Editor's Picks

Australia's LNG nuclear bomb
Alan Kohler
The LNG export boom and high domestic gas prices will make it very hard for Tony Abbott to get re-elected if he sticks to direct action policy. The Coalition should hope it never passes parliament.

Abbott's plan to 'stop the votes' is working
Rob Burgess
Indonesia's ability to use boat arrivals as a bargaining chip is a far more devastating problem for Tony Abbott than the nationalist ire an apology to President Yudhoyono would trigger.

The Fed's head-scratching data bag
Callam Pickering
The latest batch of data out of the US shows jumpy energy costs and droopy retail spending still weigh on prices. But any change in policy is unlikely in December.

Silent assassins chase German savers
Oliver Marc Hartwich
German savers, stuck as hapless players in Europe’s zero-sum game, face annual bank deposit losses of 1 per cent. But that's only the start – they are in for more rude shocks.

Qantas cries will fall on political deaf ears
Stephen Bartholomeusz
Alan Joyce's lobbying against Virgin's capital raising is likely to be in vain. The government has no political impetus to amend the Qantas Sales Act, and it needs a strong Virgin to keep Qantas honest.

Can Murray Goulburn's aspirations mature?
Stephen Bartholomeusz
Murray Goulburn will need to take dramatic action to materially overbid Saputo. But accessing external capital within a cooperative structure will be challenging, and the bidding is far from finished.

Abbott’s siege mentality could work
Rob Burgess
It’s clear Tony Abbott is putting defence and nationalism ahead of all other conservative concerns. That’s likely to strengthen his support at home, despite its inherent dangers.

New world not for the faint hearted
Kirstie Spicer
While emerging markets offer plenty of potential, investors may be safer if they take an indirect approach.

A small world growth outlook, after all
Callam Pickering
The OECD has joined calls for loose monetary policy and warned on budget tightening. It’s a view that reflects its concerns about growth around the world.

KGB: Ross Garnaut
Alan Kohler, Robert Gottliebsen and Stephen Bartholomeusz
Economist Ross Garnaut says the Australian dollar must fall 20-40 per cent from highs earlier this year, business expectations of Tony Abbott are unrealistic and interest rates should be lower in light of globally loose policy.

A Coalition sticky spot for shopping centres
Robert Gottliebsen
As the supermarkets protect themselves by moving ahead of Bruce Billson’s sweeping contracts review, shopping centres determined to lobby against it are about to find themselves in a dangerous space.

Summers zeroes in on the new normal
Callam Pickering
Once thought to be a GFC-related anomaly, interest rates at the zero lower bound are now a persistent feature in numerous economies, which now face the prospect of a lost decade of economic growth.

Heads roll at the Department of Slogans
Rob Burgess
The Coalition's pledge to ‘end the waste’ through ‘natural attrition’ differs little from Labor’s ‘efficiency dividend’. It’s one of many lines that may bring Tony Abbott more trouble than expected.

Humble pie in papers and politics
Robert Gottliebsen
At BRW magazine, I learned the importance of admitting mistakes. It’s a lesson Tony Abbott must urgently heed.

The 3 firms that didn't pay the carbon tax
Tristan Edis
Of the 250 firms required to pay the carbon tax, just three have fallen short, including Clive Palmer's nickel refinery. The story behind their failure shows no python squeeze from anything other than questionable management and aging facilities.

The IT price inquiry's link to the TPP
Harrison Polites
Trans Pacific Partnership watchers should refocus their attention on the forgotten IT price inquiry. It just might indicate Canberra's true position on copyright and IP matters.