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IMF warns on borrowing risk; Timbercorp's assets sold; Watchdog may nip NAB; Labor plans big projects overhaul; WA sees big influx of foreign businesses

THE property development sector has strongly endorsed the state government's planning reform agenda, which was released last week by the Planning Minister John Day.

THE federal government's modernisation of the award system was designed to encompass those sectors already covered by an award under the one system. However, an Australian Industrial Relations Commission decision last week means a greater number of profes

LANDCORP is extending its program of regional collaboration with local governments and the private sector in an effort to avoid future land shortages.

MISTER fix-its undertaking DIY repair work could be in for a shock, with the level of fines imposed on unlicensed plumbers doubling during the past two years.

WHILE most businesses start off in their local market and aspire to break into the export field, Perth-based Inflatable Packers International has taken the opposite path.

THE board of state power retailer Synergy is expected to select the winners of its 2008 and 2009 power procurement process this week, underpinning the next phase of private investment in Western Australia's generation capacity.

THE corporate watchdog has agreed to fund an investigation into the collapse of failed white goods business Kleenmaid that could pave the way for criminal charges to be laid against the company's directors.

PRIVATE sector support for the arts in Western Australia increased 13 per cent during the 2008 financial year, falling short of the 18 per cent jump experienced nationally, a survey has found.

The Western Australian Trade Opportunities Service is operated by the International Trade Centre of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia.

Western Australia's exporters have defied the global downturn to deliver another record performance in 2008-09. So who are the key players behind the numbers?

THE social calendar is littered with cocktail fundraisers, charity balls, and other gala events designed to keep not-for-profit organisations in business.

TWO Western Australian interior design projects were commended at the Design Institute of Australia's state awards last week.

The big difference between setting up a pizza shop in Scarborough and running one in Kalgoorlie is the scenery. Dan Wilkie reports.

WESTERN Australia is ranked ahead of all states in terms of the number of laws imposing liability on directors, and it's a regime the Australian Institute of Company Directors fears could deter business investment in the state.

Many winemakers suggest their passion for wine courses through their veins but few have the pedigree to prove it.

MANY people associate business fraud with sophisticated scams targeting large companies, but the reality is usually very different.

ITALIAN renaissance scientist Galileo Galilei is purported to have said "to count what is countable, measure what is measurable, and what is not measurable, make measurable".

SMALL to medium-sized enterprises are poised to become significant winners in the proposed changes to research and experimental development tax concessions, according to KPMG partner, indirect taxes, Phil Renshaw.

We need to regard our city as a human ecological system whose health is measured in terms of behaviour and social outcomes.

The cloud hanging over car dealers has dispersed, as conditions improve.

A stronger Australian currency will pose major challenges in the year ahead.

Three investors are seeking legal redress from the now-defunct company that licensed one of the major Firepower promoters.

Getting the bureaucratic balance right is a challenge for the red tape task force.

TEACHING is widely regarded as a recession-proof profession.And it appears those companies that turn a profit from private education have also come out largely unaffected by the economic downturn.

The voices of dissent over what's accepted as climate science are getting louder.

THE agricultural sector may have surrendered its status as the driving force behind Western Australia's export growth, but it continues to be a major contributor to the state.

Financial markets are important but can sometimes get too much attention.

EXPANSION of Western Australia's port capacity remains a high priority for local industry, despite the dampening impact of the global economic crisis.

GOLD has always been a safe haven for investors in times of trouble and uncertainty.

A newly formed joint venture between Canning Vale-based Electrical Construction and Maintenance and Queensland's Goodline has won $80 million worth of contracts for the new berth in Port Hedland and the Sino iron ore project.

The redevelopment of Claremont Oval and its surrounds is set to go ahead after Planning Minister John Day tabled an amendment to a planning scheme in parliament.