Welcome to The Conversation’s series on megatrends. What are the compelling economic, social, environmental, political and technological changes Australia must grapple with over the coming decades? In…
Despite the recent fluctuations of the iron ore price, producers such as mining billionaires Andrew Forrest and Gina Rinehart entered the iron ore market with eyes wide open and understand the long-term…
The 2012-13 Queensland budget was the most anticipated policy announcement in several decades. The cut-backs in public sector employment previously forecast and cost saving measures announced in the early…
The recent announcement by Qantas of its proposed joint venture alliance with Emirates highlights not only the highly competitive environment facing aviation, but some interesting questions around workplace…
According to their 2005 Energy Policy Act, the US was supposed to have reached a 7.5% target for renewable fuel by 2012. While this may be good for the environment, there is growing concern that national…
Welcome to The Conversation’s series on megatrends. What are the compelling economic, social, environmental, political and technological changes Australia must grapple with over the coming decades? In…
A legal decision which forced Optus to shut down its time shifting service TV Now may eventually lead to reform of existing copyright law to cater for cloud technology. On Friday, the High Court denied…
There have been renewed calls from employers - mainly in the retail sector - for reductions in the wage premiums (or penalty rates) that industries are required to pay staff for work undertaken at non-standard…
Yesterday, the European Central Bank’s president, Mario Draghi, unveiled the European Central Bank’s rescue plan for the Eurozone. Mr Draghi said that the ECB is now prepared to buy sovereign bonds of…
My publisher once told me adamantly: “Economics doesn’t sell.” I was gobsmacked. “The subject that tells us all about supply and demand and how to run a business or a household doesn’t make a quid? How…
This week we learnt that Australia’s GDP growth fell significantly in the second quarter compared with the first. The fact that GDP growth is a lagging indicator raises serious questions about the current…
Today, Alan Joyce has announced that Qantas and Emirates have struck a joint venture alliance for the next 10 years. As a result, Qantas will be taking its passengers to Europe through Dubai, instead of…
It has been five years since the sub-prime mortgage crisis emerged in the US. This was followed by financial institutions suffering liquidity shortfalls in both US and Europe, and their eventual collapse…
Kevin Davis, Australian Centre for Financial Studies
There is a growing chorus of support for introduction of a fee for the protection provided to bank deposits (up to the $250,000 cap) by the Financial Claims Scheme (or deposit insurance as it would be…
If hindsight is such a wonderful thing, surely foresight would be better. What if we could see what was coming at us and could position ourselves, our organisations and society to make the most of it…
I am the FakeMarkRolfe telling you that all FakeMarkRolfes on Twitter are liars. And so is the real Mark Rolfe @Marcjohnr. I’ve started with a variation of the old liar’s paradox, not to explore logic…
CAMA’s Shadow Board, which gives its views ahead of the decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia, continues to support the current setting of the cash rate at 3.5%. But economists are seeing a greater…
The NSW Treasury’s current trial of social benefit bonds is attracting a lot of attention, including a session devoted to bonds and other social enterprise innovations at the Economic Society of Australia’s…
There is almost unanimous agreement among mainstream economists, tax experts, Treasury, business and even politicians (albeit very quietly) that the Goods and Services Tax will have to be increased and…
Why do we have welfare policies that create unnecessary poverty? Despite a multitude of reports, submissions, public pleas and other advocacy on the problems of Newstart (NSA) recipients, the government…
The US capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, has voted in favour of what has widely become known as the “conflict minerals” ruling. Aimed at reducing the illegal trade in resources…
Linking Australia to the European Union carbon emissions trading scheme by 2015 will undoubtedly affect the revenue gained from carbon trading. The question is, how much? One should expect up to 50% less…
Close scrutiny and tough sanctioning of cartel conduct (involving price fixing, market sharing, output reduction and bid rigging by competing businesses) has been a focus of competition law and enforcement…
The latest scandal engulfing Note Printing Australia and Securency highlights how well - or otherwise - the public sector deals with critical issues of transparency, corruption and whistleblowing. The…
There’s support across the globe for increased female participation at leadership levels. In Norway, it’s a legislative requirement that at least 40% of the board members of listed companies are women…