As Senior Editor at Business News, Mark Beyer has a wide-ranging brief to research, analyse and report on the issues, trends and personalities affecting the business community in Western Australia.
Mr Beyer has 35 years' career experience, primarily in business journalism. He joined Business News in 2002 and previously worked for The Australian Financial Review and The West Australian, and also has public relations and corporate affairs experience.
Before becoming a journalist, he was an economist with the Commonwealth Treasury in Canberra.
THERE has been an intense focus in recent weeks on the impact of global financial trends on Western Australia's economic prospects but recent policy decisions have highlighted the equally important impact of government.
THE long-running debate over Australia's energy future heated up again this week, and it's likely to continue running as the economy goes through its ups and downs.
THE latest round of national research grants has highlighted the University of Western Australia's status as the state's premier research institution, though the grants also indicate that WA as a whole has not performed well.
THE global financial crisis has had a big impact on two energy projects off Western Australia's northern coast, with Coogee Resources and Nexus Energy both putting out 'for sale' signs this month.
PLUNGING international stock markets have been the most visible manifestation of the global financial crisis of the past month, but an equally worrying trend has occurred in debt markets.
The stock market carnage over the past year has seen the value of Western Australia's blue chip stocks cut by half from their peak value while other stocks have been smashed to as little as 10 per cent of their top price.
THE global financial crisis has been an unmitigated disaster for investors and looks like getting worse, but the impact on the business sector in Western Australia is far from clear-cut.
MANY technology and innovation conferences in Western Australia have a sub theme that can be summed up as 'life after the resources boom', but the chair of next week's Leading Lights conference has a different focus.
THERE was something almost surreal about events last Friday when Western Australia lost the country's single largest resources project as the rest of the world trembled over the fallout from the global financial crisis.
THE formal swearing-in this week of the Barnett ministry marks the start of what should be an exciting period of government in Western Australia, though there will be no shortage of tough challenges.
Norwegian fertiliser company Yara International ASA has lifted its stake in Burrup Holdings to 35 per cent after purchasing additional equity from the company's founder and chairman Pankaj Oswal.
If Western Australia plays its cards right, the state will benefit from a succession of giant oil and gas projects over the next decade that will deliver big economic dividends for 30 or more years.
WHILE critics have been quick to jump on the Labor-bashing bandwagon after the state election, there hasn't been much reflection on some of the strategic challenges that will face the next state government, whoever leads it.
The National Party has resisted overtures to form a governing coalition with the Liberal Party, vowing to deal with whichever party offers the best deal for its supporters in the bush.
Western Australia faces a period of unprecedented political uncertainty after the major parties failed to win a majority of seats in yesterday's state election.
Uranium mining, nuclear waste dumps and genetically modified foods barely rated as significant political issues when the state election was called last month, yet they have become major issues as the campaign has unfolded.
Gindalbie Metals has adopted an innovative approach for developing its $1.8 billion Karara iron ore project, with four engineering companies being given roles.
When Western Australian voters go to the polling booths on Saturday they have a choice between policy continuity under the Labor Party or the prospect of change under a Liberal government.
Liberal Party leader Colin Barnett's commitment to increased education spending was one of the few standouts in the third week of the state election campaign, which has continued to be a lacklustre affair.
Investors trying to pick the next big thing in the resources boom poured their money into a diverse group of Western Australian companies last year, including iron ore, coal and phosphate stocks.
Western Australia is in the middle of a once-in-a-generation boom, but you'd struggle to know that if you had closely followed the state election campaign.
Parochial investors who put their money into Western Australian stocks have just experienced their worst year in nearly a decade, judging by the results of WA Business News' annual total shareholder return survey.
Rio Tinto Ltd, the world's third largest mining company, has forecast higher prices for the company's core commodities of iron, alumina and copper after delivering a record first half profit.
Uranium miner Paladin Energy and iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group have for the third year running maintained their status as the top performing Western Australian stocks, based on rolling five-year returns.