Public goods come in many forms, from highways to magnificent mountains.
Road sign via www.shutterstock.com
The U.S. owes much of its prosperity to investment in public goods like highways, parks and schools. Trump’s budget poses a threat to these goods, which have already been on the decline.
Ethiopia’s large young population could become an advantage if backed by appropriate policies.
REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
Over 70% of Ethiopia’s population is under 30 years of age. This can be converted to economic muscle if policies are introduced to tackle the high unemployment levels in the country.
Justin Green/Flickr
Independent brewer joins the long list of small counter-culture firms that sold us revolution and walked away wealthy.
Shadow or parallel banking refers to the non-bank financial intermediaries that supply services similar to commercial banks.
Jenny Evans/AAP
Shadow banking provides investors with the means to isolate risks, transfer profits, avoid regulation and increase the range of money-like financial products available for investment.
Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan are giving billions to charity through their donor-advised fund instead of a traditional foundation.
Jeff Chiu/AP Photo
As these tax-exempt vehicles transform philanthropy, they’re drawing more scrutiny. Will Congress or the Trump administration tinker with the rules that encouraged their rapid growth?
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The health of our pensions can ebb and flow with mortality rates, and the latest data has delivered a shock.
Justin Lane/EPA
The ratings agency downgrade decision is not a surprise. It’s a wake up call. South Africa has its work cut out.
Rapid rise of Australian house prices have created disagreement between economists on whether a housing bubble currently exists.
Brian Birdwell/flickr
Economists struggle to agree on when and where housing bubbles occur, but bubbles all have similar characterisitics.
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The rising talk about ‘white monopoly capital’ as an obstacle to economic inclusion in South Africa is a red herring.
Despite all the proposals to combat housing affordability, Scott Morrison will need to make hard political decisions on policies that will actually make a difference.
Lukas Coch/AAP
The latest thought bubbles about using super savings for housing might be less harmful than in the past, but they would be just as ineffective.
TTstudio/Shutterstock
Expect more deals as low-cost options derail the investment industry’s business model.
The Chinese Community Party has trouble controlling its own members much less those of private businesses.
Lukas Coch/AAP
The public debate about Chinese corporations investing in Australia is spurred by several misleading ideas about the control of the Chinese government and its intervention with private businesses.
With a prospective hard Brexit, Australia should prioritise a free trade agreement with the EU over the UK.
Australia High Commission
Analysis shows there’s less competition and more cross over in trade between Australia and the EU, making a trade deal more appealing.
Alan/Flickr
A weak pound is likely to lure more international bidders to UK shores. Time then to make sure we have our defences in place.
Thinglass / Shutterstock, Inc.
Renting makes financial sense in a number of circumstances; it’s time to move away from the obsession with home ownership.
World Literature Today/Flickr
Financially illogical and fuelled by irrational dogma, the creation of a new tranche of private sector debt is a missed opportunity.
Gains, but there may be pains.
EPA/ANDREW GOMBERT
Investors have given Donald Trump the thumbs up, so far, but trader sentiment can’t be guaranteed.
Dayland Shannon/Flickr
The system is rigged for a small minority to profit, but are we brave enough to deploy the solutions that would work?
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Britain has a number of bilateral treaties with Eastern European countries that will remain after Brexit.
President-elect Trump’s twitter account has the power to devastate companies’ share prices.
Des Moines/Reuters
Tweet-shaming from politicians isn’t the best way to regulate companies – it hurts investments, shareholders and ultimately the economy.