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Western Australia has bucked the national trend in new home sales with deals down 4 per cent in April while the national figure rose to a 14-month high, new data from a home building industry group shows.

University of Western Australia vice chancellor Professor Alan Robson and Azure Capital founding managing director Mark Barnaba were among the winners announced at the WA Citizen of the Year Awards over the weekend.

BP has entered a deal to sell gas from an offshore Western Australian gas field to Shell and then buy it back as liquefied natural gas after it has been processed through the Gorgon LNG project.

Fortescue Metals Group has recorded a gross profit of $US497 million ($A618 million) during the nine months to the end of March 2009.

The trading halt in shares of BC Iron has been turned into a suspension, as the mining junior continues to negotiate the details of access to Fortescue Metals Group's rail and port facilities in the Pilbara.

Port Bouvard is the latest property developer to branch out into funds management after receiving a financial services license by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.

Takeover target Bonaparte Diamond Mines has recommended shareholders reject a bid by Union Resources, deemed fair and reasonable by independent experts, in favour of the Minemakers offer.

Grange Resources will pocket $2 million plys royalties after reaching a deal to offload its majority interest in an Malaysian iron ore mine.

A merger between generator Verve Energy and retailer Synergy is still on the cards with Premier Colin Barnett expected to make an announcement in the next couple of months.

Avoca Resources has hit back at KPMG's high valuation of takeover target Dioro Exploration's share price, saying it does not reflect market value.

Uranium explorer Bannerman Resources has unveiled a $37.5 million capital raising plan with commitments already received for up to $30 million.

The state government has settled outstanding costs over the Perth to Mandurah rail line at a substantially lower amount than what contractors had sought.

Shares in Nedlands-based explorer Reward Minerals have slumped after the National Native Title Tribunal ruled the company cannot access its Lake Disappointment potash project.

The state government will prosecute oil and gas producer Apache Corporation for failing to maintain and repair a gas pipeline at its Varanus Island facility that exploded last year.

Shares in West Perth-based Carnarvon Petroleum have risen after the company discovered oil as part of joint appraisal well in Thailand.

The state's housing market is expected to make a modest recovery over the next two years but will still fall short of underlying demand, a new report shows.

Subiaco-based Deep Yellow will team up with Toro Energy to explore uranium tenements in Namibia.

The state government has opened a second geothermal acreage release in the south-eastern region of WA following the success of the first round last year.

Minemakers has entered into a port access agreement with the Darwin Port Corporation for its $100 million Wonarah phosphate project in the Northern Territory.

Less than four months after raising over $14 million, Platinum Australia has raised a further $61.2 million to be applied to its Smokey Hills project in South Africa and acquisition opportunities.

Engineering company Monadelphous Group has secured a $170 million contract for major works on Woodside Petroleum's $12 billion Pluto liquefied natural gas project.

The federal government has defended stimulus payments to 16,000 dead people and 25,000 expats, worth a collective $40 million, saying it was "unavoidable".

Fortescue Metals Group will make an upfront payment of $32 million and restructure a shipping arrangement as part of a settlement to a dispute with a shipping company.

Coal and wind power are predicted to dominate new electricity generation projects in WA.

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

Specialised Broking Associates has topped a competitive field in this year’s Rising Stars Awards.

When local businessman David Clapin took ownership of Anchor Foods in 2002 and attempted to rebuild the fledgling company, he faced a stark proposition from one of the leading supermarket chains.

WESTERN Australia has received just less than 6 per cent of the total grant allocation from the first two rounds of the federal government's Green Building Fund, securing a total of $1.

THE Rising Stars awards program was initiated by WA Business News in 2003 and since then it has identified many of Western Australia's up-and-coming business success stories.

PLANS for a new beachside suburb 37 kilometres north of Perth, featuring a pedestrian- and cycle-oriented mixed-use village, are a step closer with Planning Minister John Day tabling a metropolitan region scheme amendment this week.

NESTLED in unassuming office space amid the quiet business precinct of Oxford Close in West Leederville, Datacom Systems WA is doing big things.

ARE the stars aligning for a dramatic overhaul to the approvals process which caused so much angst during the boom? As the government takes receipt of the first concrete advice from three different working groups, there is growing optimism within industry