Editor's Picks

Bleeding Qantas dives into dire straits
Stephen Bartholomeusz
The capacity war between Qantas and Virgin has the national carrier haemorrhaging at a furious pace. Without a truce or a much-needed government intervention, Qantas’ future is bleak.

The age of the slogan is finally over
Rob Burgess
Healthy national debate cannot subsist on three-word slogans. Unfortunately for Tony Abbott the media isn't playing his game anymore.

Terminating jobs: the rise of the machines
Alan Kohler
Despite the booming economy, employment continues to go backwards as cost-cutting Australian firms increasingly replace human beings with machines.

Lessons lost in the Gonski debate
Robert Gottliebsen
While politicians argue about how much money to throw at schools, Australia's poor education outcomes can be dramatically improved by working on the lost art of better teaching.

Innovation echoes down family lines
Alan Kohler
Two Melbourne quantum physicists invented the only self-fitting hearing aid on the market. Now their two families are helping the start-up grow to the next stage.

Cashed up China Inc needs to spend
Peter Cai
China's vast foreign exchange reserves have reached peak capacity. Now the country's central bankers are looking for ways to invest the country's vast holdings – including a $500 million Australian resource fund.

The RBA's case for intervention gains currency
Callam Pickering
September's soft GDP figures show that domestic demand is struggling. If the US taper doesn't start soon, the stubbornly high dollar might need more than the Reserve Bank's war of words.

What would ‘new Labor’ look like without the unions?
Mitchell Neems
As Labor looks to rebuild after a resounding defeat at the last election, its relationship with the union movement must be examined. Unions are already voting with their feet.

Investors can still reap a GrainCorp bounty

Robert Gottliebsen

With Archer Daniels Midland out of the picture, the door is open for a local infrastructure player to work with our largest grains producer. Now is the time to sow the seeds of the agribusiness boom.

A leaner Rio is primed to capitalise
Stephen Bartholomeusz
Rio Tinto's focus on less capital-intensive assets will allow it to generate growth at a lower cost, holding it in good stead for the sector's post-boom adjustment.

Fiddling with Gonski while Shanghai learns
Rob Burgess
How sad that Australia's quest to be the 'clever country' is being scuppered by the re-politicisation of education, while competitor nations surge ahead.

Why we hate power companies
Tristan Edis
Australians spend more on petrol and about the same on minor pantry items, yet we fear power bills the most. Why?

A neverending debt trap
Steve Keen
Larry Summers has argued that we are entering a period where the only way economies will be kept afloat is through debt-driven bubbles. Classical economists say debt shouldn't matter but history tells a different story.

Turning Internet of Things into a growth engine
Paul Wallbank
The next wave of innovation promises to drive economic growth, but the private sector and governments will have to make important investments in infrastructure, training and education.