Behind the noise and spats in No 10, the Government is pushing ahead with laws that could define its time in office
Economy
The Labor Party is a long way from done but at the moment it is mired in mediocrity. We need a Labor Party agenda in which the big issues are confronted, writes Bill Kelty. It is a sad day for me in some ways. I remember coming back from Canberra and I told Lindsay Fox Continue reading »
Much more than a cyclical adjustment, Beijing’s latest policy shift marks a milestone in the history of its economic management. Beijing’s larger-than-expected market rescue plan announced last week is extraordinary in every way. The policies, from interest rate cuts to special funding schemes for the stock market, are significant. But investors are particularly excited about Continue reading »
Project Syndicate 18th of September, 2024 “Shortly after taking office, the United Kingdom’s new Labour government announced the discovery of a massive shortfall in public finances. While much of the political debate has centered on the size of this fiscal hole, the real culprit is the set of arbitrary rules that British governments have imposed on themselves … Continue reading Britain’s Illusory Fiscal Black Hole
The Spectator, 13 January 2024 Monetarism, with which his name is associated, has long defined economic policy. But what would Friedman have made of the banking collapse, so soon after his death in 2006? The Keynesian economist Nicholas Kaldor called Milton Friedman one of the two most evil men of the 20th century. (Friedman was … Continue reading Milton Friedman – economic visionary or scourge of the world?
Ren Zeping’s almost frantic call one week ahead of Beijing’s dramatic loosening of monetary policy. Before the People’s Bank of China’s unusually bold, if not unprecedented, big bang last week to boost investor sentiments, the frustration with Beijing’s apparent lack of urgency in aiding the world’s second-largest economy grew increasingly apparent. One of the signs Continue reading »
There are few economies on the planet more concentrated in terms of vital services and markets than Australia. The players and actors are few and far between, be they in banking, insurance, supermarkets, the media or the aviation market. Continue reading »
Iron ore has underpinned Australia’s prosperity. Gas and coal exports are bound to fall as market countries cut their carbon emissions. Can we build our future on “green” steel? Australia’s number one export today is iron ore. In 2023, our miners shipped out around 900 million tonnes of ore worth $124 billion. This amounted to Continue reading »
The All-Ords was in a sideways trading range between early February and early August and then dived. Since then, it has not only rebounded but escaped its former range ceiling and is now trading at a record high. The next chart shows that American S&P 500 index has been on an upward trajectory all this Continue reading »
One should never feel sympathy for a politician caught in a rule-in rule-out game. Perhaps the period should be after the eighth word, but there is something spectacularly dumb about foreclosing on policy options even when they are not under active contemplation, narrowing the range of debate and allowing its terms to be set by Continue reading »