Dan Wilkie

Perth-based software developer ISS Group says it will consider paying an interim dividend, after reporting a significant lift in profit in the December quarter.

Bunnings Warehouse Property Trust says it will target acquisitions for growth after it reported a $26.4 million interim profit, up 4.5 per cent on the previous corresponding period.

Shares in Perth-based mineral sands hopeful Latin Resources have jumped after it announced a major expansion of its Guadalupito iron and mineral sands project in Peru.

Focus Minerals shares have climbed after the company announced bumper drilling results at its Countess gold deposit near Coolgardie.

Shell Australia and Woodside Petroleum have bolstered their relationship, entering a deal to redevelop fuel supply facilities at Dampier's King Bay.

Chevron has announced its tenth offshore discovery in Australia over the past 18 months, with a significant Carnarvon Basin find that will feed into its $43 billion Gorgon natural gas project.

Residential rents have increased for the first time in a year, according to the latest market analysis by the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia.

Western Australia’s housing construction market is seemingly emerging from its three-year trough, with industry figures showing new home sales increased for a third consecutive month in December.

COMPETITION between tenants is expected to place upwards pressure on rents, that could be the lone bright spot in a struggling residential property market, according to REIWA president Alan Bourke.

Bankwest has recovered from last year's slump with an interim net profit of $224 million, after reducing its impaired loans expense and cutting business lending by 10 per cent.

Independence Group has launched a friendly all scrip takeover offer for base metals miner Jabiru Metals, in a deal that values the target at $532 million.

Perth is the toughest capital city to secure a hotel room in Australia, according to industry research by Deloitte.

INVESTORS will recover an additional $67.5 million from Westpoint Group after the nation’s top corporate regulator agreed to settle litigation against Westpoint’s directors and accounting firm KPMG.

THE receiver for the $500 million Raine Square office tower says its financiers were unable to accept any refinancing proposals put forward by the developer because the project was no longer profitable.

WESTERN Australia’s residential real estate sector has been confirmed as the weakest performing in the nation, according to three separate analyses of the market.

Perth-based advanced materials group Quickstep Holdings will move its manufacturing base to Sydney, after signing a 20-year, $700 million agreement to supply parts for the international F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.

Western Australia's new home market is seemingly emerging from its three-year trough, with sales increasing for a third consecutive month in December, industry figures show.

Out-of-pocket investors will recover an additional $67.5 million from Westpoint Group, after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission agreed to settle litigation against Westpoint's directors and accounting firm KPMG.

Perth-based residential developer Cedar Woods has announced a profit guidance of $27 million for financial year 2011, an increase of 12.5 per cent on the previous year.

Aspen Group major shareholder Entrust Funds Management has confirmed it has requested a meeting of shareholders to discuss replacing most of the current board, including managing director Gavin Hawkins.

Jupiter Mines has raised $150 million to develop its Western Australian iron ore projects, Mt Ida and Mt Mason, and its Tshipi Borwa manganese operation in South Africa.

Embattled property tycoon Luke Saraceni has lashed out at Bankwest, saying it had a conflict of interest that "blinded rational decision making" with regards to troubled office development Raine Square.

The sale of Great Southern's timber plantations to a Canadian institutional fund manager is a step towards making the Australian timber industry internationally competitive, the firm now in charge of managing the land says.

WESTERN Australia’s initial public offerings market is continuing to show signs of strength after a hot close to 2010, with four WA-based minerals exploration companies looking to join the Australian Securities Exchange next month after lodging prospectus

Investors' appetite for gold-related plays is on the up, with Crescent Gold the latest in a string of Western Australia-based gold explorers and miners to report an overabundance of interest in its latest capital raising.

Western Australia's Pilbara remains the most expensive region to rent a house in Australia, with median rents at $1,650 per week, according to industry analysts RP Data.

The Franchise Council of Australia has questioned the need for Western Australia to introduce state-based franchising legislation, because it would duplicate national regulations.

Westgem Investments transferred $1.3 million to Saracen Properties a day before the Raine Square office development was placed into the hands of receivers, the first meeting of creditors has revealed.

Bankwest has appointed receivers to a further series of assets owned by companies associated with prominent property developer Luke Saraceni.

Tap Oil has trumped Woodside Energy's efforts to buy into the WA-351-P natural gas exploration permit in the Carnarvon Basin, after it exercised its pre-emptive right to acquire an additional 20 per cent interest in the permit.

With 10 out of 11 Western Australian resources-focused listings from December 2010 trading above their issue price, 2011 promises to be a strong year for minerals-related investment.

Perth's residential land market is the third most expensive in the nation, trailing only the Sunshine Coast and Sydney, according to the latest research by the Housing Industry Association and industry analysts RP Data.