Latest Headlines

Woodside Petroleum will raise $US700 million through the issue of corporate bonds in the United States to repay short-term debt and general corporate purposes.

Shares in Forge Group have surged as much as 21 per cent after it reported record revenue of $60 million for the first quarter and forecast a 135 per cent increase in its first-half net profit.

PTTEP Australasia says it will wait for expert assessment on damages over its Timor Sea oil leak saga, which is estimated to have cost the company more than $170 million, before deciding on whether it will resume production in the future.

Shares in North Coogee-based Quickstep Holdings have soared as much as 71 per cent in trade today following the announcement of an agreement struck with Lockheed Martin Corporation and another US aerospace giant.

Rio Tinto is rebuilding ship loading infrastructure at its Dampier Salt operation in Port Hedland, which will allow ships to be loaded faster and reduce environmental impacts.

The latest capital raising for Peet's residential land syndicate, the Peet Point Cook Kingsford Syndicate has closed oversubscribed with investors applying for more than 22 million units.

Local brewer Gage Roads has told the ASX that recent share price gains are most likely due to positive news presented to the market about its expansion plans on the back of strong sales.

Mirabela Nickel will ramp up production at its Santa Rita operation in Brazil over the next three months as it produces its first nickel concentrate.

Malaga-based Matrix Composites and Engineering plans to list on the local stock exchange in a fortnight after raising $15 million through its initial public offer.

Satterley Property Group has secured a $36 million contract from the state government to build 231 affordable new homes as part of the Nation Building Economic Stimulus Package.

Nickel miner Minara Resources has confirmed its interest in BHP Billiton's Ravensthorpe nickel operation and is exploring various funding options.

The direction of Perth's property market may not be quite so clear cut with latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics over house prices putting it at odds with figures released last week.

Engineering and construction company Decmil Group says it is in final stage negotiations over a $70 million contract for the Gorgon gas project while Ausgroup has been awarded $30 million worth of contracts for work on the Pluto operation.

The state opposition have highlighted Treasurer Troy Buswell's "incompetency" and "loose financial management" in reaction to the latest financial reports from the state government indicating WA currently has an operating deficit of almost $700 million.

The state government has called for expressions of interest for pilot water projects and associated works in the Pilbara worth up to $2.5 million a piece as part of the $300 million Royalties for Regions Pilbara Revitalisation Plan.

Receivers of failed agribusiness company Great Southern today completed the sale of the company's far north Queensland cattle station to Consolidated Pastoral Company for $48 million.

Junior gold producer Troy Resources' plans to raise almost $25 million to continue development at its Casposo gold project pushed down its share value as much as five per cent in trading this morning.

Shares in property developer Port Bouvard have been placed in a trading halt on a request from the company in order to complete the refinancing of its existing loan facilitites with St George bank.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Nedlands-based engineering and construction services company Forge Group has been awarded a $12 million terminal tank refurbishment contract on Barrow Island as part of Chevron's $50 billion Gorgon LNG project.

Home values in Perth have bucked the national growth trend, falling more than 1 per cent in the September quarter, according to data released today which counter other reports' suggestions that median home values in Perth have increased in recent months.

The state's peak business lobby group is calling on the state government to "urgently" streamline the public sector on the back of a new Economic Audit Committee report expected to be presented to the goverment in the coming days.

The Northern Territory government has declared the gas leak detected at Chinese oil giant Sinopec's Puffin oil field in the Timor Sea poses no threat to the environment.

Wolf Minerals has announced the completion of its $4 million placement to new strategic partners Traxys Projects and Resource Capital Funds.

Aviva Corporation has started shopping around its $1 billion Coolimba power project, two weeks after Aviva's plans were cruelled by its failure to win a critical power supply tender run by state-owned retailer Synergy.

Paladin Energy has lowered its production guidance for 2009/10 as the ramp up of its two uranium mines in Namibia and Malawi was slower than anticipated but has outlined expanded growth targets for future production.

Centamin Egypt will delist from the Australian Securities Exchange due to the high costs for a shareholder base that accounts for less than 15 per cent of the miner's share capital.

The number of new home sales in Western Australia fell by 11.1 per cent in September, the country's second biggest drop and nearly three times national decline, following a strong surge in August, according to a Housing Industry Association (HIA) survey.

Australian businesses are the second slowest to pay their local suppliers, at an average 11 days late, with domestic customers taking two days longer to pay Australian businesses than thier international counterparts, a new global survey has revealed.

Miner Mount Gibson Iron has reached a $US30 million settlement with former customer Sinom, after Sinom did not accept scheduled shipments last year.

With 65 years' hospitality experience between them, Judy and Michael Monaghan show no sign of slowing down. Adam Orlando reports

IS it a case of the squeakiest wheel getting the lubrication? For those outside it, the political process is an extraordinary thing, with rapid changes in policy possible within just a few hours.

TODAY I'd like to talk about four longer-term trends that had been strongly influencing economic outcomes in Australia before the onset of the global financial crisis, and which are likely to become even more influential in the next growth period.