Financial Services

Western Australia's Treasury has thrown an obstacle in the path of negotiations on the formation of a state government.

US stocks wobbled higher today as investors mulled troubled investment giant Lehman Brothers' news of hefty losses and plans to sell assets to shore up its finances.

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Continued strong growth in iron ore and gas projects in the Pilbara has underpinned WA's economic growth.

Antaria Ltd Thibaut Mortier has resigned as director. APA Financial Services Ltd Mark Perry has resigned from the board of directors.

Could the emergence of Brendon Grylls as a power broker in Western Australian politics create a shockwave that reverberates across the country and around the globe? It is possible that a few thousand regional and rural voters could have a major impact on

WESTERN Australian resource stocks have made a strong showing in the latest changes to index provider Standard & Poor's ASX indices, as companies dabbling in financial services are shown the door.

THE Nationals WA's surprise result in last weekend's election is likely to provide a boost for business in regional Western Australia, with the next state government forced to deliver improved infrastructure and services outside the Perth metropolitan are

WEST Perth's office building spree has secured another major tenant, with engineering company TWP Australia Pty Ltd signing on to lease the entire A-grade building being constructed at 100 Havelock Street.

The growth of state's iron ore province in the Mid West has been a lot slower than many companies had predicted, with some of the massive projects set to change the face of the region yet to get under way.

Saville Australia and Babcock & Brown, the beleaguered joint venture partners behind the redevelopment of the former Emu Brewery site, may have secured a lifeline in the form of Leighton Properties.

WABN: Describe a day at work.WABN: Describe a day at work. SB: "My day starts at 8.30 with clearing the email trail, continues with writing reports, budgets or funding applications, meeting with young artists, arts workers or government/corporate heads a

FORMER executive chairman of the failed winemaker Evans & Tate, Franklin Tate, questioned continuing his career in the wine business when he stopped running the company in 2005.

FOR much of 2007, iron was the mineral of choice for speculators.Companies like Midwest, Atlas, and Sundance Resources all rose like phoenixes out of the ashes, with paper fortunes made and more recently lost, as share prices tumbled. During this time, ma

The wealth of major project activity in Western Australia has been a boon for local contracting firms, which are reaping the rewards of record high bidding activity in both the infrastructure and resources sectors.

Three Midwest Corporation directors have today resigned from the company as two new directors from majority shareholder Sinosteel are appointed.

Perth-based barramundi farmer Australis Aquaculture Ltd has signed a deal with United States supermarket retailer Safeway Inc to supply its produce to all 1740 stores.

West Perth-based Bathurst Resources Ltd will move to acquire the remaining interest in a United States coal miner following shareholder approval.

Fortescue Metals Group Ltd has extended a drill and blast contract with Ausdrill Ltd in a deal that will generate the mining services company over $300 million in revenue over five years.

South Perth-based uranium company Extract Resources Ltd has entered into a merger agreement with London-listed Kalahari Minerals Ltd in a scrip deal worth over $210 million.

Portman Ltd said it is assessing its options of its shareholding in Golden West Resources Ltd after a Federal Court judge today ruled against the validity of its proxy forms lodged for last week's extraordinary meeting.

Bell Potter Securities Ltd has been fined $145,000 by the ASX Disciplinary Tribunal for breaching trading and record keeping rules for the dealing of shares in Victorian company Genetic Technologies Ltd.

Corporate executives who are remunerated via shares and options will continue to be subject to close scrutiny from the Australian Tax Office this financial year, according to Deloitte Reward partner Joe Tropeano.

It may have been a tough past six months for the resource sector but not so according to Standard & Poor's as changes to its S&P/ASX indices reveal a majority of inclusions being resource stocks.

Perth businessman Warren Anderson has been named as a key player in the collapse of fuel pill company Firepower, which left its shareholders millions of dollars out of pocket.

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West Perth-based Zambezi Resources Ltd has fallen short of its $4.1 million capital raising, with less than an eighth of shares on offer subscribed to by shareholders.

Ausdrill Ltd has today attacked its hostile suitor's share price as it continued to uphold its rejection of the takeover bid by Macmahon Holdings Ltd.

Shares in Leederville-based Gladiator Resources Ltd have surged over 46 per cent on a proposal by directors to raise over $1 million to advance exploration programs and acquisitions.

Paladio Group Ltd's order book has been given a significant boost today after its subsidiary, Decmil Australia Pty Ltd, won an $80 million contract by Woodside Burrup Pty Ltd for the Pluto liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia.

Perth-based engineering company Emerson Stewart Ltd has boosted its order book value to $46 million after it secured three new contracts with Apache Energy Ltd, Peet Ltd and Straits Asia Resources Ltd.

Bateman Engineering has continued its expansion into Western Australia, signing a deal with Poseidon Nickel Ltd to undertake pre-feasibility work at the Windarra nickel project.