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Electricity network operator Western Power says it still doesn't know the cause of the 2009 Toodyay bushfire that destroyed 38 homes and continues to deny any liability, despite paying compensation

Global insurer QBE expects to achieve modest premium growth this financial year.Chief financial officer Neil Drabsch said QBE expected premium growth in the low single digits this year.

Australian stocks managed to avoid some of the heavy falls experienced on Wall Street, but the local sharemarket still finished 0.8 per cent lower.

Southern Cross Electrical Engineering has announced a $100 million contract with Rio Tinto as part of its Cape Lambert port expansion.

Mining productivity is expected to turn around and post big gains over the next decade, but the sector is unlikely to enjoy the same rate of growth in employment, a central banker says.

China's manufacturing activity contracted in October but at a slower pace than in previous months, a sign the slowdown in the world's number two economy is bottoming out.

Engineering firm WorleyParsons has bought South Africa-based company TWP Holdings for $100 million and extended a contract with BP in Iraq.

Climate Change Minister Greg Combet has attacked Tony Abbott's plan to repeal Labor's carbon tax as a sovereign risk.

Perth's local government structure badly needs to be overhauled and reduced to no more than 20 metropolitan councils, Premier Colin Barnett says.

The massive rises in electricity prices in the last five years should not have occurred and were due to a flawed set of industry rules, says the competition regulator.

Engineering and construction group Monadelphous has announced $320 million in new contracts for Rio Tinto in the Pilbara.

Shares in Fairfax Media have gained as much as nine per cent after its executives reassured shareholders a strategic review would help the troubled media company ride out tough trading conditions.

Struggling surfwear company Billabong has reaffirmed its earnings guidance, despite difficult trading conditions.

Economists say a larger-than-expected rise in inflation for the September quarter could encourage Australia's central bank to keep the cash rate steady at its next meeting.

Australian stocks have opened 0.7 per cent lower, outperforming the sharp declines from offshore markets during the overnight session.

Businesses have received some positive news as they head into the crucial Christmas sales period, in the form of a sharp rebound in consumer spending.

Poor earnings and forecasts from major US industrial firms have added to a global markets downturn to send US stocks plummeting, with DuPont losing 9.1 per cent on its earnings plunge.

Despite voter dissatisfaction in the western suburbs and cost-of-living pressures statewide, Colin Barnett and his government remain on track for re-election.

WA beer drinkers may be better served if the Japanese owners sold the ailing brand to local investors.

Australian consumers are resisting the temptation to get out and spend.

The CCI and other business groups have given the state and federal governments a clear agenda for future policy reform.

Mark McGowan needs some positivity training, if recent comments are indicative of the mood inside Labor.

TO coincide with the official month of volunteering, Alcoa plans to donate 10,000 employee work hours to charity organisations as part of its seventh annual Month of Service program.

SCITECH'S Aboriginal Education Program has received international recognition for its work to increase school attendance by Aboriginal children in remote communities.

DECISIONS - either by you, your coworker, your boss, your family members or your customer - drive your success, your lifestyle, and your attitude.

UNCERTAINTY is difficult to define and near on impossible to measure, yet it remains a real problem in today's business environment.

THE WA Local Government Association's new headquarters currently under construc­tion is one of the first developments in West Leederville ahead of an expected rezoning of the eastern end of the sub

HOMEBUYERS in Western Australia remain generally positive in their outlook for the market, despite a recent Real Estate Institute of Western Australia report showing sales turnover and property lis

A REPORT released by accounting firm Grant Thornton has found that a customer's relationship and track record with their bank is key to securing funding in the current risk-averse environment.

CHINESE investment in Australia may have slowed as uncertainty continues about the value of commodities, but it has not stopped.

WHILE the recent period of engagement with China goes back 40 years in diplomatic terms, and well into the 1980s at a trade level, there are plenty of cautionary tales from those doing regular busi

Our biggest export market has slowed demand, but a new growth phase is under way.