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Many Australian-based firms are seeing the decision-making processes move from national based locals to overseas operators based in the UK or USA, making it harder for local firms to operate.

Australia is a key player in the world wine market, with both white and red wines winning awards, and export sales on the increase. Issues concerning international trade and globalisation are presented, with reference to the success of Evans and Tate at the International Wine Challenge in London.

A description is presented of the lifestyle, business skills and entrepreneurship of Futuris Corporation founder Alan Newman. His management of the company and plans for the future are discussed.

The leading Australian wine firms have the opportunity to be the pioneers of consolidation in the world wine industry. They are already managing to achieve consistent performance from a traditionally very variable business.

Mining giant Normandy Mining has reaffirmed its commitment to the gold industry, despite the low dollar and falling gold prices. The company is restructuring and selling non-core assets in order to focus on gold production, which will increase by 15% to 2.3 million ounces/y.

Second-hand store chain Cash Converters is set to resume its growth after a series of problems overseas. The company, which has 532 outlets across the globe, will launch itself into the e-commerce market and expand its money-lending activities.

The 1999 Small Business Awards in Australia include Compumedics, Coilmaster and MAUS Business Systems. The industries include medical equipment, waste disposal and groceries distribution.

The problems associated with the development of a new means of processing nickel from laterite in Australia are described, with focus on disputes over the control of the major producer, Anaconda Nickel.

A survey of the results of the top 1000 companies in Australia in 1999 is presented, with focus on the changes that have taken place in the business world, and the rise of retailing company Coles Myer.

Hiring the correct staff and continually motivating them provides companies with a competitive edge. However, few managers take advantage of motivational techniques and rely on human resources departments. Profiles of four Australian companies and the motivational techniques of their managers are presented. King Park Electric, Toop and Toop, Cleanevent, and Barrett Consulting are profiled.

Australia may lose its oil refinery industry because of restrictive laws and a surplus of Asian refined petroleum products. Preservation may lie in the restructuring of the industry, and a plan to merge or close several refineries is underway. Without investors, however, the result is unpredictable.

Australia's Murray Basin should have as many as five titanium mines operating in 2002. It could become the largest source of titanium minerals by 2009. Investors could clash with environmentalists over these 600,000 sq km as production grows. Economic setbacks for developers have caused delays in production.

Cortecs Ltd, the British pharmaceuticals company, lost 95% of its value by relying on one product for its livelihood. Former chief executive Glen Travers believed that an osteoporosis drug called Macritonin would lead Cortecs to riches. Cortecs spent $80 million of the $240 million raised from stockholders in Australia and Europe on the drug. Human trials in 1997-98 failed. Cortecs dropped Macritonin and cut its research expenditure from $57 million to $17 million, sold non-core assets, and reduced staff. New chief executive Phil Gould expects Cortecs to be profitable again in 2003 or 2004.

Australia's wool industry may be making a comeback, given a decreasing stockpile and increased demand, higher prices, and the end of government regulation. The 4.5 million-bale stockpile has shrunk to less than 25% of its original size. Fine wool producers, accounting for about 25% of the industry, have seen prices at more than $10 a kilogram. According to Chris Puckridge, rising prices have set this recovery apart from those in 1993 and 1997. As of July 1, 1999, the government ended 28 years of involvement in the industry.

Australia's world domination in the pearling industry faces a challenge from the Australian-backed Indonesian pearling business of Atlas Pacific, as its pearls go up for auction in Sydney in September 1999. Darwin's Paspaley family accounts for 40% of the annual $300 million industry. Atlas Pacific's aim is to produce 80,000 pearls a year, and the key to such production is by keeping oysters healthy and growing conditions ideal. Atlas Pacific lost $860,699 in 1998 (to December 31).

AWB Limited, the former Australian Wheat Board, is planing to refocus from grain marketing to financial services for grain farmers. AWB has a built-in advantage over other financial institutions: it controls the wheat cheque for 45,000 grain growers, with an average annual check of almost $100,000. Up to 80% of new revenue for AWB could result from financial services. Maintaining grain industry control is essential for AWB's success and to its future stockmarket value.

The Asian economy is slowly rebounding, and some Australian businesses, especially those in niche markets, are taking advantage, while other businesses/industries are wary. Dome, Radiata Exports, Bluefire Gas Ltd. and P&O Australia Ltd. are all success stories. However, the banking industry indicates the lingering crisis, with more than 30% of loans non-performing. The automobile industry is cautious, and the construction and minerals industries have experienced mixed results. The energy industry is improving with Asia's energy needs, especially liquid propane gas, selling again at 1996 levels of $180 ton.

The oversupply of Australian commodities (especially metal), distraction of electronic commerce. the uncertain Asian market, and the value of the Australian dollar have all contributed to low profits and prices in the Australian commodities industry. Global consumption of mined products has grown only 3% annually. Zinc, aluminum, and copper prices have fallen about 20%. Nickel has dropped about 35%. Australia's commodities market will improve when Asia's economy stabilizes. Before economic upheaveals, Asia accounted for about 70% of the world's increased consumption of commodities.

Boral Energy and WMC Ltd took a unique approach with their marketing development strategies. Both companies decided to development their markets first before they even decided to produce their product. By taking this non-traditional approach, the companies where able to develop a distribution channel strategy and significantly reduce their risks when compared to traditional, product-first strategies.

