Special Reports

SPECIAL REPORT: Perth hotels have varied their marketing message to attract more of the leisure market, but new developments will present additional challenges.

SPECIAL REPORT: Plans for a second data centre in the Mid West are behind schedule after personnel changes at the company behind the development.

SPECIAL REPORT: Cloud computing is changing the game for providers and those businesses that use the service.

SPECIAL REPORT: As the junior resources sector slows, so do the earnings of companies most exposed to the sector – exploration drilling and mining services firms.

SPECIAL REPORT: Tight debt and equity environments have led many junior mining and exploration firms to seek alternative arrangements to finance their operations.

SPECIAL REPORT: Poor investor sentiment and low confidence have put a crunch on capital for WA's junior miners.

SPECIAL REPORT: Energy Minister Mike Nahan has told Business News a review of Western Australia's wholesale electricity market could open the door to some dramatic shakeups in the sector.

SPECIAL REPORT: Former Verve Energy CEO Shirley In't Veld says when it comes to government-owned businesses, politics often wins out over commercial imperatives.

FEATURE: A new indigenous consultancy wants to prove others can follow in its footsteps.

FEATURE: Impressive statistics don't necessarily equate to widespread positive change.

SPECIAL REPORT: The state government's efforts to boost housing affordability have resulted in an increase in diversity of housing options for those buying their first home, with developers saying Perth is coming of age as a modern city.

SPECIAL REPORT: Despite the state government's best efforts, developers say bureaucracy is the main barrier to getting land to market in a timely fashion.

SPECIAL REPORT: Perth's northern and southern fringes remain the hotbeds for residential land development, but short-term supply issues have hit the industry's ability to keep pace with a surge in demand.

SPECIAL REPORT: One of the Barnett government's most innovative social reforms, seeking to marry hard-nosed investment bankers with not-for-profit groups, is under review.

SPECIAL REPORT: Associations are filling the market with events for business people, leading some to request additional venues.

SPECIAL REPORT: More national and international conventions are choosing to come to Perth, adding a boost to tourism and industry and catalysing a big change at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.

SPECIAL REPORT: The past 12 months have been tough for WA's corporate finance professionals, but there is cautious optimism that 2014 will be a different story.

SPECIAL REPORT: The biotech sector came to life in 2013 but pricing was critical to the success or failure of capital raisings.

FEATURE: Gina Rinehart's ability to maintain momentum at the Roy Hill project put the mining magnate at the top of our people of the year list.

FEATURE: A diverse array of privately held and public-listed companies is angling to become the next success story in the onshore oil and gas sector.

FEATURE: Salaries have come under huge pressure during the past year as widespread cost cutting takes its toll on executives' take-home pay.

FEATURE: It has been a difficult year for many of WA's listed entities, but investors are backing the performance of most of the state's top executives.

FEATURE: The state's biotechnology sector is heating up as investors look for the next wave of investment opportunities amid waning resources investment.

FEATURE: The trucking and logistics sector is investing in new growth projects around Perth's two major freight hubs, despite the economic slowdown in WA.

Development activity in the Perth apartment market has risen to its highest level since the GFC, with national players getting more active in WA.

It will probably take Gina Rinehart a few years to catch Bill Gates in the race to be the world's richest person, but it is easy to see how she might overhaul the Microsoft founder's swag of $75 billion.

Property executives were the big movers in this year's Wealth Creators list, while the resources slowdown put the hurt on mining services directors' fortunes.

Choosing healthier food choices and finding the time to exercise can have significant effects on workplace productivity, as two Perth business executives discovered.

The corporate sector has a social responsibility to implement health and wellness strategies, according to speakers at this week's Success and Leadership breakfast.

Rare earths explorer Northern Minerals struck a 50 per cent offtake agreement with Japanese trading giant Sumitomo Corporation last December – but it was nine months before the deal was announced. The timeframe is indicative of the measured approach taken by the Japanese, according to Northern Minerals managing director George Bauk.

Chinese interest in Australian property and resources may be in the spotlight, but Japan still has a significant foothold, particularly in WA.

Things are looking up for WA grain producers, with a bumper crop on the way, but the outlook remains mixed for the state's live animal exporters.