EDITOR'S PICKS

The new age of speculation
Alan Kohler
Not even record low interest rates can turn us from our love affair with low-risk assets. That’s because the Reserve Bank is facing an unshakeable change in the Australian psyche: fear of unemployment.

Abbott has won control of the Senate
Robert Gottliebsen
Australia will now see its most stable government in a decade, with the six independent and minor party senators who hold the balance of power overwhelmingly in favour of Coalition policy.

The Palmer ‘Six Pack’ may not be easy to control
Rob Burgess
With freewheeler Clive Palmer courting non-major party senators, and wild card Ricky Muir on the sidelines, Tony Abbott’s Senate monopoly is not as assured as it would seem.

Showdown at the Senate saloon
Robert Gottliebsen
In debt discussions that amount to the beginning of the next presidential campaign, firebrand Ted Cruz will go down to the wire. But the market will eventually force him and Barack Obama together.

What Yellen’s Fed will look like
Victoria Thieberger
The dovish Janet Yellen will stand her ground with steely determination as she weighs up the Fed’s withdrawal of bond-buying stimulus.

Why the Tea Party is taking the US to the brink
Mathew Murphy
The aggressive posturing from Tea Party Republicans is part of a long ideological war targeted against any advocate of 'big government' – even their own party colleagues.

Saputo moves closer to a whiff of the big cheese
Victoria Thieberger
Saputo's offer for Warrnambool reflects international firms' strong desires to establish Australia as a base into Asia, with a tasty premium to sway reticent shareholders.

The weak get weaker as the crisis clings
Olivier Blanchard
The world economy has entered another transition. Emerging market growth is declining faster than predicted even as advanced economies painfully move forward.

Abbott’s in danger of a Chinese check mate
Robert Gottliebsen
Tony Abbott's plan to seal a Chinese trade deal inside a year is a bad one. It puts Australia in a position of weakness at the negotiating table.

Abbott must revisit anti-bribery laws
Rob Burgess
Tony Abbott must take a strong lead on corporate corruption, particularly as Australian businesses expand into countries where the rule of law is weak.

David Cameron, a Tory Reborn
Oliver Marc Hartwich
Facing a threat from the UK Independence Party at the next British election, David Cameron has embraced his true conservative roots, creating an old-fashioned election battle between the left and the right.