Latest Headlines

TWO Perth financial planning firms are part of a group of 12 adviser groups nationwide that are now trading under the banner Shadforth Financial Group, and will seek a unified listing when market conditions improve.

THE Residential Development Council of Australia has forecast the need for 17,000 homes per year for the next five years, warning of further house price rises if that demand was not met.

PERTH accountancy firms are bulking up their businesses, in spite of the market woes, as a handful of new partners enjoy their first week sharing in the risks and rewards of their chosen company.

COPPER and zinc miner Kagara will add nickel to its base metals production portfolio with its Lounge Lizard project set to produce first nickel within the next couple of months.

WESTERN Australia's engineering services sector is looking to the next 12 months with renewed confidence amid signs the resources sector is on the rebound.

THE first $1 million is always the hardest to earn, or so the saying goes.

A new era of industrial relations has begun, but many believe the system takes Australia back 20 years.

Who would have thought chocolate could be such hard work? Jonathan Barrett reports.

AS the Kevin07 campaign swept Labor into power almost two years ago, Australia's economy was riding high on a commodities and property boom underpinned by cheap debt.

The private sector should be given more opportunities in infrastructure provision.

WITH the global downturn having affected virtually all businesses regardless of sector, size or structure, service-oriented industries reliant on a buoyant marketplace have renewed their focus on key priorities and services to ensure survival.

IN 2006, I was present when the then opposition spokesman for agriculture, Gary Snook, launched his policy on the trialling of genetically modified canola at the Dowerin Field Days.

Samsung wins $3.5bn Collie project PERDAMAN Chemicals and Fertilisers, the company behind the $3.5 billion urea plant near Collie, has awarded an engineering and construction contract to Samsung Engin

REGARDLESS of the sector you're in or the position you hold in the corporate world, high-end fashion is coming back to the office as the downturn signals a return to smart suits and crisp shirts to project commitment and ensure job security.

Booze business shows the hypocrisy of regulations used to curtail competition.

Barnett backs 9pm retail trading PREMIER Colin Barnett has announced that he will introduce a bill paving the way for retail trading hours to be extended to 9pm on weeknights.

Perth Airport CEO Favourite holiday destination? Hat Head, a small coastal town in northern NSW.

A major analysis of Australia's wartime army units will be released soon.

IF Adam Keane's dream comes true, 'cocktail gastronomy' will soon enter Perth's social lexicon.

A CITY-BASED accountant will soon swap his calculator for a steering wheel and launch a four-wheel drive assault on an unsuspecting outback.

FOR many wine drinkers, the word chianti conjures up images of red and white checked tablecloths, men (and often women) with an abundance of chest hair, and those squat, cane-wrapped bottles of brick-red wine more suited to stripping paint than accompanyi

WESTERN Australia's business community has given cautious approval to initiatives proposed at last week's Council of Australian Government (Coag) meeting, aimed at streamlining the approvals process for taxpayer-assisted major infrastructure developments.

ADVANCED material and technology developer QuickStep Holdings plans to boost its presence in the global aerospace and defence markets with the commercialisation of its cutting-edge carbon fibre composite technologies.

Perth-based Axiom Properties has agreed to sell the residential component of a Melbourne property site for $17 million, with funds to be used to reduce debt levels.

The corporate regulator has banned Nedlands man, Quentin Ward, from providing financial services for eight years following an investigation into his dealings with failed fuel technology company Firepower.

Chinese steel mills have reportedly agreed to the same 33 per cent iron ore price cut as reached by its Japanese and South Korean counterparts.

East Perth-based Coretrack has flagged its intention to assess potential merger and acquisition opportunities as part of plans to increase the company's presence in the global energy sector.

An anti-uranium alliance has stepped up calls for a public inquiry into BHP Billiton's "secretive" Western Australian uranium mine, Yeelirrie.

The Perth arm of accounting firm Deloitte has expanded with six employees promoted to partners as net revenue rises by 28 per cent for the 2009 financial year.

Lithium hopeful Galaxy Resources has signed a $1.1 million joint venture deal with General Mining Corporation over its Shoemaker hematite iron ore project just north of Wiluna.

Western Australian helicopter company Heliwest has secured a contract for BHP Billiton's Rapid Growth Project 5 in the Pilbara.

Nickel miner Western Areas has locked in a two-year offtake agreement with China's Jinchuan Group, which will buy up to 25,000 tonnes of nickel from the Forrestania operation in Western Australia.