Mark Pownall

A long term plan to put Wanneroo back on the map is close to completion as the city's town centre undergoes a $50-plus million redevelopment.

As much as the resources boom may be drawing in talent from around the globe, Western Australia's brain drain continues in industries like technology where Silicon Valley remains the drawcard.

It's a curious thing when a company sheds some light onto its commercial dramas - sometimes the problem fixes itself under the glare of the spotlight.

One of Perth's better-known faces of venture capital, Mark Dutton, has moved to establish his own firm with private equity backing pitched at funding the smaller end of the market.

Publishing giant WA Newspapers Holdings Ltd plans to change the way it pays its distributors, offering to shift from commission to fee-based remuneration in a deal its says makes agents better off.

Are we living in a state of secrecy? I've always taken the optimistic view that governments in Western Australia generally want to be open and transparent.

As much as $440 million in surpluses generated by member contributions to the Gold State Super pension fund could have been moved out of government reach under a $9 billion mutualisation plan halted by treasurer Eric Ripper last week.

It's probably no surprise to see the number of investment bankers rising in line with the amount of work available.

When asked what he considered was the anniversary date of last year's Coles Group Ltd takeover, Wesfarmers Ltd managing director Richard Goyder nominates July 21 as the most appropriate.

The takeovers scene in Western Australia has changed significantly during the past year, with the ongoing boom boosting the stocks of local players and prompting an increasing presence from international investment banks.

I was reminded the other day of a phenomenon I'd previously heard of in general terms, though I could not recall a name being put to it.

Academia is often looking in the rear view mirror when it comes to documenting worldwide trends.

Gresham Advisory PartnersMichael Ashforth Branch office

If it were just about money, the investment bankers and their other advisory colleagues would find life a lot easier.

Plans to turn over ownership of the state's $9 billion superannuation manager GESB to 295,000 members have been thrown into disarray, with the body and the government apparently unable to conclude a deal at the 11th hour.

Plans to turn over ownership of the state's $9 billion superannuation manager GESB to 295,000 members have been thrown into disarray, with the body and the government apparently unable to conclude a deal at the 11th hour.

Reg Howard-Smith may not be the busiest bloke in Western Australia right now, but he'd probably come close.

The fallout from mystery fuel-additives group Firepower continues to grow with up to 600 Western Australian investors facing the prospect that their shares could be worthless.

The true impact of the Varanus Island incident is starting to emerge as the depth and length of the resulting crisis become clearer to business and the government.

At some time or other - probably at a dinner party - most of us have been asked the question about which 10 people you'd want to have with you if you were stranded on a desert island.

The battle for gas allocation in the wake of the Varanus Island incident has become hotter as industry starts to grapple with the longevity of the crisis, which is expected to continue in some form until December.

For Morley-based food producer Mrs Mac's Pty Ltd, the gas crisis has put the company in a state of watchful alert, rather than caused significant disruption.

When you see the fishermen's shacks and what appear to be their shanty towns from the air above the Abrolhos Islands, it's hard to believe that they lie in the heart of a heavily protected nature reserve.

Fast-growth companies are appearing on the Western Australian landscape in numbers unseen for decades.

With the state's energy policy firmly in the spotlight in the wake of the Varanus Island incident, it has emerged that the Chamber of Minerals and Energy is undertaking a major study to determine the resources industry's power needs for the next decade or

The scale of the impact of the Varanus Island gas explosion is starting to emerge, with about 50 per cent of a large sample of companies in Western Australia reporting their production is down by 30 per cent.

When earthmoving contractor Brierty Ltd ran off the rails, so to speak, with two profit downgrades in the space of six weeks during April and May this year, it laid bare some of the major pitfalls of operating in a boom-time environment.

In the past two weeks we've heard a range of views about whose fault this drama is and what we should do. Some of it sensible, a lot of it garbage.

While I'm hardly a dedicated follower of fashion, those in the know have told me that Australia used to lag the Northern Hemisphere by up to 18 months as far as haute-couture was concerned.

Osbourne Park-based Wooldridges A&M, a major player in the schools supply sector, has become the latest investment for Sydney-based private equity player Fulcrum Capital Partners.

Perth remains on track to take the listings crown for 2007-08, having launched the most companies on the Australian Securities Exchange this financial year.

The Varanus Island gas plant explosion is having a big impact on the WA economy with 14 per cent of the respondents to an industry survey saying they will have to shut down, while 64 per cent expect a production decline.