Latest Headlines

Xstrata's multi-billion dollar takeover bid for Anglo American could be over after leading institutional shareholders have reportedly turned down the nil-premium merger.

West Perth-based oil and gas explorer GB Energy has launched legal action against wave energy developer Protean Power and two of its directors over an earn in agreement.

West Perth-based Range Resources will go ahead with plans to raise $2.5 million which will be used to fund a new deal with a UK company over two oil and gas blocks in Georgia.

Canada's Mega Uranium says it is on schedule to bring the Lake Maitland uranium joint venture online in 2011 as it upgrades the project's resource.

The state's unemployment rate has climbed to a seasonally adjusted 5.1 per cent in June from an upwardly revised 5 per cent recorded the previous month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said today.

Chinese concede ore price cut; IMF raises its world forecast; Stokes linked to Packer raid; New pain for ANZ to top $300m; Canadian slap on wrist for Qantas

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.

THE first ripples of a dramatic restructure of energy giant Shell's global business have reached Perth as the company seeks to slash its cost base, stay competitive and speed up its project development decision-making.

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

RESEARCH undertaken at Curtin University has opened the door to potentially massive cost savings for oil and gas explorers around the globe.

WESTERN Australia's construction sector has been boosted with the awarding of $342 million in contracts to builders across the state as part of the federal government's infrastructure funding program.

UP to 100,000 state government employees will continue to have access to a major superannuation tax break, as the rest of the population adheres to strict new laws.