Mark Pownall

A Sydney-based listed property trust has bought Commodore Hotel in Hay Street for $17.5 million, providing a significant profit for its Singaporean owners who paid $6.5 million in 2004 for the 1218sqm site.

Michael Malone used the stage to dramatic effect in accepting his award as the WA Business News 40under40 1st Amongst Equals last week, lashing out at telecommunications regulation before revealing a heartfelt story about his son’s autism.

I had an interesting discussion about the rising costs of oil with Motor Trades Association executive director Peter Fitzpatrick recently.

ISP leader Michael Malone used the stage to dramatic effect in accepting his award as the WA Business News 40under40 1st Amongst Equals last night, further lashing Telstra before revealing a heartfelt story about his son's autism.

I am always fascinated at how corporate history gets written and rewritten over time; how some people never escape their past while others seem to have a teflon coating when it comes to their mistakes.

The present brawling between barristers regarding their ability to talk to the media is fascinating.

Is Bob Browning lining up for the WA Business News Deal of Year again?

Success in its bid for a merger with Australian Gas and Light Co Ltd might result in a vastly different Alinta Ltd being headquartered in Perth.

Perth energy company Alinta Ltd has unveiled a new effort to create Australia's biggest energy player with an $11 billion proposal to merge its business with Australian Gas Light Company Ltd.

The Dampier to Bunbury Pipeline is to add around 50 per cent to its capacity by the end of 2008-09 with a $1.5 billion expansion driven by demand from new and existing customers.

Perth-based industrial conglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd revealed it expected annual revenue and profit for 2005-06 will significantly exceed the previous financial year, after reporting a half-yearly net profit increase of 37 per cent.

The advertising industry is taking a leaf out of the supposedly humdrum world of accountants by moving to introduce an accreditation program for the industry.

Andrew Forrest is without doubt one of Western Australia’s most intriguing characters. I had the great pleasure to hear Mr Forrest speak last week at one of WA Business News’s Success and Leadership events, and it was a great opportunity to gain insight

It has been one of the high growth sectors of the Western Australian economy, but these days there are big question marks hanging over the viability of smaller players in the wine sector.

The finger pointing by all those involved in the Westpoint Group debacle would almost be humorous if so much money was not at stake.

Community consultation is a growth field increasingly utilised by many in the commercial world, from property developers to those constructing roads.

It’s not all bad news for the smaller producers of Western Australia, but there appears to be a strong case for a change in thinking.

The wine industry’s woes are not self-inflicted and are an important example of what happens when government decisions start distorting business in an unhealthy way.

Billed as one of the largest events of its type, the Dowerin field days has signalled a return to its roots as an agricultural machinery showcase and flagged plans to make the town’s role in the heavy equipment industry more than just a three-day annual s

The big end of Western Australia’s wine industry has changed dramatically in the past year or so, reflecting the state’s domination by mid-sized producers who often suffer most when the squeeze is on.

I have never believed in the regulated monopoly powers of AWB Ltd or its predecessors.So it is perhaps unfair for me to use the appalling news of the Iraqi wheat scandal to add to the call for the archaic wheat export monopoly to be scrapped.

A quick thank you to all our readers for your continued involvement in the growing success of Daily Business Alerts since its inception on November 14. We wish you a safe, happy holiday season and look forward to a bigger, brighter 2006.

StateWest Credit Society Ltd will conduct a re-run of its demutualisation vote following another Federal Court win this morning for dissident members of the credit union opposed to its merger with Home Building Society Ltd.

Perth is a unique location in the resources world, arguably the only place outside the major financial capital of London that can lay claim to being a global centre that straddles both the mining and oil and gas sectors.

Western Australian rural input and services group United Farmers Cooperative has confirmed 2004-05 as a lean year in its annual report, but believes it has established a strong foundation to see off competition.

WILL 2005 be forever etched in our memories?

Listed labour hire, recruitment, training and diversified services provider Integrated Group Ltd’s new CEO Christopher Sutherland believes more than two decades in the engineering world sets him in good stead to run the West Perth-based business.

United Credit Union Ltd has confirmed that it paid the legal fees of objectors to StateWest Credit Society Ltd's demutualisation, saying it did so with the interests of the industry in mind.

Federal treasurer Peter Costello has confirmed Western Australia will forego almost $24 million in payments for 2005-06 under the National Competition Policy which will provide $834 million in funds to the states.

It might feel like a long way away but the events at Cronulla Beach in Sydney at the weekend are something we should all be wary of.

Perth is set to have a new brewing company, with property developer Adrian Fini a key player in the Mindarie development of a micro-brewery pilot plant for the new Indian Ocean Brewing Company led by hospitality veteran St John Hammond.

Two of Western Australia’s most successful stockbrokers – Brad Shallard and Romano Sala Tenna – have taken their partnership a step further, launching their own listed investment company.