Tim Treadgold

Never has the KISS management principle (keep it simple, stupid) been better demonstrated than in the dreadful condition of Western Australia’s mineral processing sector, where crisis is piling on crisis.

The production phase of the resources boom is likely to put upward pressure on the dollar and therefore the manufacturing sector.

Wars produce winners as well as losers, and while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not classified as a hot war, yet, there are signs emerging that one of the winners will be a long way from the action – Australia.

The state’s rising demand for fuels and lubricants has prompted a deal between Shell and Dutch-owned but Swiss-based Vitol.

There's no point in an Australian government trying to save a business regarded as a national icon if Australians have stopped buying the services of that business.

The cost-cutting phase of the current resources cycle has been a ‘success’, and an upswing could be just around the bend.

Western Australia has reclaimed its position at centre stage in the money world, not because it is sucking in development capital but more so because it has become a global cash cow.

The cost of doing business in Australia means the country has become an investment no-go zone for international companies.

It's not often that 6,000 investors are in total agreement, but in the case of the collapsed Forge Group there’s no doubt that all of the company’s shareholders will recognise that the failure had one cause – management incompetence.

Only a courageous investor would bet against the buying power of the self-managed super funds, which one recent investment note said ‘hunted in packs’.

Mining Indaba conference highlights infrastructure and transport concerns as Barnett seeks to solidify relationships with African companies.

Colin Barnett will be hoping his encouragement of Africa’s mining sector doesn’t come back to bite him.

After five years in the financial sin bin there is a flicker of hope on the horizon for Western Australia’s magnetite iron ore processing industry, with Gindalbie Metals and Sino Iron in line for a revenue boost emanating from an unlikely source – China’s polluted environment.

There’s still plenty of upside to the state’s resources sector as WA shifts focus to meet customers’ needs.

If nothing else, Bill Beament has just cemented for himself a place in Australian business history by placing one of the biggest bets ever on the future price of gold – and possibly on the future value of the Australian dollar.

The market reaction to a small dip in the iron ore price last week suggests a degree of uncertainty among investors.

Could house prices rise by another 10 per cent this year? Surprisingly the answer is ‘perhaps’, and that’s not coming from a real estate agent trying to make a quick sale.

If the GST rules are not changed, WA risks perpetuating its status as a cash cow propping up inefficient east coast manufacturers and retailers.

It’s called a supply-side surprise and unless the sometimes erratic government of Indonesia changes its mind by Monday, WA’s beleaguered nickel-mining industry could receive a welcome boost.

The passing of Nelson Mandela will have significant consequences for South Africa.

It is said that in space no-one can hear you scream. Amusingly, in a dark sort of way, the same can be said of the stock exchange during a crash because it’s unlikely that anyone heard a peep from the 54 (yes, 54) companies that disappeared from the Australian market over the past six months.

A sovereign risk no longer, Australia is fast rocketing up the charts of attractive destinations for investor funds.

Is the world about to become a better place? That’s not a philosophical question, it’s simply an observation that economic conditions might be better than we realise, as shown by recent developments in China, the US and the UK.

Those who predicted the death of traditional media may have cast their votes too early.

Despite the old enemy’s comprehensive recent loss in the first Ashes cricket test, England’s rise as a sporting powerhouse has been rather annoying for Australians.

A move by the Indonesian government to boost activity in its nickel mining sector could have a positive spin-off for Australian miners.

It has been so long coming, and there have been so many false starts, that most people have missed what looks like the long-awaited fall in the value of the Australian dollar to less than US90 cents, and perhaps below US80 cents.

The public, and major banks, are disappointed with the service level, and service offering, of Australian icon Qantas.

Rated as the world’s fourth biggest pool of contestable cash, Australia’s $1.4 trillion superannuation sector was eventually going to struggle to find viable investments for its members, though not many people expected it take a risk with a plunge into publishing.

It might be playing with fire to own a pair of asbestos gloves these days, but Colin Barnett should borrow a pair before finalising a red-hot deal to sell the Kwinana Bulk Terminal to building mate

Investing in the share market is an inexact science, and biotech stocks can add a further layer of complexity to the formula.

It will probably take Gina Rinehart a few years to catch Bill Gates in the race to be the world’s richest person, but it is easy to see how she might overhaul the Microsoft founder’s swag of $75 billion.