Opinion

Presentation skills are a key component in every salesperson’s toolbox, and improving your public speaking is a great way to lift your game.

Unions ought to consign bullying behaviour to the past.

The US is leading the charge to cheaper oil and gas, and its industries are taming the internet to turn a buck in the digital world.

The conversation around mental health in the workplace is focusing on employees, but what about their managers?

President Xi Jinping of China is poised to sign a free trade agreement with Australia on Monday following the G20 summit in Brisbane, after nearly a decade of negotiations.

In this week's Podcast, Mark Pownall, Mark Beyer and Shanna Crispin join James Lush to discuss mental health in the workplace, Perth house prices, “Aussie” John Symond, Murdoch University, ‘ethical’ investing, WA’s biggest private businesses, sporting venues and more.

This week’s instalment from Peter Kennedy’s Tales from Boom Town focuses on the extraordinary events that led to Colin Barnett becoming premier of WA.

For the best ringside seat at a bruising encounter don’t buy a ticket to a boxing event, sign up for an iron ore forecasting conference which will, for the first time since prices crashed, put the big boys of the industry on the same podium as the small producers.

Total reported sales activity has remained virtually unchanged for three weeks with only minimal variations in house sales whilst the fall in multi- residential sales this week was replaced with a lift in land sales.

Politicians on both sides of the fence tread cautiously on the issue of CO2 emissions … well, most of them.

Marketing to emotions can be an effective way to influence business-to-business purchasing decisions.

Recognising change as a positive opportunity will put you well ahead of the competition.

Business and their marketing advisers put a lot of thought and effort into how best to appeal to consumers, and colour is a big part of that.

The South West may be the scene of a political and environmental battle over bauxite mining not seen for 30 years.

Only time will tell if the sector has reached a point where it is unstoppable.

The inclusion of gambling revenue in Commonwealth Grants Commission funding is one of a number of suggestions to reform Australia’s federation, following the release of a recent federalism paper by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia.

In this week's Podcast, Mark Pownall and Shanna Crispin join James Lush to discuss the increasingly prominent apartment development sector, news in the project contracting scene, takeover manoeuvers around Perth telco Amcom, carbon sequestration at Harvey and a new medical research institute.

The third instalment from Peter Kennedy’s new book on WA’s recent political past examines the pressure on Carmen Lawrence to set up a royal commission into what became known as WA Inc.

Psst … looking for a bargain? Here’s a way to buy $1 for less than $1 by acquiring a fistful of shares in Mt Gibson Iron.

Politicians rarely voluntarily seek to lower the tax take or reduce the size of government, so what’s behind Tony Abbott’s call for a ‘mature’ debate over the federation?

Listings are the big mover again this week, rising a further 1.5% and pushing through the 12,000 equilibrium.

Performance appraisals may be a ubiquitous feature of HR departments in businesses economy-wide, doubts remain about their use.

There are lots of excuses for failing to achieve success, but very few reasons that actually stand up to scrutiny.

Like all businesses, university assets funds should be put to work.

China’s maturing economy, not a conspiracy of collusion, is behind the actions of WA’s two biggest iron ore miners.

In this week's Podcast, Mark Beyer and Mark Pownall join James Lush to discuss Premier Colin Barnett's future, iiNet founder Michael Malone's new business, the Wesfarmers chairman role, Business News' biggest employers survey, the slow roll-out of the NBN in WA and some favourite cafes and bars getting a new lease of life.

The draft report by the Competition Policy Review has signaled a revolution in the provision of human services- but the interest has all been elsewhere.

The second of four extracts from Peter Kennedy’s new book examines the Rothwells rescue and the murky links between WA business and politics.

Money is moving out of iron ore but where it goes next is the more interesting question, because it seems that some investors are developing a taste for agriculture – a shift that might prove to be a case of leaving the frying pan to land in the fire.

Unlike 2013 when reported sales increased steadily across October, activity in 2014 remains volatile with house sales up again this week by 11% to 619 but below the reported 635 a fortnight ago.

The Whitlam legacy lives on, on both sides of the political fence, in the push for ever-greater concentration of power in Canberra.

The year’s most important retail period is almost upon us, so is your business ready to make the most of the opportunity?