Mark Pownall

This week we discuss Hancock prospecting, Michael Chaney, recent developments in the Pilbara and Kwinana and look at Western Australian business dynasties including one property company that has marked 120 years.

We have to focus on liveability and flexibility in order to broaden our economy.

Live cattle exporter Wellard is set to list at $1.39 per share, launching a prospectus to raise close to $300 million to give the business a market capitalisation of almost $560 million.

Whether or not the Wellard IPO is successful, it demonstrates there is more to WA than just resources.

It was intriguing to learn of an unusual trading relationship, which goes a long way back.

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has been affected by weak commodity prices and is bracing for more of the same, revealing its 2014-15 revenue slid by more than 22 per cent to $2.04 billion.

Talk of the creation of a mega-union made up by amalgamations is disturbing, to say the least.

A cluster of Western Australia-listed companies has been highlighted in BNiQ research as exhibiting strong revenue growth, appearing to have bucked the economic slowdown with strong gains in operational income.

A special kind of person is needed to overcome current threats that business, and the broader community, face.

Is the South West rubbing off on its biggest city?

Conditions are ripe for the final piece of Bunbury’s harbour relocation.

Italian dairy giant Parmalat is making good on its $128 million purchase of major Western Australian milk and juice producer Harvey Fresh.

Argentinian beef ribs, an eclectic wine list and a Negroni that’s hard to beat are just part of Bunbury’s expanding repertoire.

SPECIAL REPORT: Economic diversity is just one of the region’s attractions.

Is it Rottnest’s relaxed ambiance, or are people just more relaxed overall about ignoring rules they regard as draconian?

Crooks are bad enough in business, but systemic governance lapses in major corporates flow across the system.

It’s intriguing to see Western Australians are winners in a less conservative government.

The boom-and-bust cycle can’t be managed, but at least we can acknowledge it exists.

The current slowdown is just a breather from longer-term Asian economic expansion.

Elections do at least allow the people to choose the kind of economy they want to live in.

We are at the right place at the right time, we just haven’t noticed.

In my previous column here I examined the history behind the fiasco around the Perth Freight Link, with nearly 20 years of poor policy decisions restricting Fremantle’s freedom as a port because of below-standard transport connections.

All growth comes with pain, but it’s especially acute when anticipated development is unnecessarily restricted.

When they are not a box-ticking exercise, performance reviews can deliver real benefit.

Digital medicine developer ResApp Health has announced its second clinical trial program in Perth as it seeks to accelerate the testing of its smartphone-based diagnosis of respiratory disease.

It may be a recognisable national brand, but Normandie Foods is not particularly prominent as a business.

It might be time for business to revisit the prospect of Indonesia as an investment destination.

As companies seek growth outside of WA, the reasons to remain domiciled here diminish.

Now the boom is over, keeping costs low and margins tight is necessary for survival.

Recent confusion at the political level and a philosophical discussion with some friends has prompted a revisit to the taxi debate.

Euroz has announced its second expansion move in the funds management sector in the space of a week, with the launch of a partnership with Melbourne-based Flinders Investment Partners.

High-growth companies highlight the change in WA’s economy.