Matt Mckenzie

SPECIAL REPORT: There’s no doubt the boom has come to an end, but plenty of opportunities and projects remain in play.

PHOTO ESSAY: With our special report into Universities in next week’s paper, Business News has taken the opportunity to speak to some recent and soon to be university graduates about what looms ahead as they make the big transition into the workforce.

One part of the Dick Smith business has been snapped up by an entity affiliated with Harvey Norman, although employees will still need to wait for a liquidation process to receive overdue entitlements.

Chevron is the latest major resources player in the state to announce a change in leadership, after selecting a successor to current managing director (Australia) Roy Krzywosinski, who will hand over the reins in June.

Fortescue Metals Group has taken its latest round of debt repayments to more than $US1.2 billion, with a $US650 million buy of its 2019 senior secured term loans.

Vehicle sales in Western Australia appear to be reaching the end of a long tumble, with April sales this year down just 0.1 per cent on the same month in 2015.

Medical cannabis hopeful MGC Pharmaceuticals has upped its capital raising to $5 million after its initial $3.5 million raising closed oversubscribed.

Tax reductions earned plaudits from the business community, with the budget's cuts in both tax company and income tax burdens likely to inspire confidence, particularly in Western Australia.

Despite the tax cuts in last night’s budget, the federal government is still relying on increasing revenue in the five years ahead to return to balance, which is still anticipated for 2020-21.

An increase of the small business tax threshold to $10 million and a reduction of the company tax rate to 27.5 per cent from July 1 is the first step in a plan to hit a rate of 25 per cent in a decade, Treasurer Scott Morrison said in his first budget.

Lower gold production has contributed to a 16 per cent reduction in March quarter revenue for Independence Group compared with the same period last year, helping drive the company’s share price down 11 per cent today.

POLITICAL uncertainty and growing demand in the developing world will underpin gold prices for the foreseeable future, according to ABC Bullion chief economist Jordan Eliseo.

Growing demand for energy and LNG’s role in efforts to reduce CO2 emissions were among the positive takeaways from the LNG 18 conference in Perth.

Perth has had its deepest quarter of deflation since the 1991 ‘recession we had to have’, with prices falling 0.6 per cent in the three months to March, driven by cooling house prices and cheaper fuel.

Hasty protectionism of uncompetitive businesses can have a magnified impact on other companies.

The federal government's future submarine project will be assembled in South Australia under French company DCNS, although there's still hope for Western Australian industry to win contracts.

Ethical, sustainable and support for communities in need are growing trends in the local fashion industry.

Woodside Petroleum has received a first strike against its remuneration report, with about 27.6 per cent of shareholders voting against it, while chairman Michael Chaney has flagged he may not step down at the next AGM as previously suggested.

March quarter revenue was down by nearly a third on the same period last year, Woodside Petroleum revealed today, although it flagged that it was continuing work with Hess on gas processing from the Equus field.

Treasurer Mike Nahan will embark on a regional pitch for the sale of Fremantle Ports, today revealing that the package could include a redevelopment of the passenger terminal, and a long-term fund to pay for infrastructure at the future outer harbour.

The state’s shipbuilding industry has had a big win, with the federal government selecting Austal to build 21 Pacific Patrol Boats at its yard in Henderson in a contract worth at least $500 million.

Former police minister Rob Johnson has fired a parting shot at Premier Colin Barnett as he resigned as a member of the Liberal Party, saying the state’s debt burden was out of control, among other issues.

Agriculture Minister Dean Nalder has made his first major move since being given the role, announcing the deregulation of the state’s potato industry and a handsome $14 million compensation package for growers.

A local academic has warned that failure to privatise the operation of Fremantle Ports could have a negative effect on the competitiveness of the Western Australia’s exporting industries.

Ratings agency Moody's has kept the federal government's credit outlook stable at AAA, despite raising concerns thar governments of both stripes had been unable to reduce spending or achieve fiscal consolidation.

The unemployment rate in Western Australia has dropped a whopping 0.5 percentage points in March, to 5.5 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms.

THE state government is struggling to sell its economic strategy, with around 80 per cent of respondents to a recent Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA survey feeling there is no credible plan

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has told the LNG 18 conference that Australia’s increasing role as an energy exporter added significant weight to the country’s strategic influence, while touting the benefits for the industry of recently signed free trade agreements.

Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg said the federal government would be pushing states to remove moratoriums on unconventional gas extraction, including fracking, he told the LNG 18 conference today.

Total chief executive Patrick Pouyanne has flagged that the next batch of LNG projects may not be as far off as some think, speaking at the LNG18 conference today.

Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman told the LNG 18 conference in Perth today there could be opportunities for LNG producers to move further into downstream markets, particularly in developing countries, where demand for gas existed but barriers to entry had slowed take up.

Alumina giant Alcoa could be on the cusp of a strong growth period, yet significant challenges remain in its way in ensuring it can keep up with low-cost global competitors.