IT may come as a surprise, but judging by the results of WA Business News' latest survey of Total Shareholder Returns, the safest place for investors to put their money over the last year has been at the most speculative end of the share market.
WHILE junior explorers dominated the 10 best-performing Western Australian stocks last financial year, was there a defining characteristic that bound together the worst performers for the year? A lack of scale would seem to be one possibility, with the 10
NO matter which way you cut it, the 2008-09 financial year was a shocker for investors in local companies, with only 110 of the 730 or so Western Australian-listed companies managing a positive return of any sort.
THE global financial crisis had a marked impact on Western Australia's engineering contractors during the year as the slowdown forced resources companies to scale back and defer numerous new developments and expansions.
WITH much front page hype, the federal government last week announced what it claimed was Australia's biggest ever deal when PetroChina agreed to buy 2.25 million tonnes of LNG a year for 20 years, worth $50 billion.
The Western Australian Trade Opportunities Service is operated by the International Trade Centre of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia.
LANDCORP believes it has a handle on the housing shortage in the Pilbara, despite negotiations being terminated on a significant residential development in Karratha.
MANY of the misconceptions about e-commerce technology and the potential benefits to the corporate world have been re-evaluated since the dot.com crash of 2000.
NOBODY should be too concerned about the differences between partners in the $30 billion Browse LNG project over how the venture should be developed, according to Woodside Petroleum chief executive Don Voelte.
WESTERN Australian regional powerbroker Brendon Grylls said he would not prop up the Muresk agricultural college with funding unless it had a long-term future.
LOCAL firm Kellabox has released a portable, self-contained data centre that effectively eliminates the need for a server room to house a business's networking equipment.
IF deteriorating income streams and skyrocketing costs weren't enough, charities are now bracing for a tougher year ahead with an expected surge in demand for services through 2010.
Heavy equipment sales and rental company, Emeco Holdings has posted a net profit after tax of $13.3 million for the year to June 30, a fall of 14.5 per cent, which included significant one-off impairment and restructuring charges.
Cash Converters has posted a record profit of $16.2 million for the year to June 30, a gain of 6.5 per cent, on the back of healthy revenue growth driven by increased personal loans, financial services commission and corporate store revenue.
Tap Oil has posted a loss of $4.9 million in its half year results to June 30 after the explosion at Varanus Island impacted upon production levels and, in turn, affected sales.
Uranium exploration company, Extract Resources has launched a $91 million capital raising via a non-renounceable rights issue and private placement to institutional investors to accelerate exploration activities at its Rossing South project in Namibia.
The state government has announced that publicly-owned generator Verve Energy and electricity retailer Synergy would not be re-amalgamated, as part of a strategy to secure Western Australia's future energy needs.
Automobile components and building materials manufacturer, Schaffer Corporation has posted a profit of $10.5 million for the year to June 30, down 4 per cent on last year's results against a 13 per cent fall in group revenue.
The peak body for the nation's construction industry believes a dip in constrution work in the June quarter is only the tip of the iceberg, predicting a sharp decline to unfold as the effects of credit crunch and economic downturn begin to show through.
Dramatic drops in key commodity prices, and the effect of the economic downturn, have impacted heavily upon the bottom line of exploration and mining outift, Kagara.
Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett has cleared the last regulatory hurdle for the $50 billion Gorgon LNG project, leaving its joint venture owners free to make their final investment decision.
Small business hit as states ignore federal pay freeze; 'Budget curb' on crisis chopper; Labor rebuffs business over tougher consumer laws; Location, location, location, is Woolies' hardware quest; Suncorp freezes senior salaries, cuts bonus pool
Reed Resources has raised $6.4 million and will raise a further $4.5 million in a share purchase plan to step up exploration and development activities on three separate projects.
Perth-based property fund manager Aspen Group has secured an investor to underwrite at least $5 million needed to meet loan requirements for its troubled Diversified Property Fund.
