The subprime crisis and the subsequent failure of Lehman Brothers came as such a shock – and the repercussions were so severe that when the time came to mount a response, policy makers were as surprised…
The long and slow-stunted recovery of the eurozone economies is a major source of concern for the IMF and international bankers. Six years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers signalled the onset of the…
There are mixed messages from the International Monetary Fund. The UK gets a pat on the back for its recovery, but the fund warns of darker clouds ahead in its latest World Economic Outlook. Overall, the…
Last week the IMF revised its 2014 global economic growth forecast down to 3.3% from the 3.7% expected six months ago, confirming that most economies around the world, Australia included, continue to underperform…
Mark Carney and Mario Draghi are fortunate men. Although things may appear difficult now, they could be much worse. War in Iraq, Syria and Eastern Ukraine have the potential to send oil and gas prices…
Could history one day judge the latest BRICS summit as significant as the Bretton Woods conference of 1944? That is the hope of leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa as they meet…
Without a clear direction of where the Australian economy is heading, the consensus to keep the cash rate at its current level of 2.5% remains strong. Uncertainties surrounding the domestic and foreign…
While the rich countries were most affected by the global economic crisis, there are signs of recovery. Although India and China won’t go back to the days of double-digit growth, other emerging countries…
The World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report released this week is moderately optimistic about the short-term outlook of the global economy. World Bank economists anticipate an improvement in most…
The US debt crisis is over for now, but legislators have just kicked the can down the road. In this series on the US debt ceiling, academics from Australia, the UK and the US assess the lingering global…
The US shutdown and the fractious struggles in Congress are symptomatic of a broader trend in American politics. In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, a new political landscape has emerged…
The end of the Cold War and the era of “unipolar” US dominance that followed has led many to wonder about the future of international power. Who will rival, or perhaps even replace, the US? At least one…
The G20 Summit brings together in St Petersburg, Russia a remarkably diverse and powerful collection of states. It is a unique experiment in global governance, signalling the end of dominance by a few…
The economic rise of China has produced a general feeling that the United States’ best days are behind them. Some experts argue the US is now facing “its fifth wave of Declinism”. Noting that many Chinese…
Yesterday, Kevin Rudd set about outlining the broad terrain of economic policy to be pursued in this his second stint as Prime Minister. In his speech to the Press Club, the PM highlighted seven core drivers…
So what’s so special about this lot? Who decides which countries get to be in the gang? Can you get kicked out? How does it stack up against the G20? If spies were to listen in, would they hear anything…
Wary consumers are unmoved by recent interest rate cuts and healthy economic figures, according to an index of consumer sentiment that registered a rise of just 0.3% in June to 95.6%. The survey of 1200…
Kevin Davis, Australian Centre for Financial Studies
Welcome to the latest in our In Conversation series, between risk analyst and author Satyajit Das and Kevin Davis, Research Director of the Australian Centre for Financial Studies. Satyajit Das is an internationally-known…
Kevin Davis, Australian Centre for Financial Studies
Last week, the Reserve Bank defied market expectations to announce the 4.25% cash rate would remain unchanged. But the surprise decision by Australia’s Big Four banks to act independently of the Reserve…