A provision of the budget law that President Donald Trump signed last week will leave taxpayers to “pick up the tab for the private jet industry and billionaire high flyers”. (more…)
Category: Economy
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Tariff deadline extended as Trump’s trade talks falter
It was supposed to be 90 trade deals in 90 days, turbocharged by the threat of ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs. (more…)
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The end of multilateralism
The recent unilateral strikes by the United States on Iran’s nuclear development sites underline the fact that multilateralism is dead, and has been so for some time. (more…)
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US economic statecraft must catch up to its Taiwan strategy
Taiwan’s global economic role has made it indispensable to regional stability in East Asia and for the US’ strategic goals. (more…)
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BRICS+ meets in Rio amid global shifts and internal fractures
As leaders of the group gather for a summit, the absence of China’s Xi and Russia’s Putin shifts the spotlight to India’s Modi and Brazil’s Lula. (more…)
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Trump’s budget and the 21st century great divergence
Donald Trump’s recently passed budget has the capacity to lay the foundation for a widening gap between the world’s two largest economies, the United States and China, and make China as great, comparatively, as it was before the industrial revolution. (more…)
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Squad a strategic boon for India and the Quad
Manila is considering expanding the “Squad” — a security coalition focused on operational maritime deterrence comprised of the US, Japan, Australia and the Philippines — to include India and South Korea. (more…)
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Boomers bashing again: Change the rules
A departing editor-at-large from The Australian Financial Review, off to head the IPA, warns of an “intergenerational tragedy” facing young Australians. (more…)
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World Bank warns that changes are coming in the global economy
The World Bank’s just released flagship report Global Economic Prospects sounds a warning for the global economy, which is projected to slow dangerously through the next few years, while also showing substantial changes. (more…)
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‘Watershed moment’: Big battery storage prices hit record low in huge China auction
The price for big battery storage modules have hit a record low in the latest giant auction in China, where more than 70 bidders competed for 25 gigawatt hours of capacity in what is being described as a “watershed moment” for the industry. (more…)
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How spending more on defence harms the nation
Anthony Albanese is taking a battering from ill-informed commentators for thinking Australia can be defended by spending a little over 2% of GDP on its military forces. (more…)
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Southeast Asia needs to ramp up its trade links with Europe
Southeast Asia faces rising US tariffs and pressure to limit Chinese links, prompting a search for stronger European trade ties. While Europe offers promising opportunities, ASEAN must navigate complex bilateral deals that may risk regional cohesion. Closer EU ties can diversify markets and investments, but will not replace China’s role in supply chains. To fully benefit, Southeast Asian nations must drive domestic reforms, enhancing resilience and inclusive growth amid global trade uncertainties. (more…)
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Australia’s decision-makers are ignoring climate, hailing coal and impersonating Elvis
You could barely believe that there is a climate crisis going on. In the same week that climate scientists suggested the world will exhaust its remaining carbon budget within two years, carbon bombs are being set off left, right and centre, or allowed through regulatory hurdles on the promise of buying dodgy offsets. (more…)
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The superannuation system matures at 12% of wages
Tomorrow, thirty-four years after I nominated a 12% wage equivalent as the appropriate level of compulsory contribution into superannuation, the system finally matures. (more…)
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Murdoch’s News Corp has moved into the mortgage business. Where are the regulators?
If you want to advertise a house online in Australia, you don’t have many options. Just two companies dominate the market. (more…)
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Japan’s economic security strategy looks beyond the United States
In the face of increasingly uncertain global economic headwinds, Japan is redefining its economic security strategy. (more…)
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Australian CEOs are still getting their bonuses. Performance doesn’t seem to matter so much
Almost all of Australia’s top chief executives are, according to their boards at least, knocking it out of the park in terms of performance. (more…)
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‘It changes everything’: Plunging costs of PV and batteries mean 24-hour solar a growing reality
The plunging cost of solar PV and battery storage has opened up a new frontier in the transition to green energy, according to a new report, with cities and industries around the world now able to access low-cost, 24-hour solar generation. (more…)
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Is there any hope for a fairer carve-up of GST between the states?
When the Western Australian Government handed down its state budget on Thursday, it showed a balance sheet solidly in the black with a $2.5 billion surplus. But, as it has for seven years, the state has received an outsized boost to its coffers from the federal government. (more…)
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Chalmers hints at more tax reform – What should we do first? Part 2
In the second of a two-part series Saul Eslake looks at what the top priorities for tax reform should be. (more…)
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The unravelling of American exceptionalism: The inevitable decay of hegemony built on crassness – Part 1
In early May 2025, as Roman Catholic Cardinals gathered to pick the next Pope, US President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of him as the Pope shortly after saying, “I would like to be Pope.” (more…)
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Start at the bottom to build housing
Starting at the bottom is the way to rebalance Australia’s housing system. (more…)
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Chalmers hints at more tax reform – What should we do first? Part 1
In the first of a two-part series Saul Eslake examines what the top tax reform priorities should be. (more…)
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Environment: Murray-Darling Plan delivers profits, but not environmental improvement
Murray-Darling Plan has achieved five of seven economic goals but only 2 of 12 environmental ones. Will climate change be good or bad for the economy? Nations’ current emissions reduction policies unlikely to keep global warming under 2oC. (more…)
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Australia’s trade survival depends on beating Trump’s tariff contagion
How does Canberra cope in a world that threatens to spin off into competing blocs and help shape a world that preserves multilateralism, even if the United States is not a constructive part of it? (more…)
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Strategic security partnerships in the region
In reading analyses of how we can develop the seemingly logical argument by Paul Keating and others that Australia should be seeking its security in Asia rather than from Asia, the issue of official and personal contact in building such ties always seems to be neglected. (more…)
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Australian net-zero projects to be rated to prevent greenwashing
Environmental projects will be analysed and rated in Australia in a move experts say could prevent greenwashing and encourage international investments. (more…)
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The evil phoenix: Quenching the fire of its rebirth
This is a $5 billion scam hurting honest Australians. (more…)
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The bamboo ceiling is still very much in place Down Under
Our business sector lacks the skills to do business in Asia. And instead of improving, the situation is getting markedly worse. (more…)
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Hugh White: Why the AUKUS ‘dream’ was never realistic and is likely to die
The first clear sign the Trump administration was taking a long hard look at AUKUS came two weeks ago, when US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth gave his first major speech on US strategic policy in Asia at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. (more…)