Opinion

The shift in consumer behaviour brought on by technology is having a profound effect on established business models, particularly in advertising.

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.

Businesses need to build an environment that enables work teams to balance integration with differentiation.

In this Business News podcast Mark Pownall and Mark Beyer discuss state budget, asset sales, Newspoll, the Lord Mayor and hotels and apartments.

In the first of a series of interviews with top WA business figures for Business News, Leadership WA chief executive officer Robin McClellan spent 10 minutes with Rio Tinto chief executive, iron ore, Andrew Harding, who said he looked to hire smart, reflective and curious people, and revealed mindfulness meditation had helped him be a better leader.

Reiwa members reported a decrease in weekly sales to 549 this week. The overall 19 per cent decrease in sales over the week is attributed to an 18 per cent decrease in sales for houses, 15 per cent for units and 33 per cent for land.

It’s not the company, it’s the people in the company – it’s you.

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

University of Western Australia academics John Sykes and Allan Trench suggest that mineral exploration should remain a corporate imperative – but why find more mineral supply when markets are so weak?  

Business News pays its respects to a corporate leader who broke the mould.

Tech entrepreneurs must be free from the pressure to avoid failure, or else they may never take the chance in the first place.

In this Business News podcast Mark Pownall and Mark Beyer discuss Interest rates, the dollar, federal and state budgets, listings and capital raisings, and mining projects.

The imminent departure of four heavy hitters in the public service couldn’t have come at a worse time for the state government.

Home ownership and interest rates provide solid point-scoring opportunities for politicians, but the whole narrative is increasingly out of touch with the reality of many working families in Australia.

This week, Reiwa members reported an increase in weekly sales to 680. The rise in overall sales by 37 per cent over the week is attributed to a 34 per cent increase in sales for houses, 56 per cent for units and 37 per cent for land.

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

For Perth to become an innovation hub, in a global context, there will need to be a step-change from a range of stakeholders – the startup community and its funders, schools and universities, and, importantly, the state government – in order to support the structural change needed to achieve significant success.

In this Business News podcast Mark Beyer and Dan Wilkie discuss Geoff Rasmussen, NRW, defence contracts, Scoop Magazine, Quickflix, apartment developments and universities.

The trend in dwelling sales activity in Perth recorded in Reiwa’s weekly Real Facts across the first three months of 2016 suggests sales increased during the month of January, stabilised in February, with volatility in sales seen during March.

Price shouldn’t be a problem for a salesperson who has done their homework and believes in their product.

A state industry plan has some positives but don’t look to the past for jobs policy.

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

In this Business News podcast Mark Beyer and Dan Wilkie discuss iron ore, lithium, shipbuilding, retail, commercial property and construction.

Several recent high-profile cases of questionable corporate behaviour that have come to light here, and around the world, have a common element – whistleblowers.

Colin Barnett’s political fellow travellers seem unwilling to help him in his efforts to achieve GST distribution reform.

This week, Reiwa members reported an increase in weekly sales to 708.

Hackathons are creative, collaborative and crucial to the development of social networks in the startup sector.

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’.

In this Business News podcast Mark Pownall and Mark Beyer discuss Unemployment and the markets, Rio Tinto, Freightlink, LNG 18, our special report Apprentices and Training. 

Each of us likes to think we have the silver bullet solution to the pressing issues of the day – from the environment to superannuation to tax. However political reality most often means good policy ideas get thrown into the too-hard basket in the face of pressure from lobby groups and vested interests.

ABS data released this week portrays dwelling commencements continuing to trend lower since peaking in March 2015.

Those who think the grass is greener on the other side need to think again.