty being regularly cheered and toasted at all major Nationals WA get-togethers? The reason for asking is that this long-time urban-based paramount leftist factional chief, when fine-tuning his electoral redistribution legi

BRIEFCASE is amazed at the poor understanding of market dynamics shown by many commentators and self-appointed analysts.

THERE was an increase of more than 50,000 full-time workers in Western Australia for the year to August 2008, with a total of 842,500 full-time employees in the state.