Latest Headlines

BHP Billiton has disclosed that the driver of last week’s runaway iron ore train failed to engage the emergency air brake after getting out to check on a problem with another part of the braking system.

Scarborough Beach Bar has been thrown a lifeline, with insolvency specialist WA Insolvency Solutions selling the company to hospitality operator the ARK Group, which currently operates venues including The Generous Squire and Market Grounds.

The Australian share market has closed marginally lower, with heavyweight healthcare and financial stocks unable to hold on to gains, and ended the week solidly in the red.

A labour hire business owner who fraudulently obtained more than $890,000 through illegal "phoenixing" has been jailed for five years and four months in Western Australia.

A joint venture between MACA and Melbourne-based Coleman Rail has won an $11.1 million state government contract for road upgrades near Williams.

The competition watchdog has cleared Santos’ planned $2.9 billion takeover of Quadrant Energy despite concerns from some businesses in the Goldfields region about reduced competition for gas supplies.

West Perth-based Mainline Demolition and Georgiou Group have claimed an international award for their demolition of the Old Mandurah Bridge last year.

Japanese outfit Inpex today officially opened the onshore LNG processing facilities at its $46 billion Ichthys project in Darwin.

PODCAST: Mark Pownall and Mark Beyer discuss the Navitas takeover, Karrinyup expansion, Belmont Park apartments, GST changes, Woodside's future, Wesfarmers demerger, and our look back at the past 25 years, including our special report on WA's biggest employers.

Belmont-based NRW Holdings has secured a five-year contract extension for mining services at Stanmore Coal’s Isaac Plains East project in Queensland.

GR Engineering Services has been appointed to lead a bankable feasibility study for FYI Resources, while Adaman Resources will complete a mining study for Neometals’ Barrambie vanadium project.

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: While half of Cedar Woods’ 30 projects are in its home state of WA, the company has taken opportunities in Victoria, Queensland and SA. This article is part of a special series to mark Business News' 25-year anniversary.

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: As Australia was emerging from the recession it had to have in 1991 and 1992, the commercial construction sector in Western Australia was at the tail end of a boom that would add 200,000 square metres of office space to the Perth CBD. This article is part of a special series to mark Business News' 25-year anniversary.

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: A return to its original branding is indicative of construction veteran Multiplex’s standing in the WA marketplace and solid client relationships. This article is part of a special series to mark Business News' 25-year anniversary.

The Australian share market has lifted at the open with gains for energy and mining stocks, while the local healthcare sector was also firmly in the black.

RBA in housing market warning

il futures have risen, steadying after the week's steep losses as fuel stockpile declines in the United States helped offset concerns about a potentially oversupplied market next year.

Gold hit a near one-week peak as investors sought cover from market turmoil after Britain's long-awaited draft agreement to leave the European Union was thrown into chaos, helping the metal hold its ground against a rising dollar.

Monadelphous joint venture Zenviron has been awarded a contract with a wind farm group in regional Victoria, while Primero has announced new contracts worth $30 million.

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: The annual Business News Biggest Employers survey has tracked changing employment patterns in WA over 13 years. This article is part of a special series to mark Business News' 25-year anniversary.

A rally in the final hour of trade wiped out heavy afternoon losses on the Australian share market as the ASX narrowly avoided a third straight session in the red.

Andrew Forrest’s planned Asia Pacific-focused rugby competition has been given the green light by the World Rugby council, with further details of the new series unveiled.

Western Australia’s jobless rate has fallen to 5.7 per cent in October, while the national figure remains at a six-year low.

Navitas co-founder Rod Jones attacked the company’s earnings forecasts at today’s annual meeting, as chairman Tracey Horton was narrowly re-elected with 50.8 per cent of the vote.

The state government has approved the use of recycled construction and demolition (C&D) waste as road base for the Kwinana Freeway widening project, seven years after the Barnett government’s attempt to do the same thing foundered.

Wesfarmers shareholders have voted to approve the $20 billion demerger of its supermarket business Coles, 11 years after it acquired the group in Australia’s biggest corporate takeover.

Mineral sands hopeful Diatreme Resources has released a positive definitive feasibility study for its Cyclone zircon project, located in the Eucla Basin in Western Australia.

Uranium explorer Vimy Resources has announced a major restructuring, including the resignation of three directors, further cost-cutting and a focus on its base metals project.

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: Foreign investment, free trade and a skilled workforce have helped WA tap its enormous oil and gas reserves, to the benefit of the entire country. This article is part of a special series to mark Business News' 25-year anniversary.

Australian shares have eked out modest gains at the open despite an overnight sell-off on Wall Street, with healthcare and mining stocks lifting in early trade, though the banks were weighing on the bourse.

Super stoush looms over default cover

Oil has bounced nearly two per cent, recouping some of the previous session's heavy sell-off, on the growing prospect that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied producers would cut output at a meeting next month to prop up the market.