Latest Headlines

The administrators of West Perth-based Baraka Petroleum have returned control of the company to the directors as chief executive Mark Fenton steps down.

Perth-based Coal of Africa Ltd has boosted its bank balance to more than $280 million following approval for an African investor group to increase its stake to 17.3 per cent.

The state president of the Australian Institute of Company Directors Fiona Harris and former senior manager of Western Mining Corporation Mike Donaldson have been appointed to Territory Resources Ltd's board.

Engineering company Neptune Marine Services Ltd has been awarded a $2.5 million contract from Dutch marine contractor Van Oord to provide services for the Blacktip gas field development in the Timor Sea.

Troy Buswell has announced he will step down as the state's opposition leader but will stay on with the Liberal Party.

Former Clough Ltd chairman Ross Kelly has announced his retirement from the company's board after 12 years in office.

Despite the uninviting conditions stocks face in the market, two resource companies will test their mettle against the doom and gloom when they launch their initial public offers.

Brisbane-based contractor Watpac Ltd is set to acquire JMS Civil and Mining Pty Ltd Group, which counts the state's Water Corporation and the Department of Main Roads as clients.

In a bid to boost future working capital, Henderson-based drilling contractor Brandrill Ltd plans to raise $11.25 million via a share placement.

West Perth-based Convergent Minerals Ltd has secured an option to acquire the Bounty gold mine in the Eastern Goldfields and will embark on a $2.5 million capital raising.

Perth has suffered the biggest drop in house prices, falling 2.4 per cent in the June quarter, as capital city house prices across Australia decline by the sharpest rate in nearly than three years.

West Perth-based ARC Energy has hit back at claims that it breached a confidentiality agreement after it received a writ from Oil Basins Ltd late last week.

Project delays have prompted Belmont-based engineering and construction company Paladio Group Ltd to report a smaller profit of $55,000 for the 2008 financial year.

IMF (Australia) Ltd said the first distribution of money owed to creditors from the failed miner Sons of Gwalia Ltd has started, as administrators accept an increase in the value of claims.

A Fremantle grain handling company has been fined $8000 after pleading guilty in the Fremantle Magistrates Court following a workplace accident.

Nedlands-based Integra Mining Ltd will move to feasibility study for its Randalls gold project near Kalgoorlie after an earlier study pegged capital costs at $85 million.

Upper house politician Anthony Fels has quit the Liberal party today to establish a new political force, 'People Against Daylight Saving'.

A mining representative body has called on the federal government to reconsider plans to heritage list 17 million hectares of Kimberley land, saying it could seriously damage the future of mining in Australia.

The state's small to medium enterprises are keeping up with their larger counterparts as business conditions continued to further weaken SME's across the country.

Perth-based Incremental Petroleum Ltd has recruited the services of former New South Wales senator Sandy Macdonald who will join the board as non-executive director.

West Perth-based Polaris Metals NL Has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Fremantle Ports that will focus on finalising the best option to export ore from its Yilgarn iron ore project at the bulk berths at Kwinana.

At a time of market volatility, Perth-based Gindalbie Metals Ltd has eliminated the need to raise equity as its Chinese project partner AnSteel contributes a further $123 million to the $1.8 billion Karara iron ore project.

Apache Energy Ltd delivered good news on the gas criris today when it said partial production from its Varanus Island gas plant will resume ahead of schedule but the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA said the state is not "out of the woods".

Western Australia is one of two states that have defied the downward path of Australia's manufacturing activity, which sunk to a near three-year low as high interest rates slow the economy.

Uncertainty in global markets has prompted West Perth-based Zambezi Resources Ltd to suspend all but one drilling activities in Zambia in a bid to redirect its focus to its main copper discovery.

HBOS, the UK parent company of BankWest, has recorded a 56 per cent fall in net profits for the first half of 2008 due to credit crunch turbulence while earnings at its Australian arm dipped 12 per cent.

Just days after shareholders in Cape Lambert Iron Ore Ltd voted to sell the namesake iron ore project, new owner MCC has sold a majority stake in the project to Russian steel making giant Evraz Group S.A.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry has stepped up its calls for deregulated trading hours as Perth is revealed as the second most expensive capital for food and groceries.

The Real Estate Institute of WA has quashed claims by a leading property forecaster that Perth's house prices are set to fall 15 per cent over the coming year, saying past predictions have been proven wrong.

Former Alinta Ltd senior executive Stephen Pearce has been appointed managing director of contractor Southern Cross Electrical Engineering Ltd.

The concerns of one of Australia's leading actuaries regarding the transfer from the state of about $330 million in assets may have stopped the mutualisation of $9 billion fund manager GESB, which claims about one quarter of Western Australia's workforce

Privately owned Perth company Pressure Dynamics is aiming for rapid growth after completing a new facility at Perth Airport's industrial estate.