Mark Pownall

The markets might be rocky but continued Chinese interest is making some wonder about our current foreign investment rules.

CLIMATE change concerns continue to spawn new business ideas, with a recent entry being a Perth-based company's proposal to capture carbon dioxide in seawater through a process which could also be used to extract minerals.

NATIONALS WA's Royalties for Regions plan, which is now a key element of the new government's policy platform, is going to be a true test for Colin Barnett and his team as they manage the state's finances.

Perth-based Homeloans Ltd has announced that its managing director Brian Jones will step down, two months before his contract expires, as the group deals with the sub-prime impact on its warehouse funding.

Major independent Western Australian winemaker Stella Bella has raised rural property rights as a key issue in a battle with the Augusta-Margaret River Shire over a diversion road that could cut through one of its vineyards.

THERE are many things likely to change following the recent state election, not just as a result of a new government but also due to the circumstances in which it took power.

PERTH'S insolvency world is undergoing a restructuring of its own ahead of an expected rush of new business in the wake of the credit crunch and global banking crisis.

A streamlined and efficient public service is what new treasurer Troy Buswell wants to see.

NEW Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore is under no illusions about where his focus will have to be as he returns to the position he held in the previous Liberal government - the approvals process for mining and exploration.

THE gas crisis caused by a pipeline rupture at Varanus Island has left a bitter legacy for many Western Australian businesses, which have been scathing of the former state government's reaction.

PERTH is clearly an uneasy home for entrepreneur Tony Sage. Though he's spent the bulk of his adult life here or working elsewhere for Perth-based companies, it appears Mr Sage has not always been accepted in the Western Australian capital.

Concerns about the possibility of more gas rationing in the next few weeks have been raised by some Western Australian businesses as major industrial users come back on stream before Varanus Island's gas output is completely restored.

Major independent Western Australian winemaker Stella Bella has raised rural property rights as a key issue in a battle with the Augusta-Margaret River Shire over a diversion road that could cut through one of its vineyards.

Hedge funds might attract the headlines for all the wrong reasons but Jon Horton has staked his latest business enterprise on the fact that their returns in these troubled times will attract Australian investors.

THE world is full of strange anomalies created by some geographer's artificial line in the sand.

WOULD-BE uranium miners might have been first out of the starting gate to capitalise on the surprise election of a conservative government in Western Australia, but there are many other regional businesses set to benefit from Labor's fall and a sustained

COLIN Barnett's surprise leadership success has left him with a largely blank canvas to work with when it comes to composing a state cabinet.

Liberal leader Colin Barnett has offered to introduce electoral reforms to help the Nationals WA retain their new power base as part of his successful deal with the regional party.

Daylight saving may be the victim of Western Australia's election - further bemusing those who watch us from a distance.

THE election in Western Australia may have been too close to call earlier this week, but that didn't stop the behind-the-scenes strategists predicting how the surprise conservative polling could influence the federal sphere.

THE Nationals WA's surprise result in last weekend's election is likely to provide a boost for business in regional Western Australia, with the next state government forced to deliver improved infrastructure and services outside the Perth metropolitan are

Could the emergence of Brendon Grylls as a power broker in Western Australian politics create a shockwave that reverberates across the country and around the globe? It is possible that a few thousand regional and rural voters could have a major impact on

Just a week after striking a $50 million agreement to develop an African project, Cape Lambert Iron Ore Ltd has struck its first hiccup with the deal.

When a high-profile business leader like Michael Chaney chooses to devote a major address to Perth's business leadership to the topic of schoolteachers, it's worth sitting up and taking notice.

Whether or not you are a fan of the Olympic Games, this wonderful event does highlight the competitiveness of nations, exposing what can be achieved by investment of resources and exploitation of natural advantages.

Whether or not you are a fan of the Olympic Games, this wonderful event does highlight the competitiveness of nations, exposing what can be achieved by investment of resources and exploitation of natural advantages.

Is it a sign of the times? St George Bank has moved to take control of Warren Mead’s restaurant empire, appointing Shaun Fraser and Simon Read from McGrathNicol as receivers this morning.

At the height of the tech boom almost a decade ago it would have been laughable to suggest that one of Western Australia's most successful internet entrepreneurs would offer local weather information to fishermen.

For years, Charlie Gunningham has been suggesting we have an online business list in our WA Business News Book of Lists, and he took the opportunity at our recent forum to plug the idea again.

Western Australia might be home to the nation's richest man and awash with riches amassed from property and mining booms, but that doesn't necessarily translate into funding for online businesses.

The Royal Automobile Club, which trades as the RAC, is in a unique position in Western Australia.

As the use of the web changes, society is getting more comfortable with it and engaging in deeper usage.