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WA Labor has proposed a repurposing of the existing WA Future Fund into a new $1.1 billion Future Health Research and Innovation Fund that will collect annual interest, if elected next month.

OPINION: Startup accelerators hope to beat the odds on the pathway to success, but the numbers suggest that even the ‘experts' can't pick winners.

The share market has edged lower as a flurry of earnings reports resulted in a mixed performance from many sectors.

BHP Billiton has posted a first-half profit of $US3.2 billion ($A4.2 billion) as a rebound in prices for iron ore and petroleum helped the resources giant swing back to profitability.

Local entrepreneur Tim Brewer has joined a cohort of mentors and advisers for a new Perth-based startup accelerator program, Plus Eight, which will begin in March, around the same time Commonwealth Bank of Australia will bring its Pop Up Innovation Lab to town.

Perth-based explorer Australian Mines has announced plans to raise up to $6.3 million from investors to fund ongoing work at its Sconi and Flemington scandium-cobalt projects.

Premier Colin Barnett has called on the federal government to pick a figure for the proposed GST floor, saying he would agree to 70 cents in the dollar as the prime minister has indicated.

ANALYSIS: Malcolm Turnbull was simply bowing to political reality when fending off questions about Western Australia's miserable share of GST revenue during his whirlwind visit to Perth on Monday.

Gold miner Beadell Resources has rattled the tin for $51 million to pay for plant upgrades and further exploration work at its Tucano mine in Brazil.

Kerry Stokes' Seven Group Holdings has slipped to a half-year loss of $41.8 million due to $145 million of write-downs almost entirely related to the value of its stake in Seven West Media.

Outgoing Wesfarmers boss Richard Goyder has been revealed as successor to Michael Chaney as chairman of energy giant Woodside Petroleum, a week after we was named the next chairman of the AFL.

Engineering firm Monadelphous Group is looking to diversify into new markets such as infrastructure and renewables as revenue from mining and energy customers continues to decline.

The Australian share market has drifted lower in early trade as investors wait on the release of the Reserve Bank's February board meeting minutes.

‘Energy catastrophe' loomsThe chief executive of Australia's largest steel maker BlueScope Steel, Paul O'Malley, said energy costs in

BHP Billiton has extended its partnership with indigenous organisation Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa, following the announcement of a $14.7 million contribution to the Martu Ranger program over the next five years.

Woodside Petroleum has officially launched its latest marine craft, taking the opportunity to showcase the newly built platform supply vessel Siem Thiima in Fremantle due to its capacity to use LNG as a fuel.

The Australian dollar is up slightly against its US counterpart which has followed bond yields lower amid continued political uncertainty.

Oil prices has inched higher, as investor optimism over the effectiveness of producer cuts encouraged record bets on a sustained rally, although growing US output and stubbornly high stockpiles kept price gains in check.

Gold has firmed as the US dollar has softened, although trading was thin due to the US holiday and as markets awaited details on President Donald Trump's tax policy.

The local arts sector has struggled to capture attention for a move it thinks is key to the sustainability and future development of the industry, with no political parties committing to the Chamber of Arts and Culture's proposed pledge of $100 million of increased funding over the next four years.

Property industry lobby groups say WA Labor's plan to introduce a 4 per cent tax on foreign buyers of residential property if it wins the March 11 state election is a retrograde step for the state'

Hancock Prospecting is poised to become Western Australia's biggest private company after a investment and acquisition spree in iron ore and agribusiness which is expected some time this year to push its revenue past that of the incumbent number one for the past 12 years, home builder BGC. A 2018 reranking appears certain following research for the Business News Private Companies list published today in a special report.

Australian shares finished lower on Monday, hurt by disappointing earnings results from logistics giant Brambles and engineering group Worley Parsons.

Cape Lambert Resources Limited has sold its royalty on the Mayoko iron ore project for $1 million cash subject to the formality of the new owners signing off on the transaction.

OPINION: Everyone exposed to the Australian retail industry knows how tough conditions are, but what they might not fully understand is the extent to which a once-local industry is being blasted out of business by international competition.

Rare earths explorer Arafura Resources has announced a $5.1 million capital raising to fund ongoing work at its Nolans project in the Northern Territory.

Shares in local explorer Ausquest have surged on news the company has struck an agreement with BHP Billiton spin-off South32, with the two companies to form a joint venture over prospective projects.

Beach Energy has swung to a first-half net profit on the back of record sales volumes and higher oil prices.

Perth-based manufacturer Matrix Composites & Engineering says it will be paid the full $US10.9 million ($A14.2 million) owed under a previously cancelled contract with an unnamed shipyard customer, but work under a second contract will not proceed.

Engineering and project management firm WorleyParsons says the slump in activity among its customers, which caused revenue to plunge by 35 per cent and pushed the company to a first-half loss, may have bottomed out.

ANALYSIS: Both Colin Barnett and Mark McGowan wisely avoided making big spending commitments when they launched their formal election campaigns on Sunday.

Indigenous Construction Resource Group has diversified its business by purchasing consulting group NANA Australia, the local offshoot of a giant Alaskan native corporation.