Mark Pownall

AS the global economy reels under the shock of the credit crisis, it's interesting to see how the blame game transpires, especially those voices quick to condemn capitalism as the root of the problem.

THE Western Australian government has started the formal process of selecting a new chief for the Department of Premier and Cabinet, even though the widely tipped winner - Peter Conran who was until a year ago in the inner sanctum of John Howard's prime m

A LOW-PROFILE fibre network born out of a failed state government investment has emerged as the backbone of Leighton Holdings Ltd's efforts to extend its national high-speed data network to the Perth marketplace.

WHEN it comes to advertising sectors, it doesn't come much more competitive than insurance, especially in the major consumer markets of motor vehicles and homes.

INVESTMENT banker Aaron Constantine said he laughed with a colleague when he saw two boats moored out at Marjorie Bay on Rottnest Island last week.

THE Royal Automobile Club of WA has revealed it paid $104.

HISTORIC statistics have only limited value in the context of an unprecedented market meltdown, nevertheless there is some comfort in knowing the economic position before the latest chapter in the slowly unfolding crisis.

WHAT a difference a year makes.October, the traditional time for market crashes, is also when I make for Rottnest on an annual holiday.

SINCE I wrote my piece on Tony Sage a few weeks ago, two of his companies - Cape Lambert Iron Ore Ltd and International Goldfields Ltd - have lodged annual reports.

THE roll call of Western Australian businesses directly affected by the global credit crunch grew suddenly during the past week, with several listed companies changing their plans in response to the meltdown on Wall Street.

LEIGHTON Holdings Ltd has emerged as one of the most active buyers of small Western Australian businesses in the past year, paying more than $22 million for three service organisations that expanded its footprint in Perth and the South West.

CLIMATE change concerns continue to spawn new business ideas, with a recent entry being a Perth-based company's proposal to capture carbon dioxide in seawater through a process which could also be used to extract minerals.

NATIONALS WA's Royalties for Regions plan, which is now a key element of the new government's policy platform, is going to be a true test for Colin Barnett and his team as they manage the state's finances.

The markets might be rocky but continued Chinese interest is making some wonder about our current foreign investment rules.

Perth-based Homeloans Ltd has announced that its managing director Brian Jones will step down, two months before his contract expires, as the group deals with the sub-prime impact on its warehouse funding.

NEW Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore is under no illusions about where his focus will have to be as he returns to the position he held in the previous Liberal government - the approvals process for mining and exploration.

THE gas crisis caused by a pipeline rupture at Varanus Island has left a bitter legacy for many Western Australian businesses, which have been scathing of the former state government's reaction.

PERTH is clearly an uneasy home for entrepreneur Tony Sage. Though he's spent the bulk of his adult life here or working elsewhere for Perth-based companies, it appears Mr Sage has not always been accepted in the Western Australian capital.

Major independent Western Australian winemaker Stella Bella has raised rural property rights as a key issue in a battle with the Augusta-Margaret River Shire over a diversion road that could cut through one of its vineyards.

THERE are many things likely to change following the recent state election, not just as a result of a new government but also due to the circumstances in which it took power.

PERTH'S insolvency world is undergoing a restructuring of its own ahead of an expected rush of new business in the wake of the credit crunch and global banking crisis.

A streamlined and efficient public service is what new treasurer Troy Buswell wants to see.

Concerns about the possibility of more gas rationing in the next few weeks have been raised by some Western Australian businesses as major industrial users come back on stream before Varanus Island's gas output is completely restored.

Major independent Western Australian winemaker Stella Bella has raised rural property rights as a key issue in a battle with the Augusta-Margaret River Shire over a diversion road that could cut through one of its vineyards.

THE world is full of strange anomalies created by some geographer's artificial line in the sand.

WOULD-BE uranium miners might have been first out of the starting gate to capitalise on the surprise election of a conservative government in Western Australia, but there are many other regional businesses set to benefit from Labor's fall and a sustained

COLIN Barnett's surprise leadership success has left him with a largely blank canvas to work with when it comes to composing a state cabinet.

Hedge funds might attract the headlines for all the wrong reasons but Jon Horton has staked his latest business enterprise on the fact that their returns in these troubled times will attract Australian investors.

Liberal leader Colin Barnett has offered to introduce electoral reforms to help the Nationals WA retain their new power base as part of his successful deal with the regional party.

Daylight saving may be the victim of Western Australia's election - further bemusing those who watch us from a distance.

Could the emergence of Brendon Grylls as a power broker in Western Australian politics create a shockwave that reverberates across the country and around the globe? It is possible that a few thousand regional and rural voters could have a major impact on

THE election in Western Australia may have been too close to call earlier this week, but that didn't stop the behind-the-scenes strategists predicting how the surprise conservative polling could influence the federal sphere.