Opinion

Classic writers offer timeless and peerless advice we should all heed to be successful.

How does a visit by the mayor of US oil capital Houston link to Western Australia’s local council amalgamations?

Increasingly generous staff share issues in the US threaten the rights of existing shareholders.

Perth’s sister city Houston has some interesting insights on public transport, economic diversification and other challenges faced by both cities.

In this week's edition of Business News Background, head of content Mark Pownall and news editor Mark Beyer discuss the future of Western Australia’s tertiary education sector, Nigel Satterley’s critical assessment of the apartment market, the latest data on Perth’s expensive land prices, and what we can learn from Houston, the Commission of Audit, the latest instalment in the Padbury Mining saga, and the opening of Perth’s first Rolls Royce showroom.

The NSW and WA governments should follow through on commitments to make lobbyists fully accountable.

Geoff Gallop says Labor got sucked into the political view only the Liberals could be trusted with the economy.

If prices for iron ore, coal, oil and gold are falling, which they are, how long before the Australian dollar follows?

The overall support and encouragement a company gives its salespeople are the main ingredients to making the sale.

The Future of Financial Advice legislation, which came into effect in July 2013, is undergoing more changes.

History shows that only time will tell whether an asset's price was optimal.

Oakajee is being rejuvenated not so much as a mining project but more as an infrastructure play.

In this week’s edition of Business News Background, head of content Mark Pownall, news editor Mark Beyer and host James Lush discuss WA’s infrastructure strategy, or lack thereof, the contractors winning work on big projects, WA’s economic prospects and the Padbury Mining saga.

The battered party could start on the long road back by taking advice from Joe Bullock and its 1980s’ team of MPs.

Taking a methodical approach to infrastructure planning helps build strong foundations.

The WA and federal budgets will test the political resolve of the governments to make the hard decisions.

Masked by the delay in plans to merge Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining to create a $33 billion global gold mining giant is another sign that Western Australia’s resources industry is losing its international investment appeal.

The reform agenda mapped out last week by the Economic Regulation Authority should become former treasurer Troy Buswell’s greatest legacy to the state.

Nostalgia is no longer a valid reason to stop the modernisation of Rotto.

UBS has dug up hot numbers on the WA iron ore project that could propel the billionaire to world’s richest person.

Big-spending Clive Palmer can go on to play a much bigger role in political outcomes.

Finally, after decades of dithering and empty promises there is hope the ambitious Oakajee port and rail plan in the Mid West will move beyond the drawing board, not that there will be a ground-breaking ceremony for a few more years.

The mining supply and services sector mostly fails to get its message to the market.

Take the time to communicate on a more direct level with the customer to win the sale.

Managing community relations is proving a major challenge for oil and gas companies, and there’s a lot of goodwill to claw back.

More than a decade of 40under40 winners represent the changing face of new business in WA.

Nothing can be ruled out in the search for information of the missing Malaysian Airlines jet.

This week’s APPEA conference highlighted the key issues facing one of the state’s fastest growing industries; the solutions are less clear.

If it wasn’t clear already, last week’s Senate poll delivered a stark warning to the Labor Party.

It's easy to understand why South Africa’s Woolworths is currently being seen as a winner with its $2.15 billion takeover offer for David Jones, but it’s also interesting to wonder whether Woolworths will be seen as a winner next year.

A tough budget next month is not the optimal policy response for Australia, but the federal government will have to improve its financial position over the medium term.

Blaming the circumstances rather than taking responsibility is a dead-end response to a tough sales challenge.