Mark Pownall

Kerry Stokes’ move is a little bit Buffett, a little bit Wesfarmers.

INFANT mortality is a rarely used measure of economic strength but, ultimately, it could be regarded as the key performance indicator.

LISTED agricultural property investment company, The Ark Fund, has extended its deadline for private managed investment scheme player Rewards Group to pay rent owed on its widespread portfolio, understood to be 30 properties around Australia.

Perth-based MIS player Rewards Group is seeking $45 million from private investors after an eventful few weeks which have seen it end merger discussions and pull a proposed $28 million IPO.

State Agriculture Minister Terry Redman faced a small but angry crowd on the steps of Parliament House this week protesting his decision to allow genetically modified canola to be grown throughout the state.

WHEN the global financial crisis hit less than a year after listed property developer Peet had paid $300 million for a 243-hectare land parcel at the northern fringe of Perth, many questioned the wisdom of that purchase.

Property developers are doing it tough as banks keep the sector on their watch lists.

AS the shutdown of the Raine Square development site in central Perth enters its third week, speculation continues over the possible fallout from the dispute that prompted the lead building contractor to close the site.

Peter Garrett has a lot of work to do to repair his reputation.

APPROVALS for property developments remain a major issue to the sector, which believes the delays caused by bureaucracy and regulatory hurdles are a huge financial burden.

IT might seem at odds with expectations for a marketing business to close down a 31-year-old, well-known brand, but that is exactly what Michael Smith has done.

Osborne Park rural supply business FarmWorks will join the ranks of agribusiness players on the ASX after shareholders in former IT stock ETT today agreed to a backdoor listing proposal.

Wesfarmers is cautious about the outlook for the second half of 2009/10, after posting a flat first half result, but says the turnaround of its Coles supermarket chain remains on track.

WHEN I first chaired the judging for the WA Business News 40under40 Awards in its inaugural year, 2002, the prevailing view was that we would struggle to find a constant supply of talent to match the nominees and winners of that first year.

THE Goose That Laid the Golden Egg is a fable attributed to ancient Greek storyteller Aesop, which is regularly used (and abused) as an analogy in modern political life.

Why does the public sector need to compete with business?

The University of Western Australia is set to formalise its three-year-old thrust to position itself as the key tertiary player in the resources space with the launch of an Energy and Minerals Institute.

WAS it an act of protest or simply exasperation?

LOCAL administrators of English language schools have been working overtime to accommodate almost 500 foreign students left stranded by the collapse of Japanese-owned Australian chain GEOS a fortnight ago.

CONSTRUCTION giant BGC has won approval for an 11-storey tower in Osborne Park, which will be the area’s tallest building if completed as planned.

Too much passion and too few facts dominate discussion over GM crops.

ON the eve of last week’s landmark Federal Court copyright decision, iiNet CEO Michael Malone was clearly nervous about the outcome.

Small changes quietly herald a change of focus at Wesfarmers.

The appointment of leading commercial lawyer Paul Meadows to Wesfarmers executive team has had a ripple affect across the top of the conglomerate, at both board and management level.

The state government appears certain to have ended plans for the privatisation of its $10 billion super fund manager, GESB, with the resignation of five high profile directors led by former Alcoa Australia chief Wayne Osborn.

Mean streets As innocent as The Note might be, even we are sure the police in this picture aren't helping a lost driver with directions in this little event snapped earlier in the week.

PYTHONESQUE humour might have had the managed investment scheme sector crying out “I’m not dead, yet”, but there really is life in the industry despite the dramatic and near-terminal events of 2009.

INVESTMENT banker Justin Mannolini admits that he had not expected to take the reins at the Perth of corporate advisory firm Gresham office just yet.

An upswing in M&A activity is on the cards.

WA farmers are playing catch-up in canola while the rest of their sector remains GM free.

LONG-STANDING Western Australian media entrepreneur Harry Kleyn (pictured) is set to end his day-to-day role in the industry later this year when he will retire as CEO of WA Business News.

The former Labor government may have created a bureaucratic monster.