Latest Headlines

NOTHING says festive season more aptly than the pop of a cork from a bottle of fizz, but in these times of tight belts and Scroogish sentiment, shall we shave the Christmas spend a tad by going for the cheaper option this Noel?

Retailing is replacing production as the place to make money from pearls.

A ROAD extension project considered vital for the development of the Rockingham/Kwinana industrial area has been indefinitely delayed due to health and environmental concerns.

THE release of long-awaited plans for the Northbridge Link may have grabbed the headlines, but the organisation responsible for delivering the project has unfinished business to attend to elsewhere in the city

THE CBD office leasing market is in a far healthier position than it was heading into the last boom, according to the latest market research from Colliers International.

AUTISM West Support Inc has launched a five-year strategic plan to raise awareness of the neurobiological disorder, following the opening of a new Autism West Centre in Nedlands last month.

Like fine wine, it takes a lot of effort to produce a good coffee. Adam Orlando reports.

Golden West Resources says it is investigating the viability of short-term gold production at its Wiluna West project in the Mid West for next year.

West Perth-based Rubianna Resources has made a strong debut on the Australian Securities Exchange today, with its share price closing at a 50 per cent premium to its issue price.

Melbourne-based La Trobe University has named education provider Navitas as the preferred tenderer to manage its existing international college.

Civmec Construction and Engineering has started construction of its $24 million fabrication facility at the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson, aimed at lifting the state's chances of winning larger contracts.

Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals is budgeting a further $US150 million to bring the Ravensthorpe nickel mine into production within 18 months, after it today announced it had bought the operation from BHP Billiton.

Western Australian industrialist Gordon Martin has conceded defeat in his bid to take control of Great Southern's timber schemes.

The Urban Development Institute of Australia has welcomed the federal government's move to provide infrastructure funding based on 30-year strategic plans suggesting it's a critical step required to meet growing demand for land.

Tony Jack's bid to take control of Great Southern's timber schemes has caught the attention of the corporate regulator after projections contained in its proposal were deemed inappropriate.

The head of Western Australia's real estate institute was unsurprised to learn of the massive price paid out for the purchase of iron ore heiress, Angela Bennett's Mosman Park mansion, reportedly a national record at $57.5 million.

Property developer Cedar Woods Properties has bought a 2.55 hectare residential development site in a Melbourne suburb for $22.5 million with plans to build 70 new homes and townhouses.

Shares in Cape Lambert Resources have entered a trading halt as it prepares to release details of the completed $214 million initial public offer for Q Copper.

Redcliffe-based Global Construction Services has lifted its order book to more than $115 million after it today secured a $75 million formwork and concrete contract with Brookfield Multiplex for work at the Fiona Stanley Hospital.

A West Perth-based company with mineral assets in Chile and the shell of former explorer Supersorb Environmental will open their initial public offers this week, aiming to raise a combined $18 million.

Engineering and construction company Abigroup has today secured a contract with Seven Network subsidiary, vividwireless, to build part of Perth's new 4G wireless network.

Chevron has again claimed the country's largest ever resource deal with a gas sales deal over the Wheatstone project with Tokyo Electric Power Company, estimated at $90 billion.

Galaxy Resources says it $130 million project and plant loan has now been approved after China Development Bank Corporation joined the project finance syndicate led by Austrian bank, Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG.

Leighton-owned carrier Nextgen Networks has today been announced as the successful tenderer for the federal government's $250 million regional blackspots program, part of the roll-out of the national broadband network.

Shares in Carnegie Wave Energy have dropped after the company said it had raised $3.5 million, the first part of a total $6 million capital raising to fund its first wave energy plant at Garden Island.

Subiaco-based Summit Resources will pay French nuclear company Areva $4.5 million to settle legal action over the uranium marketing rights to the Valhalla/Skal deposit in Mt Isa.

For all the clout that multinationals Chevron and Shell might normally expect to wield, it is clearly Woodside boss Don Voelte who wears the pants when it comes to the Browse LNG venture in the Kimberley.

Cazaly Resources has had to terminate a $4 million capital raising after it received indications that it was unlikely to get the funds.

Woodside chief Don Voelte today welcomed the federal government's strict deadline for moving forward with development of the giant Browse gasfield as "brilliant" and "a shot in the arm" for the people of the Kimberley.

West Perth-based Avalon Minerals plans to raise $6.6 million to fund exploration and feasibility studies at its Viscaria copper project in Sweden.

Three Western Australian boutique hotels have been named among Australia's and New Zealand's top 33 properties in an international travel guide from boutique and luxury hotel specialists, Mr & Mrs Smith.

Progress towards a final investment decision for the $20 billion Wheatstone project is gathering pace with operator Chevron today awarding the offshore component of a key contract to Technip Oceania and WorleyParsons subsidiary, Intecsea.