The hollowing out of tax collected for public purposes by rich and poor nations is not confined to technology and mining companies, according to a major leak of secret tax agreements covering more than…
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Banks borrow short and lend long. So if all of a bank’s depositors suddenly want their money, the bank would be unable to pay them. A bank may have made great loans but it can only unwind these loans slowly…
To navigate the timeline below, hover your mouse on the right (and on the left to move back).
Australia is one of the worst performers in board gender diversity. In an attempt to combat this, women have been encouraged to head to the not-for-profit sector to gain board experience as a stepping…
Efforts by pharmaceutical companies to extend their patents cost taxpayers millions of dollars each year. In some cases they also mean people are subjected to unnecessary clinical trials. Big pharma makes…
Suppose that on the evening of November 16, the G20 leaders release a 25-page communique with hundreds of recommendations on global health, security, climate change, human rights etc. Would this be regarded…
Tax avoidance, or the use of legal arrangements to reduce tax, is rife. According to the Australian Tax Office (ATO), Australian companies in 2012 sent almost A$60 billion to related parties in tax havens…
Under changes proposed by the government, financial planners will be required to register with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission from next March. They will need to provide details of…
As world leaders gather in Brisbane this month to tackle an increasingly fractious global economy, let’s cast our mind back exactly one hundred years. In 1914, the world was about to plunge into a period…
Treasurer Joe Hockey and billionaire Rupert Murdoch recently made impassioned speeches expressing their deep concern about the problem of rising inequality —the rich are getting richer, while the poor…
The global financial crisis had many causes. But it was generally acknowledged at the time and since, that failures of ethics, integrity and trust were an important part of the problem. US Republican Senator…
Many Australian women will know the G20 summit is coming up in Brisbane, but they may not think it has much relevance to their daily lives. But that is not the case. Joe Hockey needs us, and he may not…
The CAMA RBA Shadow Board is a project by the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, based at the ANU, which asks industry and academic economists what interest rate the Reserve Bank of Australia should…
The G20 is full of traps for the unwary punter, new to its byzantine ways. There are not 20 member countries in the G20, for example. There are 19 countries, plus the European Union. In November, you will…
In the last week, Defence Minister David Johnston has flagged a “capability gap” if the next fleet of submarines is designed and built in Australia. “We are under such time constraints to avoid a capability…
Behind every economic policy initiative lies a narrative justifying that course of action: immigration increases unemployment; public debt is unsustainable; manufacturing is interminably declining; city…
As part of its program to cut red tape and bureaucracy, the Australian government is set to repeal the 100-member rule. The rule contained in the Corporations Act forces a company to hold a general meeting…
Recently, the head of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Greg Medcraft, called Australia a “paradise” for white-collar criminals. Soon after he recanted, claiming he didn’t want the…
When the G20/G8 summits moved on from Toronto in 2010, they left an US$11 million bill in business compensation claims. To minimise the effect of preparations on businesses preparing for next month’s G20…
Rupert Murdoch’s special address to an exclusive meeting of the world’s most powerful finance ministers got a second airing this week. In a breathless front-page “exclusive” in The Australian, Paul Kelly…
In the lead-up to next week’s Melbourne Cup, bookmaker Tom Waterhouse is heavily marketing a “$25 million bet that stops a nation”. All you have to do is give him A$10 and if you place the first 10 horses…
Recently, we heard a bold statement from federal Industry Minister, Ian Macfarlane, regarding the procurement of Australia’s new submarines. “I can promise you this,” he said, in an interview with ABC…
Electric vehicle maker Tesla will soon deliver its cars to Australian roads. This promises to change both the type of cars we drive and potentially the way we buy them. Tesla remains a relative oddity…
John D. Rockefeller turned in his grave when the news drifted down to Hades that the Rockefeller Brothers Fund is divesting from fossil fuel companies … even from John D’s once very own Exxon. The shrill…
Following its stepped up year-long review of European banks, the European Central Bank this weekend failed 25 of the 130 banks it tested on the strength of their capital buffers to protect against a downturn…