Mark Pownall

GORDON Martin may preside over one of Western Australia's leading private businesses, but it was his recent experiences in the public sphere that shaped his understanding of the current economic crisis.

ECONOMISTS have described the central bank's decision to hold the official cash rate this week as a pause to the rate cutting cycle.

Premier Colin Barnett continued talking up Western Australia's economy in the face of further bad global news, but also issued a warning that the state had to be treated fairly by the rest of the nation.

Big companies’ behaviour in tough times is often predictable, but it’s just the market at work.

Major players face off in north-west access stoush.

THE fallout from the global financial crisis has left many big investors with red faces as poor due diligence or undue risk taking has been exposed by the seismic wrenching in the financial system.

Has the government superannuation fund GESB's mutualisation stalled for good?

Cross-cultural and historical influences are apparent at a new tapas bar in the CBD.

Recent deals by Patersons draw parallels with Hartley Poynton 10 years ago. Mark Pownall looks at how the market has changed since then.

BOATIES might have found a champion in Premier Colin Barnett, who has set his government's sights on a marina nestled into the northern part of Rous Head.

Financial crisis may present opportunities for tax reform.

A NEW obstacle to the privatisation of the state government's superannuation fund, GESB, has emerged with the tax status of the $5.47 billion accumulation fund, West State Super, in doubt.

The privatisation of the state government's 300,000-member superannuation fund GESB remains stalled, with an expanding number of problems - including tax treatments - preventing the state from giving the move the green light.

BHP Billiton’s Ravensthorpe closure again raises the issue of a fly-in, fly-out workforce

IT might be just a small tweak to the left, but the state government's decision to go ahead with an extension to the northern rail line is likely to change the face of future suburbs all the way to Two Rocks.

THE announcement this month that Citic Pacific will pay $US585 for 75 petajoules of natural gas is important, not just because it underwrites the Devil Creek project in the Pilbara and a potential new supply of domestic gas, but also because we get to see

Pressure to develop the state's north is only going to increase.

A YEAR ago it would have been unthinkable for a major Australian bank to buy BankWest, the only significant regional player in the powerhouse growth state of Western Australia.

Are the federal government's bailout packages focused on the wrong industries?

DEBT is a theme across all the top deals of 2008, something that hasn't featured previously because such matters were considered relatively boring in a market awash with cheap credit.

Dealmakers found 2008 challenging amid the turmoil of crashing markets

LISTED East Perth internet service provider iiNet was already number three in Australia when it bought local rival Westnet for $81 million, but the deal made it the dominant force in Western Australia and strengthened its national market share.

New BankWest managing director Jon Sutton committed his new charge to acting independently of its parent Commonwealth Bank as the major moves to take control of its new WA asset.

Perth’s design professionals have appealed directly to the state government not to pull the funding rug from under it, as some projects are halted amid rumours of billions of dollars being slashed from the capital works program.

AT first it seemed Western Australia, riding the mining boom, was digging a hole all the way to China.

THE All Ordinaries is at levels approaching 3,500 and Colin Barnett is premier of Western Australia.

I WAS pleasantly surprised to see a job vacancy advertised in the window of a restaurant last week.

AFTER several years of drought, farmers in the northern Wheatbelt had a bumper season in 2008, with a 7 million tonne crop expected this season.

WHEN Alcoa of Australia announced that it was embarking on a joint venture to develop the $100 million Warro gas project north of Perth, it underscored the biggest business issue of 2008 - energy security.

NEXT year may be the year of the insolvency practitioner but the sector was certainly gearing up for business in 2008 as the older hands of the sector recognised the signs of a stumbling bull market.

THE state government is looking to add a new layer of planning expertise to sit above local government as part of its bid to streamline approvals in the land development sector.

AN already strained rock lobster industry took another hit late this year as new Fisheries Minister Norman Moore introduced strict limitations to an already tightly controlled field.