Mark Beyer

At first glance, the retiring founders of mortgage manager Homeloans Limited do not appear to have a lot to smile about.

Curtin University is facing big changes in 2006 after chancellor Eric Tan announced he would retire when his current term expires in March.

The Royal Automobile Club of WA has sold its interstate mortgage broking business, bringing to an end its costly attempt to break into a new industry sector.

Fast-growing cash flow lender Benchmark Debtor Finance has been acquired by two Sydney-based financial institutions, Allco Principal Finance and Balmain NB.

People in Perth may be surprised to learn that current laws allow cafes and restaurants to serve alcoholic drinks to customers who do not purchase a meal.

This time next year, buying liquor in Western Australia could be a whole lot easier.

The University of Western Australia’s graduate school of management has just completed its annual venture capital program, which brings together teams of MBA students looking for real-world experience and inventors looking for smart commercial brains.

If Doug Aberle does his new job very well he will continue to maintain his low public profile. But based on recent experience, that will be a big challenge.

The Liquor Stores Association of WA has crafted a compromise reform proposal that would allow independent stores to trade on Sundays but would maintain restrictions on chain stores owned by Coles Myer and Woolworths.

The Dullsville tag irks many people in Perth but it refuses to go away. WA Business News responded to this problem by convening a forum of liquor, hospitality and tourism industry leaders to discuss what should be done about it.

Stockbroking firm Hartleys has reported a net profit of $3.9 million in the year to June 2005, highlighting the boom time conditions in the broking industry.

Woodside Petroleum is selling a series of non-core assets for about $170 million, just as a political deal over maritime boundaries in the Timor Sea could clear the way for its Sunrise gas project to be revived.

Perth-run company CustomVis plc has reported its third successive annual loss and launched a new capital raising, continuing the long and expensive journey to commercialise surgical laser technology developed in Western Australia.

Welshpool company CAPS Australia is looking forward to accelerated national growth after securing an exclusive distribution deal with global equipment manufacturer Ingersoll-Rand.

Western Australia’s biggest biotechnology stock, pSivida, is planning extensive changes over the coming year, including the establishment of a second spin-out company to target the food industry.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has stepped up the legal pressure on the militant Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union.

Investment manager Great Southern Plantations has boosted its board of directors with the appointment of Peter Mansell as a non-executive director.

Failed beef processor EG Green Group received three proposals from industry investors in the weeks before it went into administration but was unable to finalise any of the deals.

Wesfarmers broke with widely accepted industry practice when it negotiated the salary package for its new chief executive Richard Goyder earlier this year.

The salary package paid to Health Department director general Neale Fong continues to attract a lot of comment because it is substantially higher than any other public sector salary, yet it also highlights the disparity between private sector and public s

Biotechnology is a lucrative sector for chief executives, judging by the remuneration paid by Perth-based companies such as pSivida, Regenera and Stirling Products.

The role of chairman of a board of directors is normally a part-time position, yet the chairmen at some of Western Australia’s biggest companies earn more than most chief executives.

Powerful company directors don’t normally visit the ‘down and out’ with religious charity workers but that is one experience that has helped to shape Tony Howarth’s values.

The number of Western Australian chief executives earning more than $1 million increased to 37 last financial year, helped in most cases by bonuses and share options.

Alcoa's expansion of its Pinjarra alumina refinery has joined the growing list of big construction projects to suffer a blow-out in costs.

WA Business News' third annual salary survey has idesntified a growing pool of millionaire executives but found it is necessary to go beyond the headline numbers to understand remuneration trends. Mark Beyer reports.

The top executives at emerging biotech company Regenera had a bumper year in 2005 courtesy of performance shares, which are rarely used in Australia.

Australian chief executives are guaranteed half of their income, irrespective of performance, a national survey has found.

Shareholders in engineering and mining contractor Macmahon Holdings gave the company a bloodied nose at its annual general meeting this month, with shareholders who hold 19 per cent of shares voting against the company’s remuneration plan.

Working directors of public companies will no longer be able to obtain workers’ compensation insurance under reforms implemented this week by the Gallop government.

The Gallop government has agreed to spend $22 million over the next two years upgrading roads between Kewdale and Henderson to accommodate large transport loads.

The top management ranks at Western Power are set for big changes, with expectations Energy Minister Alan Carpenter will soon announce the chief executives of its four successor companies.