Tim Treadgold

Western Australia appears to be dodging the collapse of Australia’s manufacturing sector, but it would be wise to keep an eye on one of the State’s most important businesses, the BP oil refinery at

Results from a couple of shale gas drill tests could have a significant effect on gas prices, and our energy future.

Gold’s first peek at the magic price of $US2000 an ounce ended in disarray last night, a reminder to all investors that bubbles deflate faster than they inflate.

Several factors indicate GFC II is different to the first time around.

Given a choice, would you loan money to BHP Billiton or Italy?

Western leaders face some tough political decisions in the near future.

The Baltic Dry Index has barely moved over the past month, a fact which has escaped hysterical share traders and expert commentators, but one which is very good news for Australia, especially WA.

The success of the resources states is making things tough in the rest of the country.

Going broke slower. Those three words sum up what happened in the U.S. this week and explain why stock markets keep falling and gold keeps rising.

Understanding how the internet affects traditional businesses seems to be a young person’s game.

Champagne corks will be popping in Kalgoorlie next week as delegates gather for the annual Diggers and Dealers forum – but not anywhere else.

Government intervention in markets rarely has a positive long-term effect on the economy.

Apart from Adelaide roots, Julia Gillard and Rupert Murdoch share something else in common; they are living examples of crisis management - with one doing it well, and the other not.

Is Tasmania Australia's 'Greece'? The numbers appear eerily similar.

Business is not just about making money, as a former Chinese Ambassador to Australia said yesterday. There is a moral dimension - as Rupert Murdoch is discovering.

Current events are exposing the limits of globalisation.

Voters appear to be abandoning the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and her rush to introduce a carbon tax. Money is just ignoring her.

What’s the connection between a light metal, fruit juice and a US-based economist?

"Who killed Australia's mining industry" is not a question being asked today, though it could soon be, judging by a flood of recent evidence.

It looks like a case of ‘owners sit tight, buyers get ready’ in local property for the next two years.

Gina Rinehart hates the label "Australia's richest person". How will she, and the rest of the country react when (not if) she ranks as the "world's richest"- as can be forecast using the latest research.

You won’t see many sights stranger than thousands of people rallying in support of a tax.

Bad news for the meat and wine industries is masking a minor miracle in the Wheatbelt where high commodity prices are breathing new life into near-dead towns.

China has become too cheap and too expensive at the same time – and something has to give.

Margaret River grape growers might hate the idea of a coal mine in their backyard, but unless the outlook for Australian wine improves they might have to change their minds.

There’s not much glamour left in the aviation industry, which is facing a tough future.

A lot happened, but nothing changed at Fortescue Metals today - but isn't that the nature of public relations spin.

The world will soon know what sort of shape the US economy is really in.

Political secession is not on WA's agenda, but financial secession certainly appears to be happening.

Export embargoes on all manner of goods could change the way the trade world works.

Australia might have a two-speed economy today, but when interest rates rise again next month only one half will be moving. The other half will be dead.

Andrew Forrest may have a big number in his ‘wealth column’, but he’s down 2-0 against an old foe.