Western Australia's economy continues to function in spite of the disasters in Asia. The iron mines have switched to exporting cheaper ore, and Japan has increased its dependence on Australian ore. Several petroleum companies have moved into large offices, and oil and gas projects are expected to grow. Gold mines have coped by slashing costs and postponing new exploration.

Small investors do not get the same information about stocks that institutional investors get. The amount corporations spend on investor relations is largely targeted at big investors and they get unfair advantages from insider information. However, there are difficulties in pinning down what constitutes insider information. An article about the rules against unequal distribution of information in the US is included.

Howard Smith and Wesfarmers are competing fiercely for the hardware market in Burleigh Heads, Australia. The country's two largest hardware retail companies have encountered each other's competition for the first time when Wesfarmers opened a store next door to Howard Smith's facility on June 24, 1998. Howard Smith owns BBC Hardwarehouses, and Wesfarmers controls Bunnings.

A listing of Australians with assets of A$100 million to A$195 million is presented. This class of rich Australians includes Imelda and Bill Roche, direct sale cosmetics and real estate, $A195 million; Tony and Robert Albert, music publishing and real estate, $A190 million; Bruce Gordon,media, $A190 million; Eddie Kornhauser, real estate, $A190 million; and Bob Oatley and family, vintners, $A190 million.

Australia's BHP mining company is facing a financial crisis at its Zimbabwe Hartley platinum mine. The mine has had unusual difficulties such as poor ground conditions, which have required extensive and expensive roof-support systems. The additional safety equipment and procedures that were needed have resulted in higher operations costs and slowed production.

St George Bank purchased Sealcorp Holdings in a $272 million deal in 1997. Sealcorp's Asgard Master Trust placed under St George Bank management following the acquisition helps the bank diversify its business. Sealcorp is not expected to develop a positive shareholder value in the near future. St George Bank expects to generate a positive rate of return of its investment in Sealcorp.

The Australian government is exiting the nation's wheat industry by listing the Australian Wheat Board (AWB) with the stock exchange. The AWB has sales of around $4 billion per year and 62,000 shareholders, and is expected to rank instantly in the top 50 stocks. About A$550 million will be raised for capital via a 2% wheat-selling levy, and creation of AWB Ltd. is planned for 1999.

The rise in the shares of Excel Coal under the management of Ric Chadwick, Tony Haggarty, Chris Ellis, Roger Massy-Greene, Allan Davies and Andrew Plummer is examined.

Michael Chaney has been appointed as the chairman of the National Australia Bank. Chaney is a staunch believer of the Argenti system, a strategic planning technique that emphasis on financial performance, and is based on critical measurements such as return on capital, and on determining the bigger issues that influence an organization. Chaney's next move is to see the 'big' issue that is influencing the profits of the company, which has not posted good results for the past two years.

The consolidation and restructuring of Heytesbury by Janet Holmes a Court is discussed. The once famous corporate house of Australia has been downsized considerably and is now more of a profitable trading business that is run as a conventional family firm.

A profile of Michael Boyd, executive chairman of Quadrant Iridium is furnished. Boyd tasted success with his Sonic Healthcare but thereafter he failed to succeed in a series of ventures. Boyd is desperate to prove that he is not a one-time wonder and is confident that by reviving Quadrant Iridium, an investment company with satellite telecommunications unit that is emerging from bankruptcy, he would have made his point.

Xstrata, a swiss company received a $30 million grant from the Australian government for starting the vanadium mine at Windimurra. After availing the loan, the company opted to mine the metal in South Africa in view of cost benefit. In order to prevent competition from Windimurra mine, the company sold the key items of processing equipment and closed the mine.

An overview on the growth figures of Australia's premier gold miner Newcrest Mining is presented. The appreciation in share prices of the company is emphasized. The probability of the United States gold giant Newmont Mining to acquire Newcrest Mining is examined.

The reasons for the increase in demand of quality natural diamond products produced by companies like De Beers, BHP Billiton and others have been discussed.

The salary package accepted by Don Voelte as the managing director of Australia's Woodside Petroleum Company is discussed. It is suggested that he is recruited to increase the profits of the company and lead the world oil industry.

Globalization is a game played at the highest level and Australian investors' poor appetite for risk makes foreign listings attractive to small companies. The other stock exchanges around the world, aided by free flow of capital and information, happily market themselves as a place for small stocks with potential knowing they have what the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) lacks -- hungry investors.

The wild west of Australia has a boom time in profits, with its renewed global appetite for its mineral wealth, mainly due to an insatiable demand from China. The economy reveals strong surpluses, the debt-to-revenue ratio has fallen, and in the last set of figures, debt itself has fallen.

Examples of companies forming clusters across various industrial sectors and states in Australia are presented. The reasons of companies forming clusters at specific locations are discussed.

Newcrest, despite a strengthening share price is the most undervalued mining company in Australian Stock Exchange. The managing director of Newcrest, Tony Palmer, reports that for investors the immediate attraction of Newcrest is the revival of Telfer as a low-cost gold miner.

Australia's second-biggest oil and gas company, Santos is undergoing a remarkable revival under John Ellice-Flint, a new leader and a string of new projects. Santos revival policy and its effects on the companyEs performance are discussed.

Andrew Michelmore newly appointed chief executive, talks about his confidence in Western Mining Corporation (WMC) resources. He speaks of WMC as an independent miner. He gives detail about his big plans in future.

New challenges faced by Robert de Crepigny, the Head of South Australia's economic development are discussed. His journey towards success both in the field of mining and as a public servant is discussed.

Flight Centre is moving towards growth while the aviation industry decreases.