Michael West
Michael West comments on companies, markets and the economy. He is a former SMH business editor.
Michael West
Gloomy news easy fodder for wolves
Michael West As Australia's miracle economy chugs along, markets remain unnerved by events overseas.
Michael West
Are the wolves about to get it right?
Michael West The trouble with those touting 'Armageddon scenarios' is that they can no longer be so easily dismissed.
Michael West
Keeping tabs on land grabs
Michael West It is hard to tell exactly when the deal was done, but a group of Chinese businessmen have quietly put their collective foot on a block of land half the size of the Australian Capital Territory.
Michael West
Mysterious Chinese deal highlights FIRB secrecy
Michael West A group of Chinese businessmen has put their collective foot on a block of land half the size of the Australian Capital Territory. Why is FIRB so cagey on questions about it?
Michael West
Anxiety pervades skittish markets
Michael West A sharemarket dabbler would have done well this year to adhere to the old adage "sell in May and go away", provided they sold at the beginning of the month.
Michael West
Mayday, mayday: the sharemarket's sinking
Michael West Last month's stock slump and a sluggish US recovery are raising fears of an 'Armageddon scenario'.
Michael West
Why ASIC needs to come clean on Hancock
Michael West The plot thickens. Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting has failed to comply with the law by not filing its accounts on time and the corporate regulator has failed to uphold the law.
Michael West
Power sector primed for overload
Michael West A farming family finds out the hard way that some of our key utilities face perverse incentives to invest more than they need to.
Michael West
Beyond the visage, Joyce begs a flying leap of faith
Michael West Qantas' chief has the hardest gig in Australia and the airline's restructure is yet another challenge.
Michael West
Power play a winner for AGL
Michael West From the carbon price handouts to rising electricity costs, AGL has done well out of its Loy Yang grab.
Michael West
Rescue service in need of a lifeline
Michael West The National Safety Council of Australia may be Project No. 1 for the government's new regulator of really not-for-profit organisations.
Michael West
Politics is just a diversion as BHP whacks the zombie
Michael West Ladies and gentlemen, we have the great pleasure to unveil today a landmark charitable initiative.
Michael West
BHP story that almost never was
Michael West Ladies and gentlemen, we have the great pleasure to unveil today a landmark charitable initiative that will assist the underprivileged in their fight for survival.
Michael West
The Scarlet Pimpernel of funds management
Michael West The mysterious Peter Drake is executive director of the ill-fated LM First Mortgage Fund whose investors are hurting badly.
Michael West
The devil and the deep blue sea
Michael West ''On the surface, they can still exercise their iniquitous laws, fight, devour each other, and indulge in all their earthly horrors.
Michael West
Centro payout gives major auditors a sinking feeling
Michael West PwC's settlement will not only raise professional indemnity fees, but damages the industry.
Michael West
Spreading the pain of PPPs
Michael West Public private partnerships too frequently deliver shocker deals but it's not always the taxpayers who foot the bill.
Michael West
Centro settlement raises more questions than it answers
Michael West The irking thing about this Centro settlement is that it raises more questions than it answers.
Michael West
Sick company in children's hospital deal
Michael West Why does the state not properly monitor the financial position of its PPP owners and managers?
Michael West
Time to come clean on public-private finances
Michael West The Victorian government's partner in the $1 billion Royal Children's Hospital project was none other than Babcock & Brown, the financial engineer whose empire of leverage and exotic corporate...
