IT WAS in 1626 that Peter Minuit, the director general of New Netherland province, bought the island of Manhattan from the local Indians for trinkets and cloth valued at 60 guilders.
Hard decisions lie ahead for the fat cat executives at Woodside Petroleum. Their cosy world has been turned upside down by a proposed merger/takeover from the Royal Dutch/Shell group.
INCREASED revenue and profits last year have allowed Woodside Petroleum Limited to expand its influence and exploration acreage in the hydrocarbon fields, both locally and internationally.
Contractors to Woodside Petroleum, and that includes about every second business in WA, may be in for a rough time as the big oil and gas producer launches headlong into its cost cutting crusade.