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Stronger commodity prices and government spending in the final months of 2016 are expected to have helped the economy bounce back from the preceding quarter's contraction.

Premier Colin Barnett says the final stage of the contentious Perth Freight Link will involve expanding Stirling Bridge and not digging a tunnel under the Swan River, although the federal government doesn’t expect that to be necessary until at least the mid-2020s.

Frustration is mounting among developers in South Perth as they are forced to reassess projects after the second major change to the suburb’s town planning guidelines in the past six years.

At a time when bricks and mortar retailers are facing an online onslaught, and with just about every person on the street having a camera in their pocket, Camera Electronic is fighting back, opening a new store in the CBD.

Osborne Park-based heavy equipment supplier Emeco Holdings has reduced its first-half net loss after tax by around 70 per cent, to $31.3 million for the six months to December.

ANALYSIS: Nationals WA leader Brendon Grylls has attacked the debt reduction strategies of both the Liberal and Labor parties as unrealistic. However, he confirmed that, in the event of a hung parliament after the March 11 election, his party would only work with the Liberals to form a new government.

ANALYSIS: There used to be a golden rule in election campaigns that candidates should be seen but not heard. The public face of the party was the leader, whose commitments and comments were always carefully scripted.

Subiaco-based energy company Australis Oil & Gas has announced an $80 million expansion of its shale acreage in the southern US, amid plans for a $100 million raising.

Soaring energy prices, driven by growing gas exports are putting jobs at risk and "politics-driven energy policies" are making the situation worse, Australia's peak business lobby group has warned.

Australia's current account deficit was $3.85 billion in the December quarter down from a deficit of $10.2 billion the previous quarter, seasonally adjusted figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.

Livestock agribusiness Wellard has slashed its first-half loss and expects to post a profit in the 2017-18 financial year.

 The Australian share market is clinging on to the green in early trade after three days of decline, as investors take cues from overnight gains on Wall Street.

Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group has denied media reports stating it had lodged a $1 billion-plus offer for Wesfarmers' Curragh coal mine in Queensland.

Investor windfall as business profits surgeA blockbuster $13 billion surge in business profits last quarter

US stocks have ended slightly higher and the Dow has closed at a record high for a 12th straight session after President Donald Trump said he would make a "big" infrastructure statement.

The Australian dollar is lower against its US counterpart ahead of US president Donald Trump's first address to a joint session of Congress.

Spot gold has fallen after tapping a 3-1/2-month high as US Treasury yields rose and investors waited for US President Donald Trump to outline plans for tax cuts, infrastructure spending, levies on imports and foreign policy.

There's still no plan in sight to connect the controversial Perth Freight Link project to Fremantle Port, a Senate committee has heard.

WA Labor has vowed to employ at least 50 apprentices at Western Power every year if it wins the state election.

The Australian share market has closed lower due to large falls from the heavyweight energy and banking sectors.

SPECIAL REPORT: Contractors face hurdles as they bid for work with major companies, and suggest a more open approach might bring benefits.

SPECIAL REPORT: Klen International’s work in the gold sector offers a valuable insight into how Western Australian companies are taking the expertise from the state’s resources industry and developing it well beyond the mine pit.

Local explorers Lithium Australia and Lepidico have settled an intellectual property dispute on mutual grounds, with the terms undisclosed.

SPECIAL REPORT: Eight years after HiSeis was spun out from Curtin University, executive chairman Don Pridmore believes its use of seismic technology in mineral exploration is starting to gain traction.

SPECIAL REPORT: Strong employment growth in the gold sector partially compensated for job losses in iron ore in the 2016 financial year, according to recently released data from the Department of Mines and Petroleum.

Perth-based GR Engineering Services has kept performance up despite trying times in the mining sector, with profit and revenue slightly lower for the December half-year.

Attorney-General George Brandis has been asked to make a statement explaining when he first became personally involved in the Bell Group litigation.

Slater & Gordon shares have plumbed fresh depths yet again after the law firm reported a first-half loss of $425 million largely due to another $350 million write-down of its troubled UK business.

OPINION: Voters are deserting the established political order in droves. Many are fatiqued by the constant change, and believe they are bearing the brunt of it.

QBE chief executive John Neal has had his pay docked by more than $500,000 over what the insurer called his "personal decisions", despite him leading the company to a 22 per cent increase in full-year profit.

SPECIAL REPORT - MINING SERVICES: Higher commodity prices and investment to maintain iron ore volumes could help lift mining contractors out of the doldrums after several tough years. Click through to see this and links to four other feature stories.

Macmahon Holdings has called out CIMIC Group for what it says is a low-ball takeover bid, saying the Spanish-controlled company should be aware of the improving market for mining services.