Tim Treadgold

Finding value in a market where property has peaked and interest rates might creep a little higher is a dilemma for all investors.

Brance office syndrome, the inferiority complex that rears its head every few years in Western Australia, is overdue for a return if stock exchange pecking order is a guide.

It has taken two years for the Bank of Scotland, trading under the alphabet soup name of HBOS, to bed down its sometimes troublesome Australian subsidiary, BankWest, but recent events in the market flag the launch of what some observers see as a classic ‘

Human trials are a critical step in proving that a new medicine works as promised.

What do the chaps at Crosby Partners know that eludes Australian investors? Simple really. Every morning they look at a map of the world and ask a simple question: “has China disappeared?”

There is nothing new about the sight of hot money looking for a fat profit.

One step forward, one step back. If that sounds like marking time it’s because it is. And if you think it’s how the stock market is performing right now, you’re right.

Not many people in Perth have taken an interest in the $760 million takeover battle for the alternative energy company, Pacific Hydro.

Picking winners is a game played with gusto at Ascot on a Saturday afternoon, and on the stock market every day of the week.

Woolworths is trading on a prospective price/earnings ratio of 16.85. BHP Billiton is on 9.85. Can anyone explain the gap between two of Australia’s corporate icons because it is ridiculously wide?

Petrol at $1.10 a litre, and more, is a pain in the pocket, as we all know. Less well known is the changes it brings to the way we think, and act.

Margaret River’s next big wine event is being planned, not for the town, but for Heathrow Airport on the outskirts of London in about six weeks’ time.

Dullsville becomes Gabville next week when two big resource events hit Perth.

Pricewaterhouse-Coopers, the accounting and consultancy firm with the silliest name in the world, is recruiting staff.

If Len Buckeridge needed another reason for not floating his BGC Group on the stock exchange then John Roberts has just given him one.

Big bets have been placed on the assumption that a new bidder will emerge in the battle for control of Portman, the iron ore miner with a split board and widely differing valuations.

Prince Charles and Andrew Roberts do not, on the surface, appear to have much in common.

Third time lucky? That is the kindest comment that can be offered to yet another attempt to revive the dream of WA having its own vanadium industry.

High oil prices are doing wonders for the share prices of oil producers, which makes just about every stock in that sector worth a look.

The boom, which we are all enjoying immensely, appears to be entering a new phase – or is it?

What would a WA election be without a big ticket prize for the people. So far, we haven’t seen anything to rival past elections. There have been higher wages promised for nurses, and more police on the beat.

It’s not often that a business says thanks to government. Duncan Stone and his crew at solar energy specialist Solco are doing that – in stereo.

IT was once said in New York that when the bell hops start giving share tips it’s time to sell.

TIME, it seems, really does heal all wounds, with signs emerging that the investment world is gearing up for a second dose of dot.com mania.

XSTRATA’S low-ball takeover bid for WMC is stirring emotions.

REMEMBER when your mother warned you about buying cheap shoes? “They’ll fall apart, dear,” are the words that ring in your ears. Well, mother’s words are ringing loudly in the ears of Planning Minister, Alannah MacTiernan, as she contemplates what to do w

Christmas, it seems, is not just a time for rushing around Coles Myer and Harvey Norman looking for that last-minute present. Stockbrokers too have a shelf full of gift ideas, ranging from an offer of shares in an assortment of small mineral explorers, to

If you believe Anne Pryor from the WA branch of the Australian Shareholders Association, David Humann is overworked, tired, in need of a holiday and should spend more time walking his dog and/or putting his feet up.

Share tipping is fraught with danger in these over-regulated times so Briefcase kicks off this week with a warning that anyone who takes investment advice from a journalist is a fool.

Stupidity comes in many shapes and forms. In recent weeks Briefcase has seen five examples of the same human failing, with one of the best being Mark Latham’s "mother-of-all" stupid performances when he told the workers of Australia